Barrow v. Sargent

CourtCourt of Appeals of North Carolina
DecidedJuly 6, 2021
Docket20-497
StatusPublished

This text of Barrow v. Sargent (Barrow v. Sargent) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Barrow v. Sargent, (N.C. Ct. App. 2021).

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF NORTH CAROLINA

2021-NCCOA-295 No. COA20-497

Filed 6 July 2021

Mecklenburg County, No. 19-CVS-3344

CHRISTOPHER BARROW, Plaintiff,

v.

DAVID SARGENT, Defendant.

Appeal by Plaintiff from judgment entered 2 March 2020 by Judge Martin B.

McGee in Mecklenburg County Superior Court. Heard in the Court of Appeals

28 April 2021.

Johnson & Groninger, PLLC, by Ann Groninger and Helen S. Baddour, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Robinson Elliot & Smith, by William C. Robinson and Dorothy M. Gooding, for Defendant-Appellee.

COLLINS, Judge.

¶1 Plaintiff Christopher Barrow appeals from a judgment entered upon a jury’s

verdict finding that Plaintiff was not injured by the negligence of Defendant. Plaintiff

argues that the trial court erred by declining to give either of two alternative proposed

jury instructions and by requiring Plaintiff to introduce additional portions of

Defendant’s deposition at trial for completeness under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1A-1,

Rule 32(a)(5). The trial court did not err in declining Plaintiff’s first proposed special BARROW V. SARGENT

2021-NCCOA-295

Opinion of the Court

instruction because it was not a correct statement of law, and did not err in declining

his alternative proposed instruction because it was not supported by the evidence.

The trial court did not abuse its discretion in requiring the reading of the portions of

Defendant’s deposition requested by Defendant.

I. Procedural History and Factual Background

¶2 This case arises from a collision between a car driven by Defendant and a

bicycle ridden by Plaintiff in the crosswalk across Meta Road adjacent to the

intersection of Meta Road and Jetton Road in Cornelius. The particular facts relevant

to the issues on appeal are as follows: A sidewalk runs alongside Jetton Road and

crosses Meta Road in a marked crosswalk (the “crosswalk”). Drivers traveling toward

Jetton Road on Meta Road approaching the intersection are presented with a stop

sign before the crosswalk.

¶3 On 22 December 2016, Plaintiff was bicycling with a friend on the sidewalk

along Jetton Road. At around 4 p.m., Defendant was driving on Meta Road towards

the intersection, planning to make a right turn onto Jetton Road. In his deposition,

Defendant testified that as he “approached the intersection, [he] saw that there was

no one, no pedestrians that [he] could see in [his] clear view” and he shifted his

attention left to look for oncoming traffic. Similarly, Defendant told a responding

officer that while he was pulling up to the stop sign, he looked in both directions

“while he was also braking into it and didn’t see anything” and “then at some point, BARROW V. SARGENT

he was looking left with the traffic.” Defendant testified that he came to a complete

stop at the stop sign. Plaintiff testified that it “looked like [Defendant] was coming

to a stop” but could not “say if he did a rolling stop or a full stop.”

¶4 Plaintiff approached the crosswalk on the sidewalk from Defendant’s right.

Plaintiff entered the crosswalk, and the front bumper of Defendant’s car collided with

Plaintiff and his bicycle in the crosswalk. Plaintiff went to urgent care and was

treated for injuries.

¶5 Plaintiff filed this negligence action against Defendant and Janet Sargent on

19 February 2019. Before trial, Plaintiff voluntarily dismissed certain claims and

dismissed Janet Sargent as a party. At trial, Plaintiff read various portions of

Defendant’s deposition to the jury. Over Plaintiff’s objection, the trial court required

Plaintiff to read additional portions of the deposition to the jury for completeness

under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1A-1, Rule 32(a)(5).

¶6 At the charge conference, Plaintiff requested the trial court give either a

special instruction explaining a “[m]otorists[’] duty toward a lawful crosswalk user”

or an instruction stating the definition of a highway and that “a sidewalk is a part of

the highway.” The trial court declined to give either instruction. Following the jury

instructions given, Plaintiff renewed his request for an instruction on the definition

of a highway, which the trial court again rejected.

¶7 After deliberations, the jury returned a verdict that Plaintiff was not injured BARROW V. SARGENT

by the negligence of Defendant. The trial court entered judgment upon the jury’s

verdict, and Plaintiff gave timely notice of appeal.

II. Discussion

A. Plaintiff’s Proposed Jury Instructions

¶8 Plaintiff argues that the trial court erred by declining to give either of his

proposed jury instructions.

To prevail on this issue, [P]laintiff must demonstrate that (1) the requested instruction was a correct statement of law and (2) was supported by the evidence, and that (3) the instruction given, considered in its entirety, failed to encompass the substance of the law requested and (4) such failure likely misled the jury.

Liborio v. King, 150 N.C. App. 531, 534, 564 S.E.2d 272, 274 (2002). To be supported

by the evidence, a proposed instruction “must be based on evidence, which when

viewed in the light most favorable to the proponent, will support a reasonable

inference of each essential element of the claim or defense asserted.” Anderson v.

Austin, 115 N.C. App. 134, 136, 443 S.E.2d 737, 739 (1994).

¶9 Plaintiff first argues that the trial court erred by failing to instruct the jury

according to his first proposed special instruction that “[w]hen a lawful crosswalk

user is crossing a roadway within a marked crosswalk, the operator of any vehicle

must yield the right of way to the lawful crosswalk user.” Plaintiff contends that,

under North Carolina law, “a motorist has a duty to yield to a person in [the] BARROW V. SARGENT

crosswalk, regardless of whether the person is on foot, riding a bicycle, scooter or

skate board, or is in a wheelchair, as long as the person is lawfully (ie. not prohibited

from) using the crosswalk.”

¶ 10 Whether Plaintiff’s first proposed special instruction accurately states the law

is a question of statutory interpretation reviewed de novo on appeal. See Swauger v.

Univ. of N.C. at Charlotte, 259 N.C. App. 727, 728, 817 S.E.2d 434, 435 (2018) (“Issues

of statutory interpretation are also subject to de novo review.”). “The primary

objective of statutory interpretation is to ascertain and effectuate the intent of the

legislature.” Lunsford v. Mills, 367 N.C. 618, 623, 766 S.E.2d 297, 301 (2014) (citation

omitted). “If the language of the statute is clear and is not ambiguous, we must

conclude that the legislature intended the statute to be implemented according to the

plain meaning of its terms.” Id. (citation omitted).

¶ 11 The language of the statutory provisions governing this question is not

ambiguous, and the plain meaning of those provisions does not support Plaintiff’s

first proposed special instruction. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-155 provides, in pertinent

part:

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Related

White v. White
324 S.E.2d 829 (Supreme Court of North Carolina, 1985)
Liborio v. King
564 S.E.2d 272 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 2002)
Toone v. Adams
137 S.E.2d 132 (Supreme Court of North Carolina, 1964)
Perkins v. Arkansas Trucking Services, Inc.
528 S.E.2d 902 (Supreme Court of North Carolina, 2000)
Gray v. Allen
677 S.E.2d 862 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 2009)
Barnes v. Horney
101 S.E.2d 315 (Supreme Court of North Carolina, 1958)
Sink v. Sumrell
254 S.E.2d 665 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 1979)
Anderson v. Austin
443 S.E.2d 737 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 1994)
State v. Scoggin
72 S.E.2d 54 (Supreme Court of North Carolina, 1952)
Dickson v. Rucho, 366 NC 332
737 S.E.2d 362 (Supreme Court of North Carolina, 2013)
Lunsford v. Mills
766 S.E.2d 297 (Supreme Court of North Carolina, 2014)
State v. Perry
53 S.E.2d 288 (Supreme Court of North Carolina, 1949)
Holmes v. Blue Bird Cab, Inc.
43 S.E.2d 71 (Supreme Court of North Carolina, 1947)
Lewis v. . Watson
47 S.E.2d 484 (Supreme Court of North Carolina, 1948)
Swauger v. Univ. of N.C. at Charlotte
817 S.E.2d 434 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 2018)

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Barrow v. Sargent, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/barrow-v-sargent-ncctapp-2021.