Needs v. Lowry, Unpublished Decision (7-31-2000)
Needs v. Lowry, Unpublished Decision (7-31-2000)
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
Plaintiff James Needs appeals a summary judgment of the Court of Common Pleas of Stark County, Ohio, granted in favor of defendant Shawn Lowry on appellant's complaint for personal injury received in a pedestrian-car accident. Appellant assigns two errors to the trial court.I THE TRIAL COURT ABUSED ITS DISCRETION IN GRANTING APPELLEE LOWRY'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT WHEN REASONABLE MINDS COULD CLEARLY COME TO A CONCLUSION IN FAVOR OF APPELLANT JAMES NEEDS.II THE TRIAL COURT ABUSED ITS DISCRETION IN GRANTING APPELLEE LOWRY'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT WHEN THERE ARE CLEARLY MATERIAL FACTS IN DISPUTE.
The record indicates a vehicle driven by appellee struck appellant on 30th Street N.W., in the City of Canton, Stark County, Ohio. Appellant admitted he was not in a cross-walk. The accident occurred on January 15, 1997, at approximately 9:40 p.m. The parties agree it was raining. 30th Street N.W., in the area of the accident is a five-lane street, being two westbound lanes, two eastbound lanes, and a center lane to be used for vehicles turning either north or south. In his deposition, appellant testified he walked to Hollywood Video on 30th Street to rent a movie, and but did not find what he wanted. Subsequently, he left Hollywood Video and began to cross 30th Street to a grocery store on the south side of the street. Appellant testified he walked to the curb, looked to the right and the left. Appellant saw no cars. Appellant testified he was in a hurry, and did not stop once he began to cross the street. As he reached the middle of the road, he again looked right and left, where he immediately saw headlights and was struck. Appellant concedes there was a cross-walk a short distance away but instead he chose not to use it. Appellant testified he was wearing dark clothing, and had a dark hood pulled over his head against the rain. Appellee had also gone to Hollywood Video that night. Appellee testified he got into his Dodge Neon and turned eastbound out of the parking lot. Appellee pulled into the northern eastbound lane, that is, the inside lane closer to the turning lane, rather than the curb lane. Appellee testified he remembered seeing appellant standing in the middle turning lane, but as he approached, appellant darted out in front of his car, so quickly appellee was unable to apply his brakes or swerve. Appellee was going no faster than 35 miles per hour. Appellee's car had a manual transmission, and appellee testified he was in second gear at the time of the impact. Appellee also deposed when he exited Hollywood Video, he came to a complete stop just before the roadway and looked for on-coming traffic before he pulled out. Civ.R. 56 (C) states in pertinent part: Summary judgment shall be rendered forthwith if the pleading, depositions, answers to interrogatories, written admissions, affidavits, transcripts of evidence in the pending case, and written stipulations of fact, if any, timely filed in the action, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. No evidence or stipulation may be considered except as stated in this rule. A summary judgment shall not be rendered unless it appears from such evidence or stipulation and only therefrom, that reasonable minds can come to but one conclusion and that conclusion is adverse to the party against whom the motion for summary judgment is made, such party being entitled to have the evidence or stipulation construed most strongly in his favor. A summary judgment, interlocutory in character, may be rendered on the issue of liability alone although there is a genuine issue as to the amount of damages.
A trial court should not enter a summary judgment if it appears a material fact is genuinely disputed, nor if, construing the allegations most favorably towards the non-moving party, reasonable minds could draw different conclusions from the undisputed facts, Hounshell v. American States Insurance Company (1981),
For the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the Court of Common Pleas of Stark County, Ohio, is affirmed.
By Gwin, P.J., Edwards, J., and Reader, V.J., concur
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.