Kline v. Business Press, Inc.

516 N.E.2d 88, 1987 Ind. App. LEXIS 3305, 1987 WL 23833
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 14, 1987
Docket41A04-8705-CV-145
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 516 N.E.2d 88 (Kline v. Business Press, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kline v. Business Press, Inc., 516 N.E.2d 88, 1987 Ind. App. LEXIS 3305, 1987 WL 23833 (Ind. Ct. App. 1987).

Opinion

CONOVER, Judge.

Plaintiff-Appeliant Adam J. Kline (Kline) appeals the entry of summary judgment by the trial court in favor of defendant-appel-lee Business Press, Inc., d/b/a Indianapolis Business Journal (IBJ) in an automobile negligence action.

Kline's issues, restated, are

1. whether remand is in order because five depositions ordered published but not transferred with the record on change of venue were not available to the trial court as it considered IBJ's motion for summary judgment,

2. whether hearsay in affidavits constituted newly discovered evidence requiring the grant of Kline's motion to correct errors, and

3. whether there is a genuine issue of material fact as to whether IBJ's managing editor was acting in the course and scope of his employment at the time of the accident.

*90 Christopher Katterjohn (Katterjohn) was one of IBJ's managing editors when the accident here at issue occurred. His duties included managing other reporters, writing articles for his employer, and meeting the paper's weekly deadline. He received an annual salary plus bonuses in certain situations, engaged in no other outside employment, and was reimbursed by IBJ for parking, mileage and copying expenses. His hours were not fixed. Katterjohn was not supervised in his duties nor did he conduct all his employer's business in IBJ's offices. Often he was out of the office interviewing people for articles he wrote for the paper. He had no set time period for lunch and frequently went home to eat that meal.

On the day of the accident, Katterjohn lunched at home with his wife and children. He was returning to work when the accident occurred. He had made no business calls on his lunch hour that day.

Affidavits executed by Kline and one Eec-kert were attached as exhibits to Kline's motion to correct errors. It asserted the affidavits contained newly discovered evidence warranting a trial on the merits. Both affidavits stated the affiants had heard Mary Palmer, a friend of Vicki Townsend, Katterjohn's wife, say that Vicki had told Mary, Katterjohn was not on his lunch hour when the collision occurred.

When reviewing the grant of a motion for summary judgment, we stand in the shoes of the trial court. Lafary v. Lafary (1985), Ind.App., 446 N.E.2d 155, 158. Therefore, we consider the same matters as it does. Mall v. South Central Solar Systems, Inc. (1981), Ind.App., 419 N.E.2d 154, 163. The burden is on the moving party in a summary judgment motion to establish the lack of any genuine issue of material fact. Ancich v. Mobil Oil Corp. (1981), Ind.App., 422 N.E.2d 1320, 1332, reh. denied.

Summary judgment is appropriate only when the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits and testimony, if any, show there is not genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Wiz-om, Admx. v. Gledhill Road Machinery Co. (1987), Ind.App., 514 N.E.2d 306, 307; Creighton v. Caylor-Nickel Hospital, Inc. (1985), Ind.App., 484 N.E.2d 1303, 1304-1306.

1.

Five depositions ordered published by the trial court were not in its possession so as to be considered by it prior to entering summary judgment. Kline first argues this cause should be remanded to the trial court for reconsideration of IBJ's motion for summary judgment in light of the testimony contained in these depositions. - However, this issue was not raised in Kline's motion to correct errors. Kline raised it for the first time in his appellant's brief.

Before any issues may be presented to this court on appeal other than fundamental error questions in criminal cases, they must initially be raised and considered in the trial court. Failure to do so precludes appellate review. Such issues will not be considered on appeal. City of Hast Chicago v. Broomes (1984), Ind.App., 468 N.E.2d 231, 233. They are deemed waived. Turner v. State (1981), Ind., 428 N.E.2d 1244, 1248.

In any event, the trial court here had before it all of the relevant facts contained in those depositions. They were stated and argued by both Kline and IBJ in their memoranda filed with the trial court in support and in objection to IBJ's motion for summary judgment. Thus, the court was in possession of such facts before it ruled. The error in this regard, if any, was harmless.

IL.

Kline next argues the trial court erred by failing to grant his motion to correct errors because it presented newly discovered material evidence warranting a trial on the merits. We disagree.

The affidavits of Kline and Eckert contained virtually identical wording, and read *91 in part as follows (quoting from Kline's affidavit):

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4. That on October 18, 1986, your af-fiant, Jane Eckert, Henry Eckert, Mary Palmer and David Palmer went to dinner together.
5. That Mary - Palmer, without prompting from anyone, began discussing the accident which is the subject matter of this case and the defendant, Christopher Katterjohn.
6. That David Palmer touched your affiant on the arm and said to him that Adam [Kline, affiant] had better listen to Mary Palmer.
7. That Mary Palmer said that Vicki was the wife of Christopher Katterjohn and that Mary Palmer was her friend.
8. That Mary Palmer said that Vicki said her husband was not on his lunch hour when the accident occurred even though that's what they're telling everyone and that Vicki had said something about Christopher Katterjohn not hitting his brakes. (Emphasis supplied).

(R. 147-148). Clearly, Kline offered these affidavits as evidence bearing upon the fac-: tual question of whether or not Katterjohn was acting within the course and scope of his employment at the time the accident occurred. Before considering whether the factual matter contained in these affidavits fulfill the requirements for newly discovered evidence, we must first consider whether or not the affidavits contain admissible evidence.

Facts and matters set forth in an affidavit must be admissible in evidence to be considered by the trial court when ruling on a motion for summary judgment. Whitaker v. St. Joseph's Hospital (1981), Ind.App., 415 N.E.2d 737, 743. When ruling on a Trial Rule 56 Motion to Correct Errors, it is proper for the trial court to ignore those parts of affidavits not admissible. Apple v. Hall (1980), Ind.App., 412 N.E.2d 114, 117.

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516 N.E.2d 88, 1987 Ind. App. LEXIS 3305, 1987 WL 23833, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kline-v-business-press-inc-indctapp-1987.