Miller v. Yoshimoto

Hawaii Supreme Court

Miller v. Yoshimoto

536 P.2d 1195, 56 Haw. 333, 1975 Haw. LEXIS 103

CourtHawaii Supreme Court

DecidedJune 3, 1975

DocketNO. 5546

StatusPublished

Cited by10 cases

This text of 536 P.2d 1195 (Miller v. Yoshimoto) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Hawaii Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Miller v. Yoshimoto, 536 P.2d 1195, 56 Haw. 333, 1975 Haw. LEXIS 103 (haw 1975).

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Opinion

*334 OPINION OF THE COURT BY

KOBAYASHI, J.

This appeal by plaintiff (appellant) is against the State of Hawaii (appellee) only.

The appellant instituted this negligence action for damages for the total loss of her left eye caused by the willful action of defendant Richard Yoshimoto, a minor (defendant). Appellant brought this action against both Yoshimoto and the appellee and alleged, inter alia, that appellee failed to provide proper supervision of students in or around the school area in which appellant was injured. The trial court 1 gave judgment to the appellee. We affirm.

The issues on appeal primarily involve the following:

1. Finding of fact of the trial court, to-wit:

There was no act or omission by the [appellee] or any of its employees that was the proximate cause of the injury to [appellant] and the [appellee] was in no way negligent in the premises.

2. Conclusions of law of the trial court, to-wit:

a. The action taken by the principal in assigning after-school supervisory duties to school personnel was sufficient and adequate under the circumstances.

b. Under the circumstances of this case, the [appellee] had no legal duty to provide supervision of students in or around the area in which the [appellant] was injured.

c. The absence of any supervisory personnel in the area in which [appellant] was injured was not the proximate cause of her injury.

*335 FACTS

Aliamanu Intermediate School, hereinafter A.I.S., is a public school operated by the appellee. It is comprised of approximately 1600 students in the seventh and eighth grades.

Of the 1600 students approximately 80 percent use the buses to return home, while the other 20 percent walk home. Between 60 to 90 students walk home in the school campus area where the appellant was injured.

The principal of A.I.S., Mr. Harry Ono, had assigned various school personnel supervisory duties between 2:10 p.m. and 2:35 p.m.

On November 2, 1971, at about 2:10 p.m., Helen M. Miller, appellant, and her fellow students were dismissed from their classes at A.I.S. Accompanied by her friend, neighbor and classmate, Susan Colburn, appellant started walking home from her classroom in “B” Building at about 2:15 p.m. In order to reach home the girls had to walk 2 between “F” Building and “B” Building and then across the school yard toward a flight of stairs which leads to Salt Lake Boulevard.

As appellant and Susan proceeded between “B” Building and “F” Building, Susan heard and appellant saw rocks 3 being thrown from the end of “F” Building toward the area near “B” Building.

They recognized the two boys who were throwing the rocks as fellow students at A.I.S.

Appellant saw the boys throw three or four rocks; Susan saw the boys throw two or three rocks.

The girls then continued past the end of “F” Building and appellant asked the boys to stop throwing rocks as the rocks were going across the route where the girls would be walking. One of the boys then started to tease appellant.

*336

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