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Greyhound Lines Inc. v. Sutton6/29/1999
DATE OF JUDGMENT: 04/18/1997
TRIAL JUDGE: HON. J. LARRY BUFFINGTON
COURT FROM WHICH APPEALED: SIMPSON COUNTY CHANCERY COURT
NATURE OF THE CASE: CIVIL - PERSONAL INJURY
TRIAL COURT DISPOSITION: $1.1 MILLION IN FAVOR OF ESTATES OF MARCUS MAY, NICHOLAS MAY AND SUMONE MAY; $680,000 DAMAGES IN FAVOR OF NANCY BONANNO
DISPOSITION: AFFIRMED IN PART AND REVERSED AND REMANDED IN PART
FOR THE COURT:
.Greyhound Lines, Inc. appeals the judgment of the chancery court, raising the following issues as error:
I.THE CHANCELLOR'S ASSIGNMENT OF ANY FAULT TO GREYHOUND WAS MANIFESTLY ERRONEOUS.
II. THE CHANCELLOR MANIFESTLY ERRED IN ASSESSING DAMAGES AND REFUSING TO REMIT DAMAGES AWARDED.
. We affirm in part and reverse and remand in part.
FACTS
. On the night of January 22, 1995, Cheryl May drove through a stop sign on Old Hebron Road in Jefferson Davis County and slammed into a Greyhound bus traveling north on State Highway 13. The right front of May's car collided with the left front of the bus. The collision instantaneously killed May and her three children, Marcus, eight, Sumone, three, and Nicholas, one. The impact knocked the bus off the highway and into a ditch, injuring the driver, three passengers, and destroying the bus.
. On July 21, 1995, Gerald Sutton, the statutory beneficiary of Nicholas and Sumone and administrator of their estates, and Donnie Caughman, administrator of the estate of Marcus, filed suit for civil damages against May's estate and Greyhound. Greyhound cross-claimed for property damage to its bus against May's estate. May's estate filed a cross-claim against Greyhound for compensatory damages arising out of the wrongful death of May. Nancy Bonanno, Paul Cotter, and Robert Riley, all passengers on the bus, eventually intervened filing their own suit against May's estate and Greyhound. All actions were tried before the Chancery Court of Simpson County on February 10, 1997.
. On March 6, 1997, the chancellor entered his opinion and order. The chancellor found Greyhound 10% at fault for the accident, and May 90% at fault. On the issue of damages, the chancellor awarded for the death of Marcus, Nicholas, and Sumone, a judgment in the amount of $1.1 million for each. Bonanno was awarded $680,000, Riley was awarded $285,000, and Cotter was awarded $50,000. From this order, this appeal ensued.
ANALYSIS
I.
THE CHANCELLOR'S ASSIGNMENT OF ANY FAULT TO GREYHOUND WAS MANIFESTLY ERRONEOUS.
. Greyhound assigns several errors to the chancellor's decision to hold Greyhound 10% at fault for the accident. First, Greyhound asserts that the chancellor was manifestly in error in finding that the bus was traveling 56 mph. Second, Greyhound asserts that the chancellor's finding that Greyhound's driver had sufficient notice to brake in time to prevent the accident was also manifestly erroneous. Greyhound argues that both these errors require us to reverse and render the judgment as to liability. Finally, Greyhound maintains that the failure to brake theory was neither raised nor tried by the parties. Greyhound argues that even if we were not to reverse and render the judgment as to liability, a new trial should be ordered as to allow Greyhound an opportunity to contest the theory on which the chancellor's decision ultimately relied.
. Our standard of review when examining findings of fact made by the chancellor is extremely limited. Our supreme court has articulated the standard as follows:
"The standard of review applied to findings of a cha
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