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Trievel v. Sabo8/3/1998
Court Below: Superior Court of the State of Delaware, in and for New Castle County: C.A. No. 94C-12-213WTQ
Submitted: May 19, 1998
Upon appeal from the Superior Court: AFFIRMED.
This appeal from the Superior Court arises out of a collision between a motor vehicle and a bicycle which resulted in the death of the bicyclist, Sharon Trievel ("Trievel"). We consider whether, under Delaware's comparative negligence statute, 10 Del. C. ยง 8132, it was proper for the trail Judge to have granted the motion of Defendant/Below-Appellee, Frederick L. Sabo, Sr., for judgment dismissing the case at the Conclusion of plaintiffs' evidence, although the trial Judge had indicated that there was a factual issue as to whether Sabo's negligence was a proximate cause of the accident. Because the overwhelming evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the plaintiffs, showed that Trievel was responsible for her injuries and that no reasonable jury could have found that the causal negligence of Sabo was greater than that of Trievel, we find that the Superior Court, as a matter of law, properly granted Sabo's motion for judgment.
Background
On October 22, 1994, a clear, warm autumn day, Trievel and her fianc6 Craig Veverka were bicycling home along two-lane Route 273 to reach Trievel's home located on Route 1, a four-lane highway running in a northerly-southerly direction near Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. As they approached the intersection of Route 273 with Route 1, an intersection at which there was a blinking yellow traffic signal, they both began to reduce slowly their speed and look for oncoming traffic on Route 1. Veverka approached the intersection first. He saw an opening between oncoming vehicles on Route I and safely sped through the intersection. Apparently unable to follow Veverka, Trievel stopped and stood next to her bicycle as she watched the oncoming traffic and waited for an opportunity to cross Route 1. According to several eyewitnesses, as Trievel waited to cross over Route 1, a white Lincoln approached her in the right hand lane of the northerly bound Route 1 and began to slow down for the flashing yellow light at the intersection. Possibly believing the driver of the white Lincoln was permitting her to cross, Trievel partially walked her bike into the right lane of Route 1. She then mounted her bike and pedaled into the left lane of Route 1, directly into the path of Sabo's blue pick-up truck. Trievel died as a result of this collision. Her mother, three daughters, and her estate, ("Trievel Plaintiffs"), brought this wrongful death and personal injury action.
On the third day of trial, defendant Sabo's counsel learned that their expert liability witness would be unavailable to testify because of a recent death in his family that required him to travel immediately to Poland. The expert planned to return in mid-May and would then be available to testify. Sabo's counsel also notified the trial Judge that they planned to file a motion for judgment as a matter of law at the end of the Trievel Plaintiffs' case. As a result, the trial Judge agreed to continue the trial until mid-May, but permitted the Trievel Plaintiffs to fully present their case so as to permit their attorney the opportunity to fully address Sabo's upcoming motion for judgment.
On April 28, 1997, at the Conclusion of the Trievel Plaintiffs' case, Sabo's counsel moved for judgment as a matter of law predicated on two issues: First, that Trievel was at least 51 % at fault and therefore is precluded from recovery under the Delaware Comparative Negligence statute; second, that Sabo was not negligent in any manner that proximately caused the collision. On May 2, 1997, th
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