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Wareing v. Falk2/9/1995
TOCI, Judge
This appeal presents one issue: under Arizona's Uniform Contribution Among Tortfeasors Act ("UCATA"), may a defendant who has engaged in wilful or wanton misconduct receive the benefit of comparative fault principles, thus reducing the negligent claimant's recovery?
We hold that because wilful or wanton misconduct is a degree of negligence in Arizona, and because the UCATA defines fault as "negligence in all of its degrees," the UCATA permits apportionment of fault between a negligent claimant and a wilful or wanton defendant. Accordingly, we reverse and remand to the trial court with directions to reduce the judgment by the percentage of fault attributable to appellee Gary Falk.
I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Sharon Kereny-Falk sued both Falk, the driver of a vehicle in which Kereny-Falk was a passenger, and Andrew Wareing, the driver of a second vehicle, for damages caused on February 25, 1990, when their vehicles collided. Falk and Wareing each filed cross-claims for damages. The case was subject to compulsory arbitration. The arbitrator awarded damages to Kereny-Falk, finding Falk 35 percent at fault and Wareing 65 percent at fault. In ruling on the cross-claims, the arbitrator held that Wareing was liable for 100 percent of Falk's damages and that Falk was not liable for any of Wareing's damages. The arbitrator reached this Conclusion because he found that Wareing's conduct was "wilful and wanton." The arbitrator concluded that Arizona law barred the application of comparative negligence principles to such conduct on either of the cross-claims.
Wareing appealed the arbitrator's ruling on Falk's cross-claim to the superior court. The parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment on stipulated facts as found by the arbitrator. Specifically, the parties stipulated that: (1) both drivers were negligent; (2) Falk was 35 percent at fault and Wareing was 65 percent at fault; and (3) Falk was negligent in making an improper lane change, while Wareing's conduct constituted wilful or wanton misconduct because he was driving at a high rate of speed while legally intoxicated. The only issue before the trial court was whether the ordinary negligence of Falk could be compared with the wilful or wanton misconduct of Wareing in determining Falk's recovery.
The trial court agreed with the arbitrator that, as a matter of law, Falk's ordinary negligence could not be compared with Wareing's wilful or wanton misconduct in determining Wareing's liability to Falk. Accordingly, the trial court entered judgment requiring Wareing to pay the full amount of Falk's damages. Wareing appeals.
II. STANDARD OF REVIEW
The trial court's decision turned on its interpretation of Arizona's comparative negligence statutes. Statutory interpretation is an issue of law, and this court is not bound by the trial court's legal Conclusions. Blum v. State, 171 Ariz. 201, 204, 829 P.2d 1247, 1250 (App. 1992); Walls v. Arizona Dep't of Pub. Safety, 170 Ariz. 591, 594, 826 P.2d 1217, 1220 (App. 1991). Thus, we consider the issue anew. Do v. Farmers Ins. Co., 171 Ariz. 113, 115, 828 P.2d 1254, 1256 (App. 1991).
III. DISCUSSION
A. The UCATA and the Common Law
Prior to the UCATA, Arizona followed the common law in negligence actions. Under the common law doctrine of contributory negligence, if a plaintiff's own negligence, however slight, contributed to the plaintiff's injuries, the plaintiff could be barred from recovering any damages from a defendant whose negligence pri
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