Reeves v. Boyd & Sons, Inc.

654 N.E.2d 864, 1995 Ind. App. LEXIS 1017, 1995 WL 494835
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedAugust 22, 1995
Docket49A04-9408-CV-326
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 654 N.E.2d 864 (Reeves v. Boyd & Sons, Inc.) 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
Reeves v. Boyd & Sons, Inc., 654 N.E.2d 864, 1995 Ind. App. LEXIS 1017, 1995 WL 494835 (Ind. Ct. App. 1995).

Opinions

OPINION

DARDEN, Judge.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

Timothy C. Reeves appeals the jury verdict finding him 100% at fault for his collision with a Boyd & Sons, Inc. tractor-trailer and holding him liable for damages to it. We affirm.

ISSUES

1. Whether admission of medical records disclosing results of Reeves' blood alcohol test was reversible error.

2. Whether allowing inquiry into Reeves' previous driving under the influence conviction was reversible error.

3. Whether failure to submit to the jury an instruction tendered by Reeves was reversible error.

4. Whether the court's refusal to allow Reeves to depose an individual originally listed as a witness for the defense, but later removed from that list and who did not testify, was reversible error.

FACTS

(On October 28, 1990, Timothy C. Reeves left work at his construction job site and joined some fellow workers at a nearby bar and grill between 4:00 and 4:80 p.m. During his approximately one hour stay, he consumed two long-neck bottles of beer. Reeves and some of his companions decided to continue their evening at Dancers, a strip club on West Washington Street in Indianapolis.

Reeves left the bar, stopped at a fast food restaurant for a burger, fries and cola, and then arrived at Dancers sometime before 7:00. Reeves ordered and drank a glass of [866]*866beer. He then ordered a pitcher of beer. Reeves' expected companions never arrived.

Departing Dancers after 1:00 a.m., Reeves traveled east on Washington Street. As he drove, Reeves saw a gas station and checked his fuel gauge to see whether he needed gas. Because his dashboard light was not working he could not read the gauge. He turned on his dome light. After he turned the dome light off, he saw a semi-tractor-trailer in front of him. The tractor-trailer was angled across Washington Street in the process of backing into a drive across from 84 Lumber Company, which was the destination of the truck's load of lumber. Reeves tried to apply his brakes but missed. Reeves drove into the side of the tractor-trailer.

The 1989 Peterbilt tractor had its headlights on; flashers were activated on the cab and along the, side of the 1990 Wilson trailer. On the side of the tractor's "sleeper" were four lights with two bulbs each; under the door of the cab were another four lights with two bulbs each; and there were five lights on top of the cab. The trailer itself had a "light in the center ... which would flash on each side, and then a light at the very front of the trailer and the very rear and then two (2) other ones centered in between the center ones and the far end ones." (R. 707). There were also reflectors on the side of the trailer, and a "pole light" was attached to the side of the front bumper.

A driver traveling behind Reeves on Washington Street realized there was "something blocking the road" and saw the silhouette of the tractor-trailer from a distance of slightly less than a quarter mile away. The driver estimated his distance behind Reeves at "between an eighth and a quarter of a mile." (R. 951).

After the collision, reported as occurring at 1:88 am. on October 24th, sheriff's department and ambulance personnel arrived on the seene. Several of these people testified that Reeves was intoxicated. Reeves was transported to Methodist Hospital, arriving at 2:40 a.m., and was treated by trauma service resident Dr. Douglas Carr. In the course of Dr. Carr's evaluation of Reeves' condition for the purpose of treating him, blood tests were performed. Reeves' blood was drawn at 3:00 a.m. and tested at 8:18 am. According to one of the tests conducted, Reeves' blood alcohol content level was 179.

On June 23, 1992, Reeves brought a personal injury lawsuit against Boyd & Sons, Inc. (hereafter, "Boyd"), the owner of the tractor-trailer. Boyd counterclaimed 1 for damages to its tractor-trailer. The case was tried to a jury over a period of four days. The jury returned a verdict in favor of Boyd on both Reeves' complaint and Boyd's counterclaim, finding 100% of fault in the incident attributable to Reeves and Reeves lable to Boyd for the damage therefrom.

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

1. Blood Alcohol Test Result

Reeves claims that "the trial court committed reversible error by admitting medical records containing a blood alcohol test result, allegedly obtained utilizing a sample of blood from the plaintiff Timothy C. Reeves, without a proper foundation showing the chain of custody of the sample." Reeves' Brief at 10.

The admission of evidence "is a determination entrusted to the discretion of the trial court." Eversole v. Consolidated Rail Corp. (1990), Ind.App., 551 N.E.2d 846, 854, reh'g denied, trams. denied (citation omitted). On appellate review, we consider whether the trial court has abused its discretion in admitting evidence, i.e., whether "the court's action is clearly erroneous and against the logic and effect of the facts and cireumstances before it or the reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom." Id. (citation omitted). To constitute reversible error, the evidence erroneously admitted cannot be "merely cumulative." Jordan v. Talaga (1989), Ind.App. 532 N.E.2d 1174, 1191, reh'g denied, trans. denied.2

[867]*867Dr. Carr, the physician who treated Reeves upon his admission to the hospital after the collision, was deposed pretrial. During the deposition, Reeves challenged the foundation for the doctor's testimony as to the blood alcohol test result. According to the trial record, the court stated that Dr. Carr's deposition had been "heard in chambers last night without a court reporter present and with both counsel present. And the Court ruled on the objections contained in said deposition...." (R. 384). Before the jury was present the next day, the court discussed with the parties the form of the deposition to be included in the record. When the court asked whether Boyd was "going to introduce the original, ... as part of the official record," Boyd's counsel answered "Yes, sir." (R. 887). Boyd's counsel elaborated that "you want the original in there to preserve [Reeves'] objections." (R. 388). A further colloquy explored Reeves' objection to admission of some of the content of Dr. Carr's deposition:

THE COURT: Any other preliminary matters outside the presence that we need to consider?
[BOYD'S COUNSEL]: Not that I know of.
[REEVES COUNSEL]: Do we have to object on the record now at the time they move their admission?
THE COURT: Technically, yes. I have no objection if you want to make your record now.
[REEVES COUNSEL]: I don't have any problem with doing it now either as long as the Court of Appeals doesn't have a problem with it.
THE COURT: No, I don't think that presents a problem as to when.
[REEVES' COUNSEL]: We can all agree that we can-
[BOYD'S COUNSEL]: Yeah, I don't have a problem-
[REEVES COUNSEL]:-if we all stipulate to it, I think it will probably be all right.

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Reeves v. Boyd & Sons, Inc.
654 N.E.2d 864 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1995)

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Bluebook (online)
654 N.E.2d 864, 1995 Ind. App. LEXIS 1017, 1995 WL 494835, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/reeves-v-boyd-sons-inc-indctapp-1995.