Murdock v. Fraternal Order of Eagles

779 N.E.2d 964, 2002 Ind. App. LEXIS 2071, 2002 WL 31812913
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 16, 2002
Docket45A03-0205-CV-134
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 779 N.E.2d 964 (Murdock v. Fraternal Order of Eagles) 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
Murdock v. Fraternal Order of Eagles, 779 N.E.2d 964, 2002 Ind. App. LEXIS 2071, 2002 WL 31812913 (Ind. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinions

OPINION

BROOK, Chief Judge.

Case Summary

Appellants-plaintifis Dwight Murdock ("Dwight") and Sharron Murdock (collectively, "the Murdocks") appeal the trial court's grant of summary judgment in favor of appellee-defendant Fraternal Order of Eagles, Glen Park Aerie No. 248 ("the FOE"). We affirm.

[966]*966Issue

The Murdocks raise a single issue for review, which we restate as whether the trial court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of the FOE.

Facts and Procedural History

The facts most favorable to the Mur-docks as the non-moving party indicate that at approximately 3:00 p.m. on April 30, 1999, Lindel Riley ("Riley") entered the FOE's private club in Gary, Indiana. Riley consumed two or three beers and departed in his pickup truck at approximately 5:20 p.m.

Approximately five minutes after Riley's departure, Dwight was jogging eastbound on the grassy north shoulder of Liverpool Road. As Dwight approached a curve in the road, he saw Riley's westbound pickup round the curve, weave sharply several times, and travel directly toward him. See Appellants' App. at 49.1 Dwight attempted to get farther off the road and made eye contact with Riley before the pickup struck him at approximately thirty-five miles per hour and knocked him thirty feet into a ditch Riley panicked and left the scene. Doris Brockus ("Brockus"), who had been following Riley's pickup for approximately one block, stopped her vehicle to assist the injured Dwight. Riley was later prosecuted for leaving the scene of an accident.2

On February 8, 2001, the Murdocks filed a complaint against the FOE based on Indiana Code Section 7.1-5-10-15.5 ("the Dram Shop Act"), alleging that the FOE was responsible for Dwight's injuries. The FOE moved for summary judgment. On April 1, 2002, the trial court entered an order granting the FOE's motion and reading in relevant part as follows:

A review of the designated material fails to reveal any evidence that Riley was intoxicated when this accident occurred. Even giving the [Murdocks] the benefit of any doubt on this point, as this Court is bound to do when considering the [FOE's] motion, the [Murdocks] must, nevertheless, bear the burden of proving that the [FOE] had actual knowledge that Riley was visibly intoxicated when it furnished him alcoholic beverages. See, Vanderhoek v. Willy, 728 N.E.2d 213 (Ind.App.2000). Even though this proof can be inferred in an appropriate case, there are not sufficient facts present in this one to begin the journey down this path. The record is devoid of any facts relevant to Riley's level of intoxication, if any, while at the [FOE's) bar, or the [FOE'sl actual knowledge of this while he was at the premises of the [FOE], such that ... it could be held accountable for continuing to serve him alcohol at a point in time prior to the accident when he was "visibly intoxicated." Proof of the [FOE's] actual knowledge is a condition for recovery as set forth in L.C. 7.1-5-10-15.5. Quite simply, there is none in this case.

Appellants' App. at 7. The Murdocks now appeal.

[967]*967Discussion and Decision

-The Murdocks contend that the trial court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of the FOE. "A trial court's grant of summary judgment is 'elothed with a presumption of validity.'" Luhnow v. Horn, 760 N.E.2d 621, 625 (Ind.Ct.App.2001) (citation omitted). Although a trial court's findings and conclusions offer valuable insight into its rationale for its judgment and facilitate our review, they are not required in the summary judgment context and are not binding on us. See SLR Plumbing & Sewer, Inc. v. Turk, 757 N.E.2d 193, 198 (Ind.Ct.App.2001).

In reviewing a trial court's grant of summary judgment, "we apply the same standard as the trial court; we must decide whether there is a genuine issue of material fact that precludes summary judgment and whether the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law," Luhnow, 760 N.E.2d at 625. "A genuine issue of material fact exists where the facts concerning an issue that would dispose of the litigation are in dispute or where the undisputed material facts are capable of supporting conflicting inferences on such an issue." Vanderhoek v. Willy, 728 N.E.2d 213, 215 (Ind.Ct.App.2000).

Onee the moving party has sustained its initial burden of proving the absence of a genuine issue of material fact and the appropriateness of judgment as a matter of law, the party opposing summary judgment must respond by designating specific facts establishing a genuine issue for trial. We may consider only those portions of the pleadings, depositions, and any other matters specifically designated to the trial court by the parties for purposes of the motion for summary judgment. Any doubt as to the existence of an issue of material fact, or an inference to be drawn from the facts, must be resolved in favor of the nonmov-ing party. Although the nonmovant has the burden of demonstrating that the grant of summary judgment was erroneous, we carefully assess the trial court's decision to ensure that the nonmovant was not improperly denied his day in court.

Luhnow, 760 N.E.2d at 625 (citations omitted). 4

The Dram Shop Act provides in relevant part that

[al person who furnishes an alcoholic beverage to a person is not liable in a civil action for damages caused by the impairment or intoxication of a person who was furnished the alcoholic beverage unless:
(1) the person furnishing the alcoholic beverage had actual knowledge that the person to whom the alcoholic bev- ' erage was furnished was visibly intoxicated at the time the alcoholic beverage was furnished; and
. (2) the intoxication of the person to whom the alcoholic beverage was furnished was a proximate cause of the death, injury, or damage alleged in the complaint.

Ind.Code § 7.1-5-10-15.5(b).

The first step in establishing FOE's liability to the Murdocks under the Dram Shop Act is .to determine whether the person who furnished the alcohol to Riley had actual knowledge that she was furnishing alcohol to a visibly intoxicated individual. See Delta Tau Delta, Beta Alpha Chapter v. Johnson, 712 N.E.2d 968, 974 (Ind.1999). "The furnisher's knowledge must be judged by a subjective standard." Id. In the instant case, the bartender on duty at the time Riley was drinking beer in the FOE's club stated that she had "no idea" whether she re[968]*968membered seeing him on the day of the accident. Appellee's App. at 80.

Absent an admission that the person furnishing aleohol had actual knowledge of the other's intoxication, the trier of fact must look to reasonable inferences based upon an examination of the surrounding cireumstances.

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