Hamilton v. Miller
Hamilton v. Miller
Opinion of the Court
This case is before the Court on Writ of Certiorari to the Court of Appeals.
I. FACTS
Petitioners in this case, Caroline A. and George C. Hamilton (Hamiltons), brought this action against Tiffany Layne Miller (Miller), Mary Ann Smith (Smith), and Nationwide Insurance Company (Nationwide) for personal injuries and loss of consortium resulting from an accident involving a car driven by Miller and owned by Smith. Jim Wills was the owner of a Nationwide insurance agency. Smith was the
The Hamiltons alleged that Miller was an agent or employee of Nationwide who was acting within the scope of her employment at the time of the accident. The trial court granted Nationwide’s motion for summary judgment on the grounds that Miller was engaged in a personal errand for Smith, not acting within the scope of her employment at the time of the accident, and that Nationwide’s business was neither furthered nor facilitated by Miller’s trip. The Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court’s decision holding that under the facts of this case, the employer is not liable for the acts of the employee when the employee is attending to a personal matter. The Court of Appeals further held that Nationwide’s business was not furthered by Miller’s personal errand for Smith and that there was no evidence creating a genuine issue of fact. We granted a writ of certiorari to address whether a genuine issue of fact exists as to whether Miller was acting within the scope of her employment and in furtherance of her employer’s business when the accident occurred.
II. DISCUSSION
To obtain summary judgment, the moving party must show that no genuine issue exists as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law. Rule 56(c), SCRCP. In determining whether any triable issues of fact exist, all inferences from the facts in the record must be viewed in the light most favorable to the party opposing the summary judgment motion. Manning, et al. v. Quinn, 294 S. C. 383, 365 S. E. (2d) 24 (1988). Even where there is no dispute as to the evidentiary facts, but only as to the conclusions or inferences to be drawn from them, summary judgment should not be granted. Jamison v. Howard, 271 S. C. 385, 247 S. E. (2d) 450 (1978).
Additionally, both courts relied on 7A Am. Jur. (2d) Automobiles and Highway Traffic § 692 (1980) for the general proposition that where an employee’s use of a vehicle to assist a fellow employee does not further the employer’s business, the driver is not acting within the scope of his employment even though the employee assisted was authorized to direct the driver’s work. Although we agree with this statement of the rule, it does not support the court’s granting of Nationwide’s motion for summary judgment because it does not answer the question ¿s to whether Miller's trip to pick up Smith’s son furthered Nationwide’s business. Because a genuine issue of fact exists as to this
Reversed and remanded.
The Court of Appeals' opinion can be found in Hamilton v. Miller, 296 S. C. 172, 371 S. E. (2d) 1 (Ct. App. 1988).
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting:
I respectfully dissent. Because I agree with the Court of Appeals’ decision, I would dismiss the writ as improvidently granted.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Caroline A. HAMILTON and George C. Hamilton, Petitioners v. Tiffany Layne MILLER, Mary Ann Smith and Nationwide Insurance Company, a Corporation, Respondents
- Cited By
- 18 cases
- Status
- Published