Phinney v. Casale

671 A.2d 851, 40 Conn. App. 495, 1996 Conn. App. LEXIS 98
CourtConnecticut Appellate Court
DecidedMarch 5, 1996
Docket13579
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 671 A.2d 851 (Phinney v. Casale) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Connecticut Appellate Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Phinney v. Casale, 671 A.2d 851, 40 Conn. App. 495, 1996 Conn. App. LEXIS 98 (Colo. Ct. App. 1996).

Opinion

FOTI, J.

This is an appeal from the judgment rendered after the trial court directed a verdict in favor of the defendants and denied the plaintiffs motion to set aside that directed verdict. The plaintiff alleges that the trial court improperly (1) removed the question of negligence from the jury and directed a verdict in favor of the defendants and (2) conducted a settlement conference prior to granting the defendants’ motion for a directed verdict. We agree that the trial court improperly directed a verdict in favor of the defendants and reverse the judgment of the trial court.1

The plaintiff, Helen Phinney, commenced this action in her capacity as administratrix of the estate of her deceased brother, Donald Agnelli, against the defendants, Gene A. Casale and Aircraft Hardware, Inc. Among other things, the complaint alleged that the vehicle operated by Casale and owned by Aircraft Hardware, Inc.,2 struck the plaintiffs decedent while he was riding his bicycle on Route 154, a public highway in Chester, knocking him to the ground and causing injuries, including the loss of his right arm. The complaint alleged that “[t]he plaintiffs decedent’s injuries were caused by the carelessness and negligence of the defendant Casale in one or more of the following ways: (a) In that he failed to keep a proper and reasonable lookout for pedestrians [497]*497and bicyclists along or upon the highway; (b) In that he failed to apply his brakes in time or with sufficient force to avoid a collision, although by a proper and reasonable exercise of his faculties, he could and should have done so; (c) In that he failed to keep his vehicle under proper and reasonable control; (d) In that he failed to turn his motor vehicle sufficiently to the left so as to avoid a collision, although by a proper and reasonable exercise of his faculties, he could and should have done so; (e) In that he allowed four (4) persons to occupy the front seat of the pick-up truck when doing so unreasonably interfered with his ability to safely operate and stop his vehicle; (f) In that he violated [General Statutes] § 14-257 by having in such pick-up truck more than the number of persons for whom reasonable and safe seating space is provided; (g) In that he was operating his vehicle at an unreasonable rate of speed having due regard for the traffic on and near the road, the width of the road and the intersection of streets and parking areas; (h) In that he was operating his vehicle with object(s) or material placed, displayed, or affixed in such a manner as to obstruct or reduce his clear and full view of the road ahead of him in violation of [General Statutes] § 14-99 g (b).”

The jury could reasonably have found the following facts. On September 16, 1991, Agnelli, a sixty-nine year old man who was mildly retarded, was riding his bicycle in a southerly direction on the left side of Route 154 in Chester. At that time and place, Casale was operating a pickup truck in a northerly direction at a speed of approximately thirty to thirty-five miles per hour. In the cab of his vehicle was an adult female and two children, ages one and three.3 Some items were hanging from the rearview mirror.4

[498]*498As Agnelli and Casale approached one another, Casale was looking straight ahead, with clear visibility and fair weather. Casale had a clear view of the road, which was straight, from at least 500 feet prior to the point of impact. Casale saw Agnelli riding his bicycle toward his vehicle. Agnelli was wearing a light colored checkered shirt and riding a red bicycle. Casale swerved to avoid Agnelli, but the passenger side mirror of the vehicle hit and injured Agnelli’s right arm.5 The impact caused Agnelli to be thrown off his bicycle to the ground. Casale saw Agnelli on the side of the vehicle, heard a thud, looked in his rearview mirror and saw Agnelli lying partially on the embankment. Photographs of the scene, including one aerial photograph, a map, a diagram with measurements of distances noted, the bicycle Agnelli was riding and the shirt he was wearing were introduced into evidence.

Prior to the presentation of evidence, the trial court issued preliminary instructions to the jury regarding the elements of negligence and the plaintiffs burden of proof. At the close of the plaintiffs case, the trial court directed the jury to render a verdict for the defendants because “[t]he evidence presented in this case was insufficient to allow a jury verdict based on more than mere speculation.” When the trial court instructed the jury to elect a foreman and to sign the defendants’ verdict form, the jury inquired, “Why is it our duty to find in this manner?” The trial court redirected the jury to find for the defendants and the foreman then signed and returned the defendants’ verdict form in compliance with the trial court’s order.

The dispositive issue in this case is whether the evidence was sufficient to prove, by a fair preponderance [499]*499of the evidence, the allegations of negligence alleged in the plaintiffs complaint.6

“The rules controlling appellate review of a directed verdict are well settled. Directed verdicts are not generally favored. A trial court’s decision to direct a verdict can be upheld only when the jury could not reasonably and legally have reached any other conclusion. . . . We review a trial court’s decision to direct a verdict for the defendant by considering all of the evidence, including reasonable inferences, in the light most favorable to the plaintiff.” (Citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Bilodeau v. Bristol, 38 Conn. App. 447, 454, 661 A.2d 1049, cert. denied, 235 Conn. 906, 665 A.2d 899 (1995). While a verdict may be directed where the decisive question is one of law, Lombardi v. J. A. Bergren Dairy Farms, Inc., 153 Conn. 19, 23, 213 A.2d 449 (1965); here it was directed on the court’s conclusion that the proof, as presented to the jury, was insufficient as to causation.

Causation is ordinarily a question of fact, and becomes a question of law only when a fair and reasonable person could reach only one conclusion. Causation need not be proven by direct evidence, but can be inferred from circumstantial evidence. Commercial Union Ins. Co. v. Frank Perrotti & Sons, Inc., 20 Conn. App. 253, 259, 566 A.2d 431 (1989). As long as some evidence of causation is introduced, the question of its sufficiency should go to the jury. Id. Litigants have a constitutional right to have factual issues as to which reasonable people may reach different conclusions resolved by the jury. Mather v. Griffin Hospital, 207 Conn. 125, 138, 540 A.2d 666 (1988). The trial court’s role is to decide whether, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, the jury could have [500]*500reasonably and legally reached only one conclusion. Berry v. Loiseau, 223 Conn. 786, 819-20, 614 A.2d 414 (1992).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
671 A.2d 851, 40 Conn. App. 495, 1996 Conn. App. LEXIS 98, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/phinney-v-casale-connappct-1996.