Fuentes v. JEDNAT

2010 WY 40, 229 P.3d 949, 2010 Wyo. LEXIS 43, 2010 WL 1255716
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedApril 2, 2010
DocketS-09-0009
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 2010 WY 40 (Fuentes v. JEDNAT) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fuentes v. JEDNAT, 2010 WY 40, 229 P.3d 949, 2010 Wyo. LEXIS 43, 2010 WL 1255716 (Wyo. 2010).

Opinion

HILL, Justice.

[T1] While they were driving in downtown Jackson, Appellants Tracey Fuentes (Ms. Fuentes) and her daughter were rear-ended by a drunk, eighteen-year-old Jonathan Jednat (Jonathan). Ms. Fuentes recovered compensatory and punitive damages in a separate action against Jonathan, although that jury awarded zero damages in favor of her daughter. Ms. Fuentes then filed this *950 suit against Jonathan's parents, Paul and Margred Jednat (Jednats), and his uncle James Lewis (Lewis) asserting liability as to each of them individually. The district court granted the Jednats motion for summary judgment and dismissed Lewis from the case after he filed an affidavit of non-involvement. Ms. Fuentes challenges those rulings. We will affirm the district court.

ISSUES

[12] Ms. Fuentes lists her issues as follows:

I. The lower court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of the defendants/appellees Margred and Paul Jednat.
II. The lower court erred in granting the affidavit of non-involvement in favor of the defendant/appellee James Lewis.

The Jednats frame the issues this way:

1. Can [Ms. Fuentes and her daugh-terl, who obtained a jury verdict for damages which have been paid, sue another party for the same damages?
2. Can [Ms. Fuentes and her daughter's] claims for punitive damages proceed without actual or compensatory damages?

Lewis states the issue, as related to him:

Did the District Court err when it dismissed without prejudice Appellee Jim Lewis pursuant to his Affidavit of Non-Involvement once all parties agreed that Lewis did not own or loan the vehicle alleged to be negligently entrusted at the time of the car accident involving [Ms. Fuentes and her daughter]?

FACTS

[18] After experiencing some personal and legal trouble in his home state of Pennsylvania, eighteen-year-old Jonathan was sent by his parents to Jackson, Wyoming, to "change his life." 1 His uncle, James Lewis, lived in Jackson and offered Jonathan a place to live.

[14] After Jonathan arrived in Jackson, Lewis gave the Jednats a 1996 Chevrolet Tahoe. The vehicle was licensed and registered in the state of Pennsylvania under Margred Jednat's name. The Jednats also maintained the insurance on the vehicle, but the vehicle remained in Wyoming for their son to drive.

[15] On December 9, 2005, Jonathan was driving the Tahoe, while drunk, and rear-ended Ms. Fuentes and her three-year-old daughter. Ms. Fuentes suffered injuries from the accident, and subsequently sued Jonathan, asking for both punitive and compensatory damages on behalf of herself and her daughter. After a trial, Ms. Fuentes was awarded $163,800.00 in compensatory damages and $50,000.00 in punitive damages, but her daughter was awarded nothing.

[16] Ms. Fuentes and her daughter, then sued the Jednats and Lewis. Ms. Fuentes sought relief upon a theory of negligent en-trustment but essentially requested the same damages she sought (and received) from Jonathan.

[17] Lewis filed an Affidavit of Non-Involvement pursuant to Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-1-117 (LexisNexis 2009) and was dismissed from the case. The Jednats filed a Motion for Summary Judgment which was granted by the district court. 2

[18] This appeal followed.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

[19] When reviewing an order granting summary judgment,

We evaluate the propriety of a summary judgment by employing the same standards and using the same materials as the district court. Cook v. Shoshone First Bank, 2006 WY 13, ¶ 11, 126 P.3d 886, 889 (Wyo.2006). Thus, our review is plenary. Birt v. Wells Fargo Home Mortg., Inc., 2003 WY 102, ¶ 7, 75 P.3d 640, 647 (Wyo.2008).
Wyo.R.Civ.P. 56 governs summary judgments. A summary judgment is appropri *951 ate when there are no genuine issues of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. W.R.C.P. 56(c) When reviewing a summary judgment, we consider the record in the perspective most favorable to the party opposing the motion and give that party the benefit of all favorable inferences which may be fairly drawn from the ree-ord. We review questions of law de novo without giving any deference to the district court's determinations.

Collings v. Lords, 2009 WY 135, ¶ 5, 218 P.3d 654, 655-656 (Wyo.2009).

DISCUSSION

[{10] Ms. Fuentes argues on appeal that her claim against Jonathan's relatives is a new claim, not simply a renewal of the case against Jonathan. Specifically, Ms. Fuentes asserts a theory of negligent entrustment, not just negligence, and argues that because negligent entrustment is a different kind of breach of the duty of reasonable care than is driving while under the influence, the damages claimed are different. In response, the Jednats argue that Ms. Fuentes and her daughter have recovered their damages once and they cannot recover them again.

[111] On appeal, this Court must look at whether or not there are any genuine issues of material fact warranting reversal. To do so, we look to see if the materials and law presented by the Jednats in support of the motion for summary judgment established that there were no such issues. Fuentes argues that the Jednats and Lewis knew, or should have known, that Jonathan would operate the vehicle in a negligent manner that would endanger other drivers, and that his negligence, combined with the Jednats' and Lewis's negligent entrustment, were the proximate cause of the injuries. Moreover, Fuentes argues that the resolution of this case on summary judgment motion was improper.

[112] Because we are reviewing this case under the standard used for summary judgments, and because the district court did not give any explanation in its order granting the motion for summary judgment, we look to the parties' motions, reviewing the facts from the perspective most favorable to the party opposing the motion and reviewing the law de novo. First, we focus our attention upon the law relative to this case. The parties' arguments focus on a case formerly before us. In Day v. Davidson, 951 P.2d 378 (Wyo.1997), the plaintiff brought suit against a store employee after having accepted an offer of judgment from the store, which judgment had been satisfied. The trial court ruled that the doctrines of res judicata and collateral estoppel barred the victim's claims, and granted summary judgment to the employee. The plaintiff appealed, and this Court held that the store and its employee were not in privity for purposes of res judi-cata, thus it did not apply. However, this Court affirmed the district court and said the damages obtained by the plaintiff against the store was the limit that she could claim, and that the employee was to be credited with that amount as to any judgment entered against him. Under this rule, the plaintiff could recover no additional monies from the employer and, therefore, summary judgment was proper.

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2010 WY 40, 229 P.3d 949, 2010 Wyo. LEXIS 43, 2010 WL 1255716, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fuentes-v-jednat-wyo-2010.