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Natrona County12/31/2003
nd disposed of as provided in Rule 56, and all parties shall be given reasonable opportunity to present all material made pertinent to such a motion by Rule 56.
(c) Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings. After the pleadings are closed but within such time as not to delay the trial, any party may move for judgment on the pleadings. If, on a motion for judgment on the pleadings, matters outside the pleadings are presented to and not excluded by the court, the motion shall be treated as one for summary judgment and disposed of as provided in Rule 56, and all parties shall be given reasonable opportunity to present all material made pertinent to such a motion by Rule 56.
[Emphasis added.]
In addressing the issue before us, this Court accepts the facts stated in the complaint as true and views them in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. Such a dismissal will be sustained only when it is certain from the face of the complaint that the plaintiff cannot assert any facts that would entitle him to relief. Story v. State, 2001 WY 3, , 15 P.3d 1066, (Wyo.2001). Dismissal is a drastic remedy and is sparingly granted; nevertheless, we will sustain a W.R.C.P. 12(b)(6) dismissal when it is certain from the face of the complaint that the plaintiff cannot assert any set of facts that would entitle that plaintiff to relief. Robinson v. Pacificorp, 10 P.3d 1133, 1135-36 (Wyo.2000); and see Van Riper v. Oedekoven, 2001 WY 58, , 26 P.3d 325, (Wyo. 2001); and Darrar v. Bourke, 910 P.2d 572, 575 (Wyo. 1996). For purposes of resolving the issues raised in this appeal, we apply the same standard of review with respect to Rule 12(c) as we do to Rule 12(b)(6). 5A Charles Alan Wright & Arthur R. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure: Civil 2d § 1369 (1990 and Supp. 2003).
In order to state a claim under a negligence/tort theory, a plaintiff must establish these elements: (1) The defendant owed the plaintiff a duty to conform to a specified standard of care, (2) the defendant breached the duty of care, (3) the defendant's breach of the duty of care proximately caused injury to the plaintiff, and (4) the injury sustained by the plaintiff is compensable by money damages. Valance v. VI-Doug, Inc., 2002 WY 113,
, 50 P.3d 697, (Wyo. 2002). Further,
"Essential to any negligence cause of action is proof of facts which impose a duty upon defendant. The question of the existence of a duty is a matter of law for the court to decide." Hamilton v. Natrona County Education Ass'n, 901 P.2d 381, 384 (Wyo.1995) (quoting Goodrich v. Seamands, 870 P.2d 1061, 1064 (Wyo.1994)). A duty may arise by contract, statute, common law, or when the relationship of the parties is such that the law imposes an obligation on the defendant to act reasonably for the protection of the plaintiff. Hamilton, 901 P.2d at 384; Goodrich, 870 P.2d at 1064; Caterpillar Tractor Co. v. Donahue, 674 P.2d 1276, 1280 (Wyo.1983).
Hulse v. First American Title Company of Crook County, 2001 WY 95, , 33 P.3d 122, (Wyo. 2001); Duncan v. Afton, Inc., 991 P.2d 739, 741-42 (Wyo. 1999)."' uty' is notsacrosanct in itself, but is only an expression of the sum total of those considerations of policy which lead the law to say that the plaintiff is entitled to protection." Gates, 719 P.2d at 195; see also W. Page Keeton et al., Prosser and Keeton on the Law of Torts § 54 at 357-58 (5th ed.1984).
When this Court has considered whether a duty should be imposed based on a particular relationship, we have balanced numerous factors to aid in that determination:"(1) the foreseeability of harm to the plaintiff, (2) the closeness of the connection between the defendant's conduct and th
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