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Cothran v. Brown9/10/2001
Appeal From Clarendon County Thomas W. Cooper, Jr., Circuit Court Judge
Heard December 14, 2000
REVERSED AND REMANDED
Ferrell Cothran, as personal representative of the estate of Douglas H. McFaddin, brought this action asserting wrongful death and survival claims against Alvin Brown after McFaddin was struck and killed by a vehicle driven by Brown. The circuit court granted Cothran partial summary judgment on liability based on the doctrine of judicial estoppel after Brown pled guilty to reckless homicide. We reverse and remand.
BACKGROUND
At approximately 8:45 p.m. on December 2, 1995, McFaddin parked his truck near a curve on the eastbound shoulder of Rainbow Lake Road facing westbound with the headlights on. Apparently, McFaddin, who was hunting in the area, had pulled over and exited his truck to call for his dogs.
At about the same time, Brown was traveling east on Rainbow Lake Road. According to Brown, as he approached the curve he noticed what appeared to be headlights in his lane of travel, so he veered off the road to the right to avoid a head-on collision. Brown's car struck both the truck and McFaddin, resulting in McFaddin's death. Brown failed several field sobriety tests and registered a .17 on a breathalyzer.
Brown was indicted for felony driving under the influence (DUI) and pled guilty to reckless homicide. Although Brown faced the possibility of a ten-year sentence, the circuit court sentenced him to six years imprisonment. S.C. Code Ann. ยง 56-5-2910 (Supp. 2000).
Six months later, McFaddin's wife brought a civil action asserting wrongful death and survival claims against Brown. The complaint was amended after Cothran was substituted as personal representative of McFaddin's estate. Brown answered and admitted his vehicle ran off the paved portion of the highway and struck McFaddin, causing his death. However, Brown asserted comparative negligence as a defense, arguing McFaddin, who had parked his truck on the wrong side of the roadway, facing traffic, at night, and with its headlights on, had created a hazard for approaching motorists such as Brown.
Cothran moved for summary judgment as to liability, arguing there was no genuine issue of material fact as to whether Brown's negligence alone proximately caused McFaddin's death.
The circuit court granted partial summary judgment to Cothran on liability, leaving damages to be determined by a jury. The circuit court found the doctrine of judicial estoppel precluded Brown from disputing that his recklessness was the proximate cause of McFaddin's death. The court found Brown's current position that McFaddin contributed to the accident was inconsistent with his position during the guilty plea proceeding. Specifically, the circuit court noted that during the guilty plea hearing, Brown admitted to drinking alcohol the night the accident occurred, to hitting McFaddin with his vehicle, and to being guilty of reckless driving. The court observed, "Defendant's lawyer at the taking of the plea indicated to the Court on behalf of the Defendant that [McFaddin] was not to blame whatsoever for this accident and that the bottom line cause of the accident was Brown's consumption of alcohol that evening. His plea reflects that he told the sentencing Court he accepted sole responsibility for the accident and was willing to take the consequences." The circuit court found the plea judge had accepted Brown's prior position because the court gave him a reduced sentence. Brown's efforts to assert his present position, the circuit court added, was an intentional attempt to mislead the court in order to gain an unfair advantage in the civil
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