Bolmer v. McKulsky

812 A.2d 869, 74 Conn. App. 499, 2003 Conn. App. LEXIS 9
CourtConnecticut Appellate Court
DecidedJanuary 14, 2003
DocketAC 22435
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 812 A.2d 869 (Bolmer v. McKulsky) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Connecticut Appellate Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bolmer v. McKulsky, 812 A.2d 869, 74 Conn. App. 499, 2003 Conn. App. LEXIS 9 (Colo. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

Opinion

BISHOP, J.

The plaintiff, Todd Bolmer, appeals from the judgment of the trial court, rendered after the jury’s verdict for the defendants, Christopher McKulsky, John McKulsky and Aetna Casualty and Surety Company, now Travelers Property and Casualty Company (Travelers),1 on a claim of negligence arising out of an automobile accident. The plaintiff claims that the court improperly (1) directed a verdict for the defendant on the plaintiffs claims of statutory and common-law recklessness, (2) excluded a portion of the deposition testimony of Abby Uszakiewicz, a passenger in the defendant’s vehicle, (3) accepted a jury verdict form that was unintelligible and confusing, and (4) denied the plaintiffs motion to set aside the verdict. The plaintiff also claims that the jury could not have reasonably and legally found that the defendant was not negligent.2 We affirm the judgment of the trial court.3

Count one of the complaint alleged negligence on the part of the defendant. Count two alleged that John McKulsky was the owner of the defendant’s vehicle and, hence, liable under the family car provision of [502]*502General Statutes § 52-182. Counts three and four alleged recklessness on the part of the defendant, statutory pursuant to General Statutes § 14-222 and under a common-law theory. Count five alleged liability on the part of Travelers as the provider of the defendant’s underin-sured motorists benefits.

The jury reasonably could have found the following facts. On June 18, 1997, the plaintiff was driving north along Route 188 in Oxford while the defendant, accompanied by three others, was driving south. At the location of the incident, Route 188 takes a very sharp turn. As the defendant approached the curve, there was a sign indicating that the speed limit was twenty miles per hour and an arrow showing the severity of the curve. Prior to the incident, rain had begun to fall lightly. The plaintiffs and the defendant’s vehicles collided while both vehicles were in the curved portion of the highway.

At the close of the plaintiffs case, the court directed a verdict for the defendant on the third and fourth counts of the complaint, i.e., the statutory and common-law recklessness claims. The jury returned a verdict for the defendant on the negligence count of the complaint, and for the other defendants on counts two and five. This appeal followed. Additional facts will be set forth as necessary.

I

The plaintiffs first claim is that the court improperly directed a verdict for the defendant on the third and fourth counts of the complaint, i.e., the common-law and statutory recklessness claims. We are not persuaded.

“A directed verdict is justified if, on the evidence the jury reasonably and legally could not have reached any other conclusion. ... In reviewing the trial court’s decision to direct a verdict in favor of a defendant we [503]*503must consider the evidence in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. . . . While it is the jury’s right to draw logical deductions and make reasonable inferences from the facts proven ... it may not resort to mere conjecture and speculation.” (Citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Gagne v. Vaccaro, 255 Conn. 390, 400, 766 A.2d 416 (2001).

The only evidence of causation the plaintiff offered during his case-in-chief was the testimony of Trooper Edward Anuszewski of the state police, who testified that the defendant, after the accident, informed him that he had been traveling on Route 188 at about thirty-five miles per hour, that his vehicle drifted over the center line of the road and collided with the plaintiffs vehicle. Anuszewski also testified that the road, at the site of the collision, took a sharp turn and that there was, on the defendant’s side of the road, a yellow sign with an arrow indicating the extent of the curve along with a twenty mile per hour posted speed limit. The plaintiff did not testily as to causation. He did not call the defendant to testify concerning the accident, nor did he offer any accident reconstruction testimony. Following the completion of the plaintiffs evidence, the court directed a verdict for the defendant on the recklessness claims.

To establish recklessness by the defendant, “the plaintiff must prove, on the part of the defendants, the existence of a state of consciousness with reference to the consequences of one’s acts .... [Such conduct] is more than negligence, more than gross negligence. . . . [I]n order to infer it, there must be something more than a failure to exercise a reasonable degree of watchfulness to avoid danger to others or to take reasonable precautions to avoid injury to them. ... It is such conduct as indicates a reckless disregard of the just rights or safety of others or of the consequences of the action. ... [In sum, such] conduct tends to take [504]*504on the aspect of highly unreasonable conduct, involving an extreme departure from ordinary care, in a situation where a high degree of danger is apparent.” (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Shay v. Rossi, 253 Conn. 134, 181, 749 A.2d 1147 (2000).

After considering the evidence in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, we agree that there was insufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to conclude that the defendant acted recklessly. The evidence presented by the plaintiff did not tend to show that the defendant took “reckless disregard of the just rights or safety of others or of the consequences of [his] action”; (internal quotation marks omitted) id.; or that the defendant had engaged in “highly unreasonable conduct, involving an extreme departure from ordinary care, in a situation where a high degree of danger is apparent.” (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Id. Therefore, the court properly ordered directed a verdict in the defendant’s favor on the recklessness claims.

II

The plaintiffs next claim is that the court improperly excluded from evidence a portion of the deposition testimony of Uszakiewicz pertaining to her receipt of funds from a representative of the defendant. We disagree.

“Trial courts have broad discretion in determining the relevancy and admissibility of evidence. ... In order to establish reversible error, the [plaintiff] must prove both an abuse of discretion and a harm that resulted from such abuse.” (Citations omitted.) Bovat v. Waterbury, 258 Conn. 574, 594, 783 A.2d 1001 (2001). We find no abuse of discretion in this case.

Uszakiewicz was a passenger in the defendant’s vehicle at the time of the accident and, according to her deposition, witnessed the plaintiffs vehicle partially [505]*505over the center line ol! the road moments before the collision. She was subpoenaed to testify at trial, but explained that she could not attend because her infant child was ill. Counsel for all parties agreed, as did the court, that her deposition, less any objectionable portions, would be used in substitution for her oral testimony.

The defendant objected to the introduction of a portion of Uszakiewicz’ deposition testimony regarding the receipt of funds from the defendant’s insurance carrier as being overly prejudicial.4

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Bluebook (online)
812 A.2d 869, 74 Conn. App. 499, 2003 Conn. App. LEXIS 9, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bolmer-v-mckulsky-connappct-2003.