Byrd v. Smith

904 N.E.2d 962, 151 Ohio Misc. 2d 1
CourtClermont County Court of Common Pleas
DecidedJuly 24, 2007
DocketNo. 2000 CVC 0891
StatusPublished

This text of 904 N.E.2d 962 (Byrd v. Smith) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Clermont County Court of Common Pleas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Byrd v. Smith, 904 N.E.2d 962, 151 Ohio Misc. 2d 1 (Ohio Super. Ct. 2007).

Opinion

Haddad, Judge.

{¶ 1} This matter came before the court on June 27, 2007, pursuant to a motion for summary judgment filed by the defendant Continental Casualty Company. The claims against the defendants Glenn Smith and Marsha Abbott were dismissed with prejudice on March 18, 2002. The court granted the defendant John R. Jurgensen Company’s motion for summary judgment on January 20, 2004, thus removing John R. Jurgensen Company from the case. The Plumbers, Pipe Fitters and Mechanical Service Local Union Local No. 392 Health and Welfare Fund joined the action as party plaintiff on October 27, 2000, and the Plumbers, Pipe Fitters and Mechanical Service Local Union Local No. 392 Pension Fund was dismissed as a defendant on May 8, 2001. The defendant Medical Mutual of Ohio is currently a party to the action; however, nothing has been filed by or against Medical Mutual since the original complaint, filed on October 6, 2000. The parties have briefed their positions, and upon hearing oral arguments, the court took the matter under advisement and now renders the following decision.

FINDINGS OF FACT

{¶ 2} This case arises from injuries allegedly sustained by the plaintiff Bryan Byrd as a result of an automobile collision with the defendant Glenn Smith. The collision occurred on August 3, 2000, when the pick-up truck operated by Smith went left of center and collided with the van operated by the plaintiff. The van that the plaintiff was operating was being leased by the plaintiffs employer, Fred [5]*5B. DeBra Co. (“DeBra”). The van was insured by a commercial automobile policy issued by the defendant Continental Casualty Company (“Continental”), to DeBra’s parent company, Emcor Group, Inc. (“Emcor”). The plaintiffs have settled their claims against the tortfeasor and are now seeking uninsured-/underinsured-motorist (“UM/UIM”) coverage under the Continental policy.

{¶ 3} The plaintiff testified in his May 25, 2001 deposition (“Byrd I”) and in his February 6, 2007 deposition (“Byrd III”) that he was traveling home from his father-in-law’s house at the time the collision occurred. Byrd testified that he had left work earlier in the day and stopped in Williamsburg, Ohio, to pick up an automobile part for his brother-in-law’s car. Id. He proceeded to Bethel, Ohio, where he dropped the part off at his father-in-law’s house. Id. Byrd was employed in the heating and air industry and had been installing commercial heating and air units, hanging duct work, and doing electrical work on the date the collision occurred.

{¶ 4} Byrd was deposed again on September 9, 2002 (“Byrd II”), but the deposition was limited primarily to the injuries that Byrd sustained as a result of the collision. There was also some discussion about how the collision occurred.

{¶ 5} Continental filed a motion for summary judgment on January 26, 2004. Continental argued that Byrd was not in the course and scope of employment at the time the collision occurred. The motion was supported by the depositions of Byrd. Byrd then filed a motion for summary judgment on the issue of coverage on February 3, 2004. The motion was supported by the affidavit of Byrd. Byrd asserted in the affidavit that he wore a pager during his employment with DeBra and would receive and respond to pages during and outside “normal” working hours. He also asserted that he drove a vehicle with a sign painted on the side stating that DeBra was available for 24-hour service. Byrd stated that he was “working and advertising for The Fred DeBra Company” whenever he was driving a company vehicle with such signage.

{¶ 6} The court granted Continental’s motion for summary judgment and found that Byrd was not within the course and scope of employment at the time the collision occurred. This finding was based upon the fact that Byrd admitted in his depositions that he was traveling home from his father-in-law’s house at the time the collision occurred. The trial court, in its decision, did not mention whether it had considered the plaintiffs affidavit. Byrd appealed the decision, and the Twelfth District Court of Appeals affirmed.

{¶ 7} The Ohio Supreme Court was then presented with a certified question as to “whether it is proper for courts to disregard an affidavit inconsistent with or contradictory to prior deposition testimony when ruling on a motion for summary judgment.” The Supreme Court held that a supplemental affidavit must be considered by a trial court when ruling on a motion for summary judgment. It [6]*6further found that a contradictory affidavit made by the nonmoving party must also be considered by a trial court when ruling on a motion for summary judgment, but only if the nonmoving party sufficiently explains the contradiction. However, the Supreme Court held that a contradictory affidavit made by the moving party will preclude summary judgment in favor of the moving party. Pursuant to its holding, the Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the Twelfth District Court of Appeals and remanded the matter to the trial court for a determination as to whether Byrd’s affidavit was contradictory or supplemental to the earlier sworn testimony. Upon remand, the trial court found that Byrd’s affidavit was supplemental to his earlier depositions and denied Continental’s motion for summary judgment.

{¶ 8} This case was originally filed under the authority of the Supreme Court’s holding in Scott-Pontzer v. Liberty Mut. Fire Ins. Co. (1999), 85 Ohio St.3d 660, 710 N.E.2d 1116. However, the Supreme Court narrowed this holding during the course of this case in Westfield Ins. Co. v. Galatis (2003), 100 Ohio St.3d 216, 2003-Ohio-5849, 797 N.E.2d 1256. The Supreme Court held that an insurance policy naming a corporation as an insured for UM/UIM purposes covers a loss sustained by an employee of the corporation only if the loss occurred within the course and scope of employment. Id. The defendants had not deposed Byrd on the issue of course and scope of employment prior to their first motion for summary judgment because this was not an issue under Scott-Pontzer. Course and scope of employment did not become an issue until November 2003, when the Supreme Court ruled on Galatis.

{¶ 9} Byrd’s third deposition was taken on February 6, 2007 (“Byrd III”), and Byrd testified for the first time on the issue of course and scope of employment. Byrd testified that at the time of this accident, he was a third-year apprentice in the field of mechanical-equipment service. Byrd testified that his standard work hours were from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and that he rarely received overtime pay. Byrd testified that he would get up in the mornings and take the DeBra van directly to the job site. He would call in to the shop at the end of each day to see which job site he was to report to the next morning. However, Byrd stated that he had been working at the same job site (America Showa in Blanchester) for ten to 12 months prior to and including the date of the collision. He worked eight-hour days while at the America Showa site.

{¶ 10} Byrd testified that he was given unfettered use of the company van while working for DeBra. There were no stipulations or restrictions on the use of the van. He also testified that he carried a pager so that someone from the company could notify him if there was a schedule change or a change in job location. Byrd testified that as an apprentice, he never experienced a situation where he got a page in the middle of the night and had to report to a job site [7]*7immediately.

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Bluebook (online)
904 N.E.2d 962, 151 Ohio Misc. 2d 1, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/byrd-v-smith-ohctcomplclermo-2007.