Hofecker v. Casperson
Hofecker v. Casperson
Opinion of the Court
David Lloyd Hofecker (“plaintiff’) appeals the trial court order granting summary judgment in favor of Jonathan Cooper Casperson (“Jonathan”) and Gary Jay Casperson (“Gary”) (collectively, “defend
The facts and procedural history pertinent to the instant appeal are as follows: At approximately 6:56 p.m. on 1 November 2001, Jonathan was driving his vehicle at approximately forty miles per hour in the northbound lane of RP-1423 in Cary. At that time, plaintiff was walking home from work, in or to the right of the northbound lane of RP-1423. Plaintiff was walking with his back toward the traffic traveling north on RP-1423, and he was wearing his work uniform. The roadway was dark and unlighted, and medical records indicate that plaintiff had drugs as well as an elevated level of alcohol in his system. As Jonathan traveled along the roadway, he suddenly “caught a glimpse of’ plaintiff in the northbound lane. According to Jonathan, plaintiff “came out of nowhere, walked directly into the path of my car and was wearing dark clothing.” Jonathan’s vehicle struck plaintiff in the northbound lane of RP-1423, and the impact threw plaintiff into the median lane of the roadway. As a result of the accident, plaintiff suffered injuries to his head, legs, and spleen.
On 26 February 2003, plaintiff filed a complaint against defendants, alleging that Jonathan’s negligent operation of Gary’s vehicle caused plaintiff’s injuries. On 28 May 2003, defendants filed an answer denying plaintiff’s allegations and raising the affirmative defense of contributory negligence. Defendants alleged that plaintiff “was wearing non-reflective clothing, . . . was in a public street that was not a marked crosswalk, . . . [and] failed to use reasonable care to avoid the accident[.]” On 24 September 2003, defendants filed a motion for summary judgment, alleging that no material fact or issue remained as to “the lack of negligence on the part of defendants and the existence of contributory negligence on the part of plaintiff.” On 2 October 2003, plaintiff moved the trial court to deny defendants’ motion for summary judgment, and on 13 October 2003, plaintiff filed a reply to defendants’ answer. In his reply, plaintiff denied defendants’ allegations of contributory negligence and asserted that Jonathan had the last clear chance to avoid the accident. On 10 November 2003, the trial court issued an order denying defendants’ motion for summary judgment with regard to defendants’ negligence, but granting defendants’ motion for summary judgment with regard to plaintiff’s contributory negligence. The trial court made the following findings in its order:
1) That there is a genuine issue of material fact as to the negligence of Defendant Jonath[a]n Casperson;
*343 2) That there is no genuine issue as to any material fact as to Plaintiff David Lloyd Hofecker’s contributory negligence and Defendants are entitled to judgment as a matter of law; and
3) That Plaintiff has failed to produce sufficient evidence to support a claim of last clear chance and there is no genuine issue of material fact as to the doctrine of last clear chance as set forth in Plaintiffs Reply filed on October 13, 2003.
Plaintiff appeals.
The issue on appeal is whether the trial court erred by granting summary judgment in defendants’ favor. Because we conclude that defendants were entitled to judgment as a matter of law with respect to plaintiffs contributory negligence but were not entitled to judgment as a matter of law with respect to whether Jonathan had the last clear chance to avoid the accident, we affirm the trial court’s order in part and reverse it in part.
Plaintiff first argues that the trial court erred by concluding that no genuine issue of material fact remained with respect to his contributory negligence. Plaintiff asserts that the evidence is inconclusive as tó whether he was contributorily negligent with respect to the accident. We disagree.
“In ruling on a motion for summary judgment, the court does not resolve issues of fact and must deny the motion if there is a genuine issue as to any material fact.” Ragland v. Moore, 299 N.C. 360, 363, 261 S.E.2d 666, 668 (1980). The movant must demonstrate “that there is no triable issue of fact and that he is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Id. “In considering the motion, the trial judge holds the movant to a strict standard, and ‘all inferences.of fact from the proofs proffered at the hearing must be drawn against the movant and in favor of the party opposing the motion.’ ” Id. (quoting Caldwell v. Deese, 288 N.C. 375, 378, 218 S.E.2d 379, 381 (1975)). Summary judgment is rarely appropriate in a negligence case, “since the standard of reasonable care should ordinarily be applied by the jury under appropriate instructions from the court.” Ragland, 299 N.C. at 363, 261 S.E.2d at 668.
In the instant case, the uncontroverted evidence demonstrates that plaintiff was traveling by foot across or in the northbound lane of a roadway, while Jonathan was driving a vehicle in the northbound lane of the same roadway. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-174 (2003) provides the following pertinent duties in such a situation:
*344 (a) Every pedestrian crossing a roadway at any point other than within a marked crosswalk or within an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection shall yield the right-of-way to all vehicles upon the roadway.
(d) Where sidewalks are provided, it shall be unlawful for any pedestrian to walk along and upon an adjacent roadway. Where sidewalks are not provided, any pedestrian walking along and upon a highway shall, when practicable, walk only on the extreme left of the roadway or its shoulder facing traffic which may approach from the opposite direction. Such pedestrian shall yield the right-of-way to approaching traffic.
(e) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, every driver of a vehicle shall exercise due care to avoid colliding with any pedestrian upon any roadway, and shall give warning by sounding the horn when necessary, and shall exercise proper precaution upon observing any child or any confused or incapacitated person upon a roadway.
In light of this statute, this Court has held that “[a] pedestrian crossing the road at any point other than a marked crosswalk, or walking along or upon a highway, has a statutory duty to yield the right of way to all vehicles on the roadway.” Whitley v. Owens, 86 N.C. App. 180, 182, 356 S.E.2d 815, 817 (1987). Furthermore, “[s]uch a pedestrian also has a common law duty to exercise reasonable care for his own safety by keeping a proper lookout for approaching traffic before entering the road and while on the roadway.” Id. (citations omitted). However, “[fjailure to yield the right of way to traffic pursuant to G.S. Sec. 20-174 does not constitute negligence per se but is some evidence of negligence.” Id. at 183, 356 S.E.2d at 817 (citations omitted). Thus, “summary judgment may be properly entered against a plaintiff pedestrian only when ‘all the evidence so clearly establishes his failure to yield the right of way as one of the proximate causes of his injuries that no other reasonable conclusion is possible.’ ” Ragland, 299 N.C. at 369, 261 S.E.2d at 671 (quoting Blake v. Mallard, 262 N.C. 62, 65, 136 S.E.2d 214, 216 (1964)).
In the instant case, while the evidence is inconclusive as to whether plaintiff was crossing RP-1423 or merely walking upon it when struck, the uncontroverted evidence indicates that plaintiff was walking in the northbound lane of RP-1423, outside of a crosswalk
Plaintiff next argues that the trial court erred by concluding that no genuine issue of material fact remained regarding his claim that Jonathan had the last clear chance to avoid the accident. Plaintiff asserts that he presented sufficient evidence to withstand defendants’ motion for summary judgment on this issue. We agree.
Our Supreme Court has held that “an injured pedestrian found to be contributorily negligent must establish four elements in order to invoke the doctrine of last clear chance against the driver of the motor vehicle which struck and injured him.” Watson v. White, 309 N.C. 498, 504, 308 S.E.2d 268, 272 (1983). These elements are:
“(1) That the pedestrian negligently placed himself in a position of peril from which he could not escape by the exercise of reasonable care; (2) that the motorist knew, or by the exercise of*346 reasonable care could have discovered, the pedestrian’s perilous position and his incapacity to escape' from it before the endangered pedestrian suffered injury at his hands; (3) that the motorist had the time and means to avoid injury to the endangered pedestrian by the exercise of reasonable care after he discovered, or should have discovered, the pedestrian’s perilous position and his incapacity to escape from it; and (4) that the motorist negligently failed to use the available time and means to avoid injury to the endangered pedestrian, and for that reason struck and injured him.”
Id. (quoting Clodfelter v. Carroll, 261 N.C. 630, 634-35, 135 S.E.2d 636, 639 (1964)).
In White, the Court concluded that where, as here, a pedestrian plaintiff “never saw defendants’ vehicle and therefore could not reasonably have been expected to act to avoid injury[,]” the first element of the last clear chance doctrine is satisfied. 309 N.C. at 505, 308 S.E.2d at 272. Furthermore, the Court noted that “ ‘a motorist upon the highway does owe a duty to all other persons using the highway, including its shoulders, to maintain a lookout in the direction in which the motorist is traveling.’ ” Id. at 505, 308 S.E.2d at 273 (quoting Exum v. Boyles, 272 N.C. 567, 576, 158 S.E.2d 845, 852 (1968)). Thus, where, as here, the defendant sees only a glimpse of the plaintiff prior to impact but does not sound his horn, apply his brakes, or take other evasive action to avoid the accident, “it is reasonable to conclude that [the] defendant owed a duty to the plaintiff to maintain a proper lookout; that [the] defendant was originally negligent in failing to keep a proper lookout; and that although not knowing of [the] plaintiff’s peril, [the] defendant, by the exercise of reasonable care, could have discovered [the] plaintiff’s perilous position.” White, 309 N.C. at 505, 308 S.E.2d at 273. Therefore, we conclude that the evidence in the instant case satisfies the first two elements of the last clear chance doctrine. However, because we conclude that there is a genuine issue regarding whether the third and fourth elements of the last clear chance doctrine were satisfied, we reverse the trial court’s order granting summary judgment in defendants’ favor.
While it is clear that Jonathan had neither the time nor the means to avoid injuring plaintiff when he first discovered plaintiff’s position of peril, the evidence is in dispute as to whether Jonathan should have discovered plaintiff’s position of peril earlier. The doctrine of last clear chance “contemplates a last ‘clear’ chance, not a
In light of the foregoing conclusions, we affirm in part and reverse in part the order of the trial court granting summary judgment in favor of defendants.
Affirmed in part; reversed in part.
Concurring in Part
concurring in part and dissenting in part.
I concur with the majority’s holding to affirm the trial court’s Order on the issue of contributory negligence. I disagree with the majority’s reversal of the trial court’s Order on the issue of last clear
I. Last Clear Chance
Summary judgment on the issue of last clear chance is properly granted for the defendant if the plaintiff fails to forecast evidence to show:
(1) That the pedestrian negligently placed himself in a position of peril from which he could not escape by the exercise of reasonable care; (2) that the motorist knew, or by the exercise of reasonable care could have discovered, the pedestrian’s perilous position and his incapacity to escape from it before the endangered pedestrian suffered injury at his hands; (3) that the motorist had the time and means to avoid injury to the endangered pedestrian by the exercise of reasonable care after he discovered, or should have discovered, the pedestrian’s perilous position and his incapacity to escape from it; and (4) that the motorist negligently failed to use the available time and means to avoid injury to the endangered pedestrian, and for that reason struck and injured him.
Vancamp v. Burgner, 328 N.C. 495, 498, 402 S.E.2d 375, 376-77 (1991) (citing Clodfelter v. Carroll, 261 N.C. 630, 634-35, 135 S.E.2d 636, 638-39 (1964) (quoting Wade v. Jones Sausage Co., 239 N.C. 524, 525, 80 S.E.2d 150, 151 (1954))), reh’g denied, 329 N.C. 277, 407 S.E.2d 854 (1991).
“The doctrine of last clear chance imposes liability upon a defendant who did not actually know of the plaintiff’s situation if, but only if, the defendant owed a duty to the plaintiff to maintain a lookout and would have discovered his situation had such a lookout been maintained.” Grogan v. Miller Brewing Co. Inc., 72 N.C. App. 620, 623, 325 S.E.2d 9, 11 (citing Exum v. Boyles, 272 N.C. 567, 575-76, 158 S.E.2d 845, 852 (1968); Sink v. Sumrell, 41 N.C. App. 242, 248, 254 S.E.2d 665, 670 (1979)) (emphasis supplied), disc. rev. denied, 313 N.C. 600, 330 S.E.2d 609 (1985). Further, “the doctrine contemplates a last ‘clear’ chance, not a last ‘possible’ chance, to avoid the injury; it must have been such as would have enabled a reasonably prudent man in like position to have acted effectively.” Culler v. Hamlett, 148 N.C. App. 372, 379, 559 S.E.2d 195, 200 (2002) (citing Grant v. Greene, 11 N.C. App. 537, 541, 181 S.E.2d 770, 772 (1971); accord, Battle v. Chavis, 266 N.C. 778, 781, 147 S.E.2d 387, 390 (1966)).
The accident occurred in the evening, on a dark and unlighted roadway. Plaintiff was walking with his back toward the traffic, wearing a dark non-reflective work uniform. Defendants admitted Jonathan “caught a glimpse of’ plaintiff in the northbound lane and immediately applied his vehicle’s brakes. Plaintiff failed to forecast any evidence to show that Jonathan: (1) was driving at a “greatly excessive rate of speed,” Trantham v. Estate of Sorrells, 121 N.C. App. 611, 615, 468 S.E.2d 401, 404, disc. rev. denied, 343 N.C. 311, 471 S.E.2d 82 (1996); (2) “had a view of 1,200 to 1,500 feet [or any other significant distance] before the collision,” Carter v. Poole, 66 N.C. App. 143, 146, 310 S.E.2d 617, 619, disc. rev. denied, 310 N.C. 624, 315 S.E.2d 689 (1984); (3) “could have moved either to the left or right had he seen” plaintiff and avoided the accident, Williams v. Spell, 51 N.C. App. 134, 136, 275 S.E.2d 282, 284 (1981); (4) was preoccupied or distracted prior to the accident; or (5) failed to abide by the rules of the road or traveled in the wrong lane of traffic.
Plaintiff’s allegation that Jonathan had the last clear chance to avoid the accident rests solely on the fact that Jonathan’s vehicle struck plaintiff while plaintiff was located somewhere in the roadway. This allegation, standing alone, without a forecast of evidence to show Jonathan failed to maintain a proper lookout or that he could have avoided the accident, is insufficient to withstand a motion for summary judgment.
Further, plaintiff could not recall his location in the road immediately prior to the accident. The majority states, “the uncontroverted evidence demonstrates that plaintiff was traveling by foot across or in the northbound lane of a roadway, while Jonathan was driving a vehicle in the northbound lane of the same roadway.” Even if plaintiff was located in the roadway prior to the accident, this “fact” is not determinative of whether Jonathan should have discovered plaintiff.
Plaintiff failed to forecast any evidence to show Jonathan was speeding, not paying attention, failed to maintain a proper lookout, or would have reasonably discovered plaintiff’s perilous position.
II. Conclusion
I concur with the majority opinion’s ruling to affirm the trial court’s Order on contributory negligence. I would also affirm the trial court’s Order granting summary judgment for defendants on the issue of last clear chance. I respectfully dissent.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.