Mastriano v. Blyer9/14/2001
tomobile was Dionne's because he observed Dionne approach it, kick it, and call it a "piece of junk." Dionne walked over to a fence near a horseshoe pit, and Groder stated that he assumed Dionne was going to relieve himself. Groder heard other voices in the area and assumed Dionne would be safe. Groder then left the Elks Lodge to resume his work. Later that evening, Dionne died in a single-car accident while driving his automobile on the East Madison Road. At the time of the accident, Dionne's blood-alcohol content was .25. The record is silent as to what, if anything, Dionne may have had to drink after he left Groder's cab.
Mastriano sued BTS for negligence. BTS moved for a summary judgment arguing that Mastriano had not established that BTS breached any duty of care to Dionne. The Superior Court granted BTS's motion, finding that Mastriano had "failed to raise a genuine issue of material fact to dispute Defendants' statement that the place of discharge was reasonably safe and that the passenger/carrier relationship had ended." The court also declined to "extend the carrier's duty to include preventing Dionne from drinking and/or driving after safe discharge in a reasonably safe place." Mastriano then timely appealed.
II. LEGAL ANALYSIS
We review a summary judgment by examining the evidence "in the light most favorable to the non-prevailing party to determine whether the record supports the conclusion that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the prevailing party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Champagne v. Mid-Maine Med. Ctr., 1998 ME 87, 5, 711 A.2d 842, 844. If it is clear that BTS would prevail as a matter of law if Mastriano presented nothing more than what was before the court at the hearing on the motion for summary judgment, then the court was correct to enter the summary judgment. See id. 9, 711 A.2d at 845.
To survive BTS's motion for summary judgment, Mastriano must establish a prima facie case for each element of the cause of action that BTS challenges. See Corey v. Norman, Hanson & DeTroy, 1999 ME 196, 9, 742 A.2d 933, 938. A prima facie case of negligence requires a plaintiff to establish four elements: duty, breach, causation, and damages. We recently characterized these elements: "a duty owed, breach of that duty, and an injury to the plaintiff that is proximately caused by a breach of that duty." Stanton v. Univ. of Maine Sys., 2001 ME 96, 7, 773 A.2d 1045, 1049. See also McPherson v. McPherson, 1998 ME 141, 8, 712 A.2d 1043, 1045; Searles v. Trustees of St. Joseph's Coll., 1997 ME 128, 5, 6, 8, 695 A.2d 1206, 1209. "The existence of a duty is a question of law, which we review de novo." McPherson, 1998 ME 141, 8, 712 A.2d at 1045. See also Stanton, 2001 ME 96, 8, 773 A.2d at 1049.
A duty is "an obligation, to which the law will give recognition and effect, to conform to a particular manner of conduct toward another." Budzko v. One City Ctr. Assocs. Ltd. P'ship, 2001 ME 37, 10, 767 A.2d 310, 313 (quoting Quadrino v. Bar Harbor Banking & Trust Co., 588 A.2d 303, 304 (Me. 1991)). Generally, the duty at issue and its means of fulfillment can be readily identified, leaving only the question of breach for the factfinder. See Stanton, 2001 ME 96, 11, 773 A.2d at 1050. Thus, when we talk of duty, we often discuss one's obligation to: (1) operate a motor vehicle safely; (2) provide medical or legal services competently; (3) assure that floors are not slippery; (4) warn of foreseeable risks to persons present on one's property; or (5) otherwise conduct ourselves or our business in ways that do not cause injury to others. By contrast, the "duty" urged upon us here has no obvious mean
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