 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Miner v. Southwest School Corp.9/20/2001
FOR PUBLICATION
OPINION-FOR PUBLICATION
Appellant-plaintiff Kimberly Miner appeals the trial court's partial summary judgment entered in favor of appellees-defendants Southwest School Corporation and Jerry L. Miller. Specifically, she claims that she may sue Miller in his individual capacity because he acted wantonly and willfully and was acting within the scope of his employment-as Superintendent of Schools for the Southwest School Corporation-when he caused a motor-vehicle accident. Miner also maintains that she may bring a punitive damage claim against Miller and that the trial court improperly denied her motion for partial summary judgment on the issue of Miller's scope of employment.
FACTS
The facts most favorable to Miner are that on February 16, 1999, Miller worked as Superintendent of Schools for the Southwest School Corporation. At approximately 4:15 p.m. that day, Miller left the school and drove home. While at home Miller "had something to eat" and then left for West Terre Haute, thirty miles away, to watch a girls high school basketball game. Appellant's App. at 36. The game ended sometime after 8:00 p.m., whereupon Miller began his return trip home. En route to his home, Miller stopped at "Wendy's" and "grabbed a bite to eat." Appellant's App. at 37.
After leaving Wendy's, Miller drove south on U.S. 41 and eventually approached the intersection at Carlisle Road. According to Miller, he noticed that the stoplight at Carlisle Road had turned yellow before he entered the intersection. Having traveled through the intersection before, Miller believed that he could clear the intersection while the light was still yellow. Traveling between 50 and 60 miles per hour, Miller struck Miner's car broadside, which was turning west onto Carlisle Road from U.S. 41's northbound turning lane. The accident killed the passenger in Miner's car and seriously injured Miner. An accident reconstruction expert opined that, had Miller braked when the light turned yellow, Miller would have stopped eight feet before the point of impact with Miner's car.
At the time of the accident, Miller was driving a car that Southwest School Corporation provided him for both "business and personal use." Appellant's App. at 45. The Southwest School Corporation provided the car along with other standard employment perks in accordance with Miller's employment contract. The contract, however, does not specify what duties the Superintendent of Schools must carry out. Answering a deposition question concerning the extent of his duties, Miller responded that, as "the only central office administrator[,] I've got everything. I've got transportation, I've got maintenance, I've got food service, I've got budget, I've got just all the duties that are the responsibility of a superintendent of schools." Appellant's App. at 31.
On May 25, 1999, Miner filed a three count complaint against Southwest School Corporation, Miller individually, and Miller as Superintendent of Southwest School Corporation. The first count alleged that Miller acted wantonly and willfully in causing the accident. In the second count, Miner requested punitive damages, claiming that Miller "was aware of the risk to others and disregarded that risk." Appellant's App. at 14. In the third and final count, she posited that Miller, whom Southwest School Corporation employed as Superintendent of Schools, "may have been working in that capacity at the time" of the accident. Appellant's App. at 15. Miner pled in Count III, "if Jerry L. Miller was working in his capacity as an employee of Southwest School Corporation then said corporation would be responsible for the damages and injuries caused by" Mille
Page 1 2 3 4 5 Indiana Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|