Ladner v. Holleman

90 So. 3d 655, 2012 Miss. App. LEXIS 380, 2012 WL 2308169
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedJune 19, 2012
DocketNo. 2010-CA-01932-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 90 So. 3d 655 (Ladner v. Holleman) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ladner v. Holleman, 90 So. 3d 655, 2012 Miss. App. LEXIS 380, 2012 WL 2308169 (Mich. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinions

ISHEE, J.,

for the Court:

¶ 1. This appeal arises from an October 22, 2010 order of the Circuit Court of Harrison County granting Michael Holle-man’s motion for partial summary judgment. Rebecca Ladner argues the trial court erred by granting partial summary judgment based on premises-liability law and by finding no genuine issue of material fact existed. We affirm the trial court’s grant of partial summary judgment, but we do so because Ladner failed to provide any evidence establishing a negligent act by Holleman proximately caused her injuries.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶ 2. On June 12, 2005, Holleman invited Ladner to his home in Gulfport, Mississippi, for a bicycle ride. Holleman provided Ladner with a bicycle to use during the ride. After riding a short distance, Lad-ner fell off of the bicycle. The exact cause of the fall is in dispute. However, the issue of why she fell off of the bicycle is not relevant to our current inquiry. As a result of the fall, Ladner had abrasions on her left shoulder, left elbow, and left knee. Nonetheless, she was able to complete the twelve-mile ride despite her injuries.

¶ 3. Upon returning to Holleman’s house, Ladner entered the kitchen while Holleman retrieved some Neosporin, an antibacterial ointment. While Ladner was drinking a Diet Coke in the kitchen, Hollé-[657]*657man applied the Neosporin to her elbow and knee. Shortly after application of the Neosporin, Ladner experienced tingling and swelling of her lips, which spread to her fingertips. She also felt her throat begin to swell, and she was unable to swallow. Ladner asserts this was due to an allergic reaction to the Neosporin. She admitted to the use of Neosporin in the past, but she had never noticed an allergic reaction to the ointment.

¶ 4. Upon experiencing the symptoms of an allergic reaction, Ladner requested that an ambulance be called to the residence. Instead of calling an ambulance, Holleman suggested she lie down in the living room. Ladner then lay on Holleman’s living room floor while Holleman went to the store to purchase Benadryl, an anti-allergy medication. Upon his return, Ladner took the Benadryl and continued to lie on the floor for approximately two hours. Eventually, Holleman went to the bathroom and called for Ladner so that he could remove the remaining Neosporin. When Ladner attempted to stand, she fell and hit her head. Ladner has no memory of the fall or what caused her to fall. However, the fact that a fall did, in fact, occur is not in dispute.

¶ 5. After the fall, Ladner alleges she again asked for an ambulance, but no ambulance was called. Instead, Holleman helped Ladner to his bedroom, where she laid in his bed for a period of time. Lad-ner claims she requested an ambulance again but was refused. Ladner was able to leave Holleman’s residence later and drive home. She did not seek medical attention at that point, but subsequent medical treatment showed that Ladner suffered permanent loss of her sense of smell and taste.

¶ 6. On June 9, 2008, Ladner filed a complaint in the circuit court. She alleged negligence on the part of Holleman for her fall off of the bicycle and for his administration of aid. On April 9, 2010, Holleman filed a motion for partial summary judgment. He sought partial summary judgment on Ladner’s claims arising from the fall in his home. Holleman argued: (1) Ladner was a licensee at the time of her fall, and there was no evidence Holleman acted with willful or wanton disregard for her safety; (2) Ladner’s injuries were not reasonably foreseeable; (3) there is no duty to render aid, and, even if such a duty exists, Holleman was acting as a “Good Samaritan” and is immune from liability; and (4) there is no proof of proximate causation. At a hearing on September 30, 2010, the trial judge stated that the duty owed is the prime issue in this case and that issue is a matter of law. He stated: “[I]t’s either the issue — or rather the standard under the Good Samaritan Statute, or the standard that’s incumbent under the licensee provisions.” Ultimately, he held the case was a premises-liability action because the fall took place inside the residence. He granted Holleman’s motion for partial summary judgment based on the lack of evidence of any willful on wanton conduct on the part of Holleman. On October 22, 2010, the trial judge entered a Rule 54(b) final judgment dismissing with prejudice all claims arising from the fall in the home. From that ruling, Lander appeals.

DISCUSSION

¶ 7. The standard of review for a trial court’s grant of summary judgment is de novo. Doe v. Jameson Inn, Inc., 56 So.3d 549, 553 (¶ 8) (Miss.2011). Summary judgment is appropriate where “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.” M.R.C.P. 56(c).

[658]*658I. Applicable Duty of Care

¶ 8. On appeal, Ladner argues the trial court erred by granting partial summary judgment based on premises-liability law. She further argues the Good Samaritan Statute, found in Mississippi Code Annotated section 73-25-37 (Rev.2008), applies because Holleman voluntarily rendered aid and, when rendering aid, failed to exercise reasonable care. The statute states:

No duly licensed, practicing physician, physician assistant, dentist, registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, certified registered emergency medical technician, or any other person who, in good faith and in the exercise of reasonable care, renders emergency care to any injured person at the scene of an emergency ... shall be liable for any civil damages to the injured person as a result of any acts committed in good faith and in the exercise of reasonable care or omissions in good faith and in the exercise of reasonable care by such persons in rendering the emergency care to the injured person.

Miss.Code Ann. § 73-25-37(1).

¶ 9. Ladner asserts the applicable duty of care owed is good faith and reasonable care standard under the Good Samaritan Statute and not the duty of care owed to licensees in premises-liability actions to refrain from willfully or wantonly injuring them. She argues Holleman voluntarily rendered aid by applying the Neosporin; thus, he owed her a duty to exercise reasonable care when he rendered the aid. She alleges he failed to use reasonable care by refusing to call an ambulance after she requested for him to do so several times.

¶10. We find that the duty owed to Ladner could have been the applicable standard of care under either theory of liability. The trial court held this was a premises-liability action simply because the fall occurred on the premises. “[P]remises liability is a theory of negligence that establishes the duty owed to someone injured on a landowner’s premises as a result of ‘conditions or activities’ on the land.” Jameson Inn, 56 So.3d at 553 (¶ 11) (quoting Black’s Law Dictionary 961 (7th ed. 2000)) (footnote omitted). Therefore, premises-liability law is only applicable when the injury is a result of conditions or activities on the premises, not based on the fact that the injury simply occurred on the premises.

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Bluebook (online)
90 So. 3d 655, 2012 Miss. App. LEXIS 380, 2012 WL 2308169, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ladner-v-holleman-missctapp-2012.