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Pryor v. Hoskins9/11/2002
FOR PUBLICATION
OPINION - FOR PUBLICATION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Ronald L. Pryor, Sharon R. Pryor, and Gaylon Ward (collectively, "the truckers") appeal the jury verdict for Berdie Hoskins in her personal injury action against them.
We reverse and remand for a new trial.
ISSUES
1. Whether the trial court erred in denying the truckers' peremptory challenge of a juror.
2. Whether the trial court erred in instructing the jury about comparative fault and giving the jury only two verdict forms (rather than three).
3. Whether the trial court erred in its instruction to the jury about the statutory requirement for equipment on a trailer having a gross weight greater than 3,000 pounds.
4. Whether the trial court erroneously denied the truckers' motion for judgment on the evidence made at the close of trial.
FACTS
In the early morning hours of February 25, 1998, Berdie Hoskins - a 46-year-old African-American woman - traveled from her home in Indianapolis to meet her sister in Muncie. When she reached Muncie, the night had become particularly foggy. Hoskins collided with the back of a tractor-trailer that was parked along a residential street, which is also known as State Road 32. Hoskins brought this action against the driver, Ward, who she alleged had negligently parked the tractor-trailer, and his employers and owners of the trailer, the Pryors for allowing Ward to park so as to create a hazardous condition. Hoskins also alleged that Ward and the Pryors had been negligent in not maintaining the appropriate visible reflectors on the trailer.
At trial, Hoskins testified that when she began to enter Muncie, the fog was very bad; she slowed her speed to about 27 m.p.h. and tried to follow the center line of the road; she did not see the trailer and had no memory of striking it. There was no evidence of skid marks or that Hoskins tried to stop or avoid the trailer before striking it. The collision occurred around 3:00 a.m.
Janet Easterly and David Stover lived two doors south of Ward's house, in front of which he had parked his tractor-trailer. They heard the collision and testified about what they saw that night. Easterly testified that the streetlight next to the trailer created a shadow at the back of the trailer, the back of the trailer was "very dirty," and the taillights were "so dirty" they could not be seen. (Tr. 158). Easterly also testified that she drove toward the truck later that morning, while it was still dark, and she observed that her "own headlights did not reflect on the back of the truck" and the taillights were "not . . . readily visible." (Tr. 163, 165). Stover had gone into the street to check on Hoskins after the collision. Stover testified that he had observed how the back of the trailer "was dirty," and how the lights on the back of the truck were "dirty also." (Tr. 201). Stover further testified that the streetlight beside the trailer failed to illuminate the back of the trailer. When shown a picture of the left side of the back of the trailer, wherein there was no reflector, Stover testified that he had seen no evidence of a broken reflector on the street that night. When asked on direct examination what he could see from a distance behind the trailer, Stover testified that the back of the trailer "was dirty," and that because of where the trailer was parked, if he was from out of town and "coming down that highway, wouldn't have seen the truck. Not in time." (Tr. 209).
Ward's testimony about whether there was fog when he parked the trailer about 1:00 a.m. on February 25th was equivocal; essentially, he
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