Nunez v. Spino

14 So. 3d 82, 2009 Miss. App. LEXIS 523, 2009 WL 2370799
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedAugust 4, 2009
Docket2008-CA-00842-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 14 So. 3d 82 (Nunez v. Spino) 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
Nunez v. Spino, 14 So. 3d 82, 2009 Miss. App. LEXIS 523, 2009 WL 2370799 (Mich. Ct. App. 2009).

Opinion

KING, C.J.,

for the Court.

¶ 1. On April 13, 2004, Nina Nunez filed a lawsuit in the Circuit Court of Lawrence County against Joseph P. Spino, Jr., alleging that he was responsible for injuries she sustained in an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) accident. Spino ñled a motion for summary judgment, which the trial court granted. Aggrieved, Nunez appeals and argues that the trial court erred by granting summary judgment in favor of Spino. Finding no error, we affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶ 2. On April 13, 2001, Nunez visited her daughter, her grandchild, and Jeffrey Spi-no (Jeffrey), who is her daughter’s fiancé and also Spino’s son. The couple lived in a trailer that was located across the highway from Spino’s home. Spino owned a chicken farm, which was located near the daughter and Jeffrey’s trailer. Jeffrey worked on the chicken farm. Spino had purchased an ATV for Jeffrey to use while he was working on the farm. However, Jeffrey commonly let his friends ride the ATV for fun. Nunez would also ride the ATV whenever she visited her family.

¶ 3. On that particular day, Nunez had been riding the ATV with her grandson. In Spino’s deposition, he said that he was unaware that Nunez was visiting that day. Eventually, Nunez’s family left the premises, going out of town for the Easter holiday. After they left, Nunez remained on the property and continued to ride the ATV. In Nunez’s deposition, she admitted that she had consumed two beers that day.

¶ 4. Nunez was driving the ATV on a gravel road. As she attempted to turn, the steering and brakes allegedly failed. This caused Nunez to crash into a barbed wire fence, and she was thrown from the ATV. Shortly after the accident, Spino was going to check on the chickens when he saw Nunez lying in the field. Spino took Nunez to the emergency room. As a result of the accident, Nunez sustained several injuries: a severed ear, an injury to her left calf, neck and lower back pains, and chipped teeth.

¶ 5. On April 13, 2004, Nunez filed a lawsuit against Spino, alleging that he was responsible for her injuries. Nunez claimed that Spino was aware that the ATV had steering and brake problems, and he failed to warn her. Spino filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that Nunez was a licensee on his property; thus, he only owed her a duty to refrain from willfully or wantonly injuring her. Spino argued that there was no genuine issue of material fact because there was no evidence that he willfully or wantonly caused injury to Nunez. In response, Nunez argued that she was an invitee, and Spino owed her the duty to warn her of the defective ATV.

¶ 6. The trial court found that: (1) there was no genuine issue of material fact with regard to Nunez’s status as a licensee because, at the time of the incident, she was riding the ATV for her own pleasure; and (2) Spino did not take any action to willfully or wantonly injure Nunez. Accordingly, on April 18, 2008, the trial court granted Spino’s motion for summary judg *84 ment. Aggrieved, Nunez timely filed her notice of appeal.

ANALYSIS

¶ 7. Nunez’s sole argument is that the trial court erred by granting summary judgment in favor of Spino. On appeal, the trial court’s grant of a motion for summary judgment is reviewed de novo. Todd v. First Baptist Church of West Point, 993 So.2d 827, 829(¶ 9) (Miss.2008) (citing Harmon v. Regions Bank, 961 So.2d 693, 697(¶10) (Miss.2007)). The Court views the judgment in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Id. (citing M.R.C.P. 56(c)). “If any triable issues of material fact exist, the trial court’s decision to grant summary judgment will be reversed.” Id. (quoting Harmon, 961 So.2d at 697(¶ 10)).

¶ 8. Nunez argues that the trial court erred by granting summary judgment in favor of Spino. She argues that the principles of premises liability do not apply to this case, and Spino is liable for her injuries based on his failure to restrict use of the defective ATV. Alternatively, if the principles of premises liability do apply to this case, Nunez argues that there was a genuine issue of material fact as to her status as an invitee or a licensee.

¶ 9. Conversely, Spino argues that the trial court did not err by granting his motion for summary judgment because (1) the principles of premises liability apply to this case; (2) there was no genuine issue of material fact as to Nunez’s status as a licensee; and (3) there was no evidence that Spino did anything to willfully or wantonly injure Nunez.

I. Premises Liability

¶ 10. A plaintiff must present evidence to satisfy the elements of negligence: duty, breach of duty, proximate cause, and damages. See Thomas v. The Columbia Group, LLC, 969 So.2d 849, 852(¶ 11) (Miss.2007). The principles of premises liability help the court determine what duty was owed to the plaintiff by the defendant. Id. The duty owed by the defendant is determined by the plaintiffs status as an invitee, a licensee, or a trespasser. Id.

¶ 11. Thus, the principles of premises liability are essential for this Court to determine Nunez’s status, the duty Spino owed to Nunez, and whether Spino breached that duty. Nunez’s argument that the principles of premises liability do not apply to this case is without merit.

II. Nunez’s Status

¶ 12. The threshold question is whether Nunez is an invitee or a licensee. An invitee is a person who “enters the premises of another in answer to the express or implied invitation of the owner or occupant for them mutual advantage.” Thomas, 969 So.2d at 852(¶ 12) (citing Holliday v. Pizza Inc., Inc., 659 So.2d 860, 865 (Miss.1995)). A licensee is a person who “enters the property of another for his own convenience, pleasure or benefit pursuant to the license or implied permission of the owner.... ” Id. The plaintiffs status can be a question of fact for the jury to decide. Howze v. Garner, 928 So.2d 900, 902(9) (Miss.Ct.App.2005) (citing Adams v. Fred’s Dollar Store of Batesville, 497 So.2d 1097, 1100 (Miss.1986)). However, that determination becomes a question of law for the trial court to decide when there are no factual disputes. Id.

¶ 13. Nunez contends that she was an invitee because she was Jeffrey’s guest, and she occasionally did work for Spino. The supreme court has held that “the visitor does not have to be upon the property for the sole purpose of the possessor’s business to be considered an ‘invitee,’ but *85 ‘the visit may be for the convenience or arise out of the necessities of others who are themselves upon the land for such a purpose.’ ” Evans v. Hodge, 2 So.3d 683, 687(¶ 10) (Miss.Ct.App.2008) (citing Restatement (Second) of Torts § 332 cmt. (g) (1965)).

¶ 14. Jeffrey worked for his father, but there was no indication that Jeffrey was working on that day or that Nunez’s presence on Spino’s property was associated with Jeffrey’s work. In her deposition, Nunez stated that she was simply visiting her family on that day.

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Bluebook (online)
14 So. 3d 82, 2009 Miss. App. LEXIS 523, 2009 WL 2370799, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/nunez-v-spino-missctapp-2009.