Fuqua v. Deapo

34 F.R.D. 111, 1964 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9902
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Arkansas
DecidedJanuary 9, 1964
DocketCiv. A. No. 862
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 34 F.R.D. 111 (Fuqua v. Deapo) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fuqua v. Deapo, 34 F.R.D. 111, 1964 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9902 (W.D. Ark. 1964).

Opinion

JOHN E. MILLER, Chief Judge.

The motion of defendant Diebold, Inc., for summary judgment was filed August 16, 1963, supported by an affidavit of defendant Howard Albert Deapo. Simultaneously with the filing of the motion and affidavit, the movant submitted a memorandum in support there[112]*112of. ■ On August 24, 1963, plaintiff filed his response to the motion, and at the same time submitted to the court a memorandum in opposition to the motion. On August 26, 1963, the court granted the moving defendant leave to file an amendment to his motion and additional affidavits or other documents in support thereof. Likewise, the plaintiff was granted leave to file any additional response to the original motion or to any amended motion, together with counter-affidavits or documents if he so desired.

The court did not fix any time in which the parties'were required to perfect the motion and response, because it was apparent that due to the press of business in the other Divisions, the court would not have an opportunity to consider the motion for several months.

On December 27, 1963, the moving defendant filed the affidavits of J. M. Pope, Billy G. Moon, and Jack Jorgensen and an amended affidavit of Howard A. Deapo, and submitted an addendum to the original memorandum in support of the motion for summary judgment and in answer to the plaintiff’s memorandum in opposition to the motion. Copies of each of the affidavits and the addendum were served on the attorneys for plaintiff on the same date.

Upon receipt of the addendum the court on the same date wrote the attorneys for the parties and advised the attorneys for plaintiff that if they should desire to submit a reply to the addendum to defendant’s memorandum, or desired to submit any other affidavits or documents in opposition to the motion, the same should be submitted within a reasonable period of time. In the same letter, I called the attorneys’ particular attention to Rule 56(e), Fed. R.Civ.P., as amended, effective July 1, 1963.

On January 2, 1964, the plaintiff submitted his response or answer brief to the addendum to the original memorandum submitted by the moving defendant.

Rule 56(c), Fed.R.Civ.P., provides, “The judgment sought shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.”

The amendment of January 21, 1963, to section (e) of the rule became effective July 1, 1963. The amendment provides :

“ - * * When a motion for summary judgment is made and supported as provided in this rule, an adverse party may not rest upon the mere allegations or denials of his pleading, but his response, by affidavits or as otherwise provided in this rule, must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial. If he does not so respond, summary judgment, if appropriate, shall be entered against him.”

The amendment was added to overcome a line of cases, chiefly in the Third Circuit, which has impaired the utility of the summary judgment device. The Third Circuit decisions held that even though a movant for summary judgment supported his motion by affidavits or other evidentiary matter sufficient to show that there was no genuine issue as to a material fact, and the adverse party, in opposing the motion, did not produce any evidentiary matter, or produced some but not enough evidence to establish that there was a genuine issue for trial, but relied on the averments of his pleadings which on their face presented an issue, the motion for summary judgment should be denied, particularly if the averments were well pleaded and not supposititious, conclusory, or ultimate. The courts in the other Circuits, particularly the Eighth Circuit, had for years been holding substantially in accordance with the amendment to the rule above referred to. See, [113]*113Marion County Co-Op Ass’n v. Carnation Company, (W.D.Ark.1943) 114 F.Supp. 58, aff’d (8 Cir. 1954) 214 F.2d 557.

This action was commenced in the Circuit Court of Miller County, Arkansas, and in due time removed to this court, on the grounds of diversity and the amount in controversy.

The plaintiff alleged in his complaint that on December 24, 1962, at approximately 11:20 p. m., he was driving and operating his automobile on the street in the City of Texarkana, Arkansas; that a collision occurred between his automobile and one driven by the defendant Howard Albert Deapo, who was an employee of the defendant Diebold, Inc.; that at the time of the collision the said Howard Albert Deapo was “acting within the course and scope of his employment with the defendant Diebold, Inc.” Then the plaintiff alleged certain specific acts of negligence and prays for judgment in the sum of $35,000.

The defendants in their petition for removal alleged “plaintiff was and is now a resident, citizen and domiciliary of the State of Arkansas; and petitioner herein, Howard Albert Deapo, one of defendants in said cause, was and is now a resident, citizen and domiciliary of the State of Missouri; and petitioner herein, Diebold, Inc., one of defendants in said cause, at all such times was and is now a corporation, duly incorporated under the laws of the State of Ohio, and at all such times had, and now has, its principal place of business in the State of Ohio; and that there is complete diversity of citizenship between the parties plaintiff and defendants in this cause.”

Within due time after the removal the defendants filed their joint answer, in which they admitted that the defendant Deapo, on the date of the collision of the automobiles driven by plaintiff Fuqua and the defendant Deapo, was an employee of the defendant Diebold, Inc., but they denied that at such time the defendant Deapo “was acting within the Scope of his employment.” Other denials are made in the answer which are immaterial in the consideration of the motion for summary judgment.

In the motion for summary judgment movant, Diebold, Inc., in numbered paragraph II alleged:

“Defendants Howard Albert Deapo and Diebold, Inc., have admitted in their answer that defendant Howard Albert Deapo was employed by defendant Diebold, Inc., at the time of the collision, but have denied that he was then and there acting within the scope of his employment.”

In numbered paragraph III of the motion, the movant alleged:

“There is no genuine issue as to the fact that the defendant Howard Albert Deapo was not acting in pursuance of his employer’s business at such time and place, it being undisputed that he was on a personal mission of his own, and the defendant Diebold, Inc., therefore, is entitled to summary judgment in its favor as a matter of law.”

. It will be borne in mind that at the time the motion was filed the defendant Diebold, Inc., only filed one affidavit in support of the motion, that of the defendant Howard Albert Deapo dated August 13,1963.

In the response to the motion the plaintiff in paragraph II alleged:

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Bluebook (online)
34 F.R.D. 111, 1964 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9902, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fuqua-v-deapo-arwd-1964.