 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Rula v. Ehrhart2/23/2000
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Linn County, August F. Honsell, Judge.
John Ehrhart appeals, and Beverly Rula cross-appeals, a district court judgment on Rula's wrongful death action against the estate of her mother, Leona Rankin.
APPEAL AND CROSS-APPEAL AFFIRMED.
John Ehrhart appeals, and Beverly Rula cross-appeals, a district court judgment on Rula's wrongful death action against the estate of her mother, Leona Rankin. We affirm both the appeal and cross-appeal.
Background facts.
Beverly Rula is the wife of Roger Rula and daughter of Leona Rankin, who died on July 31, 1991. A few months prior to Leona's death, Roger retired so he could farm properties owned by Leona in Linn County and Benton County. After Leona's death, Beverly was appointed executor of her estate, and Roger continued to farm the properties. On February 13, 1994, Roger was hauling a bale of cornstalks from one farm to the other when the tractor he was operating rolled over and pinned him underneath. Roger subsequently died from his injuries.
In August of 1995 Beverly filed a wrongful death action against the Leona Rankin Estate, claiming Roger's death was due to the Estate's negligence. Prior to filing this action, John Ehrhart was appointed as temporary administrator pursuant to Iowa Code section 633.431 to avoid any conflict of interest. Following trial, a jury found the Estate was twenty-five percent at fault and Roger Rula was seventy-five percent at fault. The jury awarded $150,000 to Beverly for loss of consortium, along with $15,000 for the loss of consortium of each of the Rula's adult children. The district court denied Ehrhart's post-trial motions, and he now appeals. Beverly Rula cross-appeals from the district court's rulings that Roger Rula was not an employee of the Estate.
I. Duty of estate.
At trial, the jury was instructed that Beverly could establish her claim against the defendant Estate by proving one of the following:
(a) the defendant failed to provide plaintiff's decedent with a farm vehicle capable of negotiating the route required to be traveled in order to feed the livestock in the location where maintained;
(b) the defendant failed to provide plaintiff's decedent with a farm tractor with proper roll-over protection devices;
(c) the defendant failed to provide a vehicle properly equipped to provide rear visibility when the operator was required to operate the vehicle in reverse while hauling a large round bale of feed and equipped with four-wheel drive to enable it to negotiate a slippery grade.
Ehrhart now claims the district court erred in failing to sustain his objections to this jury instruction, as well as his motion for directed verdict, all concerning the issue of whether the Estate owed Roger a duty to provide him with safe equipment. We review a district court's denial of a motion for directed verdict for errors of law. See Leaf v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 590 N.W.2d 525, 528 (Iowa 1999). Our review of objections to jury instructions is likewise for errors at law. See Grefe & Sidney v. Watters, 525 N.W.2d 821, 824 (Iowa 1994).
Ehrhart forwards the argument that the real defendant is Beverly Rula, executor of the Rankin Estate at the time of the accident. However, the named defendant throughout the trial and this appeal was "John H. Ehrhart, as temporary administrator of the Leona C. Rankin Estate". The jury found, according to instructions, that "the defendant" was negligent in failing to provide equipment that was capable of safely completing the farm work. Although argued during the trial, Ehrhart failed to subs
Page 1 2 Iowa Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|