Lewis v. Renner

676 S.W.2d 909, 1984 Mo. App. LEXIS 4040
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedSeptember 11, 1984
DocketNo. 46444
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 676 S.W.2d 909 (Lewis v. Renner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lewis v. Renner, 676 S.W.2d 909, 1984 Mo. App. LEXIS 4040 (Mo. Ct. App. 1984).

Opinion

KELLY, Presiding Judge.

David D. Renner, appellant, appeals from a judgment entered in favor of William E. Lewis, respondent, in the Circuit Court of St. Louis County for damages in an amount of $25,000.00.

On appeal appellant raises the following Points Relied On:

1. The trial court erred by submitting Instruction No. 4 to the jury because same constituted a prejudicial deviation from MAI 17.15 and because there was no evidence to support its submission;
2. The trial court erred by giving MAI 4.01, the damage instruction, without modification in accordance with the “Notes on Use”; and
3. The court erred by its refusal to sustain appellant’s oral motion for continuance on the grounds of surprise caused by respondent’s having been in a subsequent accident which caused severe injury to his left leg and left knee.

[911]*911Respondent has challenged these Points Relied On in his brief contending that they preserve nothing for review because they fail to comply with Rule 84.04(d) V.A.M.R.

Rule 84.04(d) V.A.M.R. requires that points relied on shall state briefly and concisely what actions or rulings of the court are sought to be reviewed and wherein and why they are claimed to be erroneous. Setting out only abstract statements of law without showing how they are related to any action or ruling of the court is not a compliance with the Rule. Compliance with the rule governing the statement of points relied upon in appellate briefs is mandatory. Pickett v. Stockard, 605 S.W.2d 196, 197[2] (Mo.App.1980). While there is some authority for ignoring failure to comply with this requirement where previous notice of the violation was not given and an opportunity to correct the errors was not afforded an appellant, Empire Gas Corporation v. Small’s LP Gas Company, et al., 637 S.W.2d 239, 245[8] (Mo.App.1982), appellant was put on notice by respondent’s brief of his failure to comply with the Rule, but made no effort to supplement his brief, correct this deficiency, nor comply with the Rule.

Appellant’s first point relied on fails to specify what deviation in MAI 17.15 there was, nor why there was no evidence to support the submitted instruction. With respect to his second point relied on appellant has not specified what modification in the damage instruction, MAI 4.01, was required by the “Notes on Use” nor how he was prejudiced by the failure to make the modification he contends should have been made. His third point relied on also fails to state with specificity how the failure to grant his oral motion for a continuance prejudiced him other than his contention he was surprised. Appellant’s failure to comply with the Rule renders whatever point he is trying to make inscrutable and, hence, unreviewable.

Despite his failure to comply with Rule 84.04(d) V.A.M.R., appellant has not requested that we afford review of his appeal as “plain error” as authorized by Rule 84.13(c), nor is there any assignment by appellant, as there could have been, that respondent failed to make a case for the jury on humanitarian negligence other than his contention that there was no evidence to support the humanitarian verdict-directing instruction, MAI 17.15. However the question of whether a submissible case was made is “inherent in every case that comes to an appellate court.” Gibbs v. Bardahl Oil Company, 331 S.W.2d 614, 620[1] (Mo.1960); Revere Copper & Brass Inc. v. Manufacturers’ Metals & Chemicals, Inc., et al., 662 S.W.2d 866, 869[1] (Mo.App.1983).

In determining whether a plaintiff has made a submissible case, a reviewing court must consider evidence in a light most favorable to the plaintiff and give plaintiff the benefit of all favorable inferences that reasonably might be drawn from the evidence, but the evidence and the inferences must establish every element and not leave any issue to speculation. Meyers v. City of Louisiana, 637 S.W.2d 219, 221[2] (Mo.App.1982). In order to establish a submissible case under the humanitarian doctrine, a party must establish that, 1) plaintiff was in a position of immediate danger; 2) defendant knew or should have known of plaintiff’s position of peril; 3) defendant, after receiving such notice, had the present ability to have averted the impending injury without harming himself or others; 4) defendant failed to exercise the requisite care to avert injury, and 5) damage to the plaintiff resulted. Banks v. Morris & Co., 302 Mo. 254, 257 S.W. 482, 484[2] (banc 1924); Meyers, supra, l.c. 221[1].

With these legal principles in mind and viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the respondent, the evidence supports a finding that the respondent at the time of the occurrence, shortly after 6:00 p.m. on June 26, 1978, was standing in the driveway of his parents’ home at 11350 Oak Street, Bridgeton, Missouri, with his girlfriend. Two other friends came up and joined them. At this time appellant drove [912]*912his El Camino pick-up truck westwardly on Oak Street. This El Camino was red in color, and had wide tires, approximately 20 inches wide and referred to by one of the respondent’s witnesses as “sports 60’s,” on the rear wheels. The rear end sat up higher than the ordinary El Camino. There were three passengers in the El Camino; appellant, appellant’s girlfriend, Lisa Carson, and Mike Abrams.

Respondent had known appellant and Abram for about a year and during that time had problems with Abram. They argued off and on. Abram would call respondent names like “S.O.B.” and they had a couple of arguments, but no fisticuffs.

As appellant’s El Camino was proceeding westwardly along Oak Street in the vicinity of 11350 Oak Street, it slowed down and Abram called out to appellant, “You dumb S.O.B.” and a few other names, as the El Camino proceeded westwardly down the street. The El Camino returned, this time proceeding eastwardly up the street, and when it got in front of respondent’s house, came to a stop. At this time respondent yelled, “What’s going on?”, started walking toward the El Camino and asked why they were calling him names. The door on the passenger side was partially open. Abrams called respondent a name again and respondent called him a name and almost simultaneously the two started grabbing at each other. ' Abram grabbed respondent by his shirt and tried to pull him into the vehicle.

Respondent also grapped Abram’s shirt and the two scuffled — it was mostly grabbing, shoving and pushing. Respondent was trying to back up a little while the two continued grabbing at each other’s shirt. He was half in and half out of the El Camino. Appellant took off without any warning and ran over respondent’s left foot causing the injuries for which respondent instituted this action.

The crucial question is whether under these factual circumstances respondent made a submissible case of humanitarian negligence.

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Bluebook (online)
676 S.W.2d 909, 1984 Mo. App. LEXIS 4040, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lewis-v-renner-moctapp-1984.