Carberry v. Golden Hawk Transportation Co.

402 S.W.3d 556, 2013 WL 3105549, 2013 Ky. App. LEXIS 94
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kentucky
DecidedJune 21, 2013
DocketNo. 2011-CA-000269-MR
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 402 S.W.3d 556 (Carberry v. Golden Hawk Transportation Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Carberry v. Golden Hawk Transportation Co., 402 S.W.3d 556, 2013 WL 3105549, 2013 Ky. App. LEXIS 94 (Ky. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

OPINION

NICKELL, Judge:

Richard Carberry appeals from an order granting summary judgment to Golden Hawk Transportation Company by the Boone Circuit Court. Having reviewed the record, the briefs and the law, we affirm.

This case results from an assault on Carberry by Brian Scott Ivey,2 who was employed by Golden Hawk as a long-haul trucker. On October 25, 2008, while carrying a load of steel in Golden Hawk’s truck from Arkansas to Ohio,3 Ivey made a detour to the Knights Inn in Florence, Kentucky, with his girlfriend, Angela Sexton, as a passenger. The purpose of the trip was to allow Sexton to meet Carberry, her ex-husband, to retrieve some of her belongings. When the trio met on the motel parking lot, Ivey and Carberry began arguing about Sexton. Ivey returned to the [559]*559truck, retrieved a cheater bar,4 and attacked Carberry, striking him about the head with the implement. Witnesses observed the attack.

On August 27, 2009, Carberry filed a complaint against both Knights Inn and Golden Hawk alleging he suffered a broken neck and other injuries during the assault and incurred $150,000.00 in medical and other expenses. He alleged Golden Hawk had been negligent in hiring, retaining, training and supervising Ivey, as well as monitoring movement of the rig it had assigned to Ivey. Carberry alleged Knights Inn provided inadequate security for the parking lot on which the assault occurred.

Golden Hawk and Knights Inn filed separate answers. Based on the Driver’s Daily Log completed by Ivey, Golden Hawk argued the rig assigned to him was parked in Crestline, Ohio, at the time of the assault and Ivey was off-duty. After only modest discovery,5 Golden Hawk moved for summary judgment on February 5, 2010, arguing it could not be held liable for an intentional tort committed by an employee; the attack occurred outside the scope of Ivey’s work; Carberry had not alleged the attack occurred within the scope of Ivey’s work; and Ivey was terminated from employment due to the assault. Accompanying the summary judgment motion was the affidavit of Laina VanBuskirk, Golden Hawk’s Safety Director and Human Resource Manager. In her affidavit, VanBuskirk stated in pertinent part:

4. Upon hiring Mr. Ivey in April 2008, all checks required by law were performed on Mr. Ivey’s previous employment and his driving record,6 and no propensity toward violence was indicated.
5. Pursuant to company policy, a truck driver who leaves his truck on business not associated with the delivery of goods on behalf of the company is off the clock and outside the scope of his/her employment.
6. On the date of the alleged incident on October 25, 2008, Mr. Ivey had no business purpose for being present at a Knight’s (sic) Inn in Florence, Kentucky.
[560]*5607. After the alleged incident on October 25, 2008, and because of the alleged incident described in [Carberry’s] Complaint, Mr. Ivey’s employment with Golden Hawk Transportation Cabinet, has been terminated.

On April 30, 2010, the trial court entered an order awarding summary judgment to Golden Hawk and dismissing all claims against it. Specifically, the trial court found a negligent hiring and retention claim required proof that:

(1) the employer knew or reasonably should have known that an employee was unfit for the job for which he was employed, and (2) the employee’s placement or retention at that job created an unreasonable risk of harm to the plaintiff.

Ten Broeck Dupont, Inc. v. Brooks, 283 S.W.3d 705, 733 (Ky.2009) (citing Oakley v. Flor-Shin, Inc., 964 S.W.2d 438, 442 (Ky.App.1998)). The trial court concluded Carberry could not prove Golden Hawk knew or should have known Ivey was unfit to be a long-haul trucker because VanBus-kirk’s affidavit stated Ivey’s background had been checked and “no propensity toward violence was indicated.”

The court went on to say, even if additional discovery revealed Ivey had been violent, Carberry could not prove Ivey’s continued employment by Golden Hawk placed Carberry at an unreasonable risk of harm. Citing Flor-Shin, the trial court recognized a trend in holding employers liable for torts committed by employees that have been placed in supervisory positions or have been given special access to certain locations — neither of which described Ivey’s job as a long-haul trucker. Here, the trial court said Ivey met Carber-ry as an ordinary citizen, and even though Golden Hawk may have provided Ivey a truck and a tool to repair it, giving a truck driver a vehicle and tools did not, in and of itself, create an unreasonable risk of harm to the public. Comparing the case sub judice to Stalbosky v. Belew, 205 F.3d 890 (6th Cir.2000), the trial court concluded, “Golden Hawk could not have foreseen that Ivey would assault someone and that his continued retention did not put him in a special position to inflict harm.”

In rejecting the claims of negligent training and supervision, the trial court cited Booker v. GTE.net LLC, 350 F.3d 515, 517 (6th Cir.2003), and again relied upon VanBuskirk’s affidavit to find:

Golden Hawk had no reason to know that [Ivey] would assault anyone. Furthermore, as a matter of law, the Court finds that Golden Hawk did not have a duty to supervise or train [Ivey] in the manner which is suggested in the Complaint.7 As noted above, [Ivey] happened upon [Carberry] as an ordinary citizen and acted so outside the normal scope of employment that no reasonable amount of training or supervision could have prevented the attack.

On May 3, 2010, five days after the order awarding summary judgment to Golden Hawk had been entered, Carberry took VanBuskirk’s deposition which revealed she had not requested Ivey’s criminal history, nor had she contacted all of Ivey’s prior employers because he self-reported a five-year gap in employment. Based on this information, on May 10, 2010, Carberry moved the court to alter, amend or vacate the award of summary judgment to Golden Hawk or, alternative[561]*561ly, declare it final and appealable to allow Carberry to file an appeal to this Court. In his motion, Carberry alleged an on-line search had revealed Ivey had been charged with disorderly conduct and menacing in Ohio and his CDL had been suspended in Indiana. Carberry suggested Golden Hawk had to perform a criminal background check on Ivey to comply with Federal Motor Carrier Regulation 49 CFR (Code of Federal Regulations) § 391.258 and complete an extensive ten-year employment history check to satisfy 49 CFR § 391.21.

Golden Hawk opposed any change to the award of summary judgment, arguing none of the grounds listed in CR9 59.05 applied.

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Bluebook (online)
402 S.W.3d 556, 2013 WL 3105549, 2013 Ky. App. LEXIS 94, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/carberry-v-golden-hawk-transportation-co-kyctapp-2013.