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Jones v. Schabron6/8/2005
d ripped through the passenger seats. Joshua Jones and the other six passengers were torn from the interior of the Jeep and thrown to their final resting positions along the roadside. Nicholas Schabron was found dead in the Jeep, in his seat, with his seatbelt on. Haskins was the only survivor. Nicholas Schabron did not have any alcohol in his system. Haskins' blood alcohol content (BAC) was 0.16.
[ ] On February 7, 2002, Haskins pleaded guilty to eight counts of aggravated vehicular homicide. He was sentenced to serve eight concurrent terms of 14 to 20 years. See State v. Haskins, Albany County Criminal Action No. 6738. Jones claimed that Nicholas Schabron was negligent because:
1. He should have acted and reacted differently to the imminent threat of a collision with Haskins.
2. He violated a heightened duty of care applicable to designated drivers.
3. He should not have had seven passengers in a vehicle designed for five passengers.
4. He did not have enough seatbelts for the number of passengers.
5. He did not require his passengers to wear seatbelts.
6. Failure to comply with W.S. § 31-5-202 which requires drivers to pass oncoming traffic on the right.
7. Failure to comply with W.S. § 31-5-301 which requires drivers to limit their speed to what is reasonable and prudent under the conditions and having regard to the actual and potential hazards then existing.
[ ] The district court granted Schabron's Motion for Summary Judgment. It held that Schabron did not have a duty to require adult passengers to wear seatbelts. It did not address whether Schabron had a heightened duty as a designated driver or if Schabron had a duty to only carry the number of passengers the vehicle design intended because Jones did not provide any authority to support these claims. The district court determined that the remaining claims were related to duties to use ordinary care and to maintain a proper lookout. It then determined that no genuine issues of material fact existed as to whether Schabron breached those duties.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
[ ] When we review a summary judgment, we have before us the same materials as did the district court, and we follow the same standards which applied to the proceedings below. The propriety of granting a motion for summary judgment depends upon the correctness of the dual findings that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the prevailing party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. A genuine issue of material fact exists when a disputed fact, if proven, would have the effect of establishing or refuting an essential element of an asserted cause of action or defense. We, of course, examine the record from a vantage point most favorable to that party who opposed the motion, affording to that party the benefit of all favorable inferences that fairly may be drawn from the record. If the evidence leads to conflicting interpretations or if reasonable minds might differ, summary judgment is improper. That standard of review is refined somewhat when applied to a negligence action. Summary judgment is not favored in a negligence action and is, therefore, subject to more exacting scrutiny. Woodward v. Cook Ford Sales, Inc., 927 P.2d 1168, 1169 (Wyo. 1996). We have, however, affirmed summary judgment in negligence cases where the record failed to establish the existence of a genuine issue of material fact. See Krier v. Safeway Stores 46, Inc., 943 P.2d 405 (Wyo. 1997) (failure to establish duty); Popejoy v. Steinle, 820 P.2d 545 (Wyo. 1991) (failure of proof of underlying claim of a joint venture); MacKrell v. Bell H2S Safety, 795 P.2d 776
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