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Keeton v. Telemedia Co. of S. Ohio11/4/1994
STEPHENSON, Judge.
This is an appeal from a judgment entered by the Common Pleas Court of Scioto County directing a verdict pursuant to Civ.R. 50 in favor of Telemedia Company of Southern Ohio, defendant below and appellee herein, on the claimsbrought against it by Charles Keeton I, plaintiff below and appellant herein.
The following error is assigned for our review:
"Where the plaintiff presents substantial competent evidence upon which reasonable minds may reach different conclusions regarding the liability of the defendant in a negligence action, it is within the province of the jury to determine whether the defendant was indeed liable for the failure to discharge a duty owed to the plaintiff."
The record reveals the following facts pertinent to this appeal. Appellant was hired by Century Cable Television during the summer of 1987 and was employed by that company as an installer. An installer was described as one who connects a line from a main feeder cable outside a home to the television set located therein so that cable TV signals can be received. On July 1, 1988, between 9:30 and 10 a.m., appellant climbed a pole located at the corner of Oak and Maple Streets in the Riggerish Addition in Sciotoville, Ohio, to facilitate such an installation from the cable strung at the top of said pole. While working, another cable strung at the top of the pole and owned by appellee came loose and struck him on the right side of the face and head, causing injury .
Appellant commenced the action below on April 7, 1992, alleging that appellee had negligently attached and secured its cable to the aforementioned pole and that such misfeasance had been the proximate cause of the cable breaking loose and striking him. Appellant further averred that he suffered numerous permanent injuries as a result of this incident, as well as great physical pain and emotional distress for which he was seeking compensatory damages. Appellee answered, denying all liability.
The matter was bifurcated and came on for jury trial on July 15, 1993, solely with respect to the issue of liability. At the conclusion of appellant's case in chief, appellee moved for a directed verdict. The lower court sustained thsmotion the following day and a judgment entry to that effect was filed. This appeal followed.
Our analysis begins by noting that a directed verdict may be granted by a trial court on the evidence pursuant to a properly made motion under Civ.R. 50(A). A motion for directed verdict requires the trial court to construe the evidence most strongly in the favor of the nonmoving party and the motion will not be granted unless reasonable minds could come to but one conclusion and that conclusion is adverse to the nonmoving party. See Clark v. Southview Hosp. & Family Health Ctr. (1994), 68 Ohio St.3d 435, 438, 628 N.E.2d 46, 48; Wise v. Timmons (1992), 64 Ohio St.3d 113, 116, 592 N.E.2d 840, 842; Hawkins v. Ivy (1977), 50 Ohio St.2d 114, 115, 4 O.O.3d 243, 243, 363 N.E.2d 367, 368. This requires that the trial court give the nonmoving party the benefit of all reasonable inferences that may be drawn from the evidence. See Broz v. Winland (1994), 68 Ohio St.3d 521, 526, 629 N.E.2d 395, 398. In ruling on a motion for directed verdict, the trial court must determine whether there exists any evidence of substantial and probative value to support the party's claim. See Hargrove vsTanner (1990), 66 Ohio App.3d 693, 695, 586 N.E.2d 141, 141; Fitzgerald v. Mayfield (1990), 66 Ohio App.3d 298, 306, 584 N.E.2d 13, 18. This is a question of law rather than a question of fact, Bentley v. Stewart (1992), 71 Ohio App.3d 510, 512, 594 N.E.2d 1061, 1062
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