Rhonda Beinlein v. Kidz University, Inc.

• Court: Court of Appeals of Kentucky
• Decided: August 3, 2023
• Docket: 2021 CA 001191
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

RENDERED: AUGUST 4, 2023; 10:00 A.M. NOT TO BE PUBLISHED

Commonwealth of Kentucky Court of Appeals NO. 2021-CA-1191-MR

RHONDA BEINLEIN APPELLANT

APPEAL FROM JEFFERSON CIRCUIT COURT v. HONORABLE MARY M. SHAW, JUDGE ACTION NO. 17-CI-005021

KIDZ UNIVERSITY, INC. APPELLEE

AND

NO. 2021-CA-1248-MR

DAVID LEN PITTS; J. DAVID PITTS, JR.; KIDZ UNIVERSITY, INC.; AND ROCK COSMOPOLITAN CHURCH, INC. CROSS-APPELLANTS

CROSS-APPEAL FROM JEFFERSON CIRCUIT COURT v. HONORABLE MARY M. SHAW, JUDGE ACTION NO. 17-CI-005021

RHONDA BEINLEIN, AS PARENT AND STATUTORY GUARDIAN ON BEHLAF OF H.B. AND N.B., MINORS CROSS-APPELLEE OPINION AFFIRMING

** ** ** ** **

BEFORE: CALDWELL, GOODWINE, AND MCNEILL, JUDGES.

MCNEILL, JUDGE: Rhonda Beinlein (“Beinlein”) appeals from the Jefferson

Circuit Court’s judgment following a jury trial; Kidz University, Inc. (“Kidz

University”) cross-appeals from the same judgment. For the reasons below, we

affirm both appeals.

Beinlein’s children, H.B. and N.B., ages ten and eight respectively,

attended Kidz University daycare in 2015. In May of that year, H.B. and N.B.

reported to Beinlein that Kidz University Director Carrie Blankenship

(“Blankenship”) and employee Nikoletta Nunley (“Nunley”) were abusing other

children. Allegations included that Blankenship was shoving, hitting, and cursing

at the children. Video footage from the daycare later verified the abuse. Beinlein

reported the allegations to authorities and Blankenship subsequently pleaded guilty

to two counts of fourth-degree assault. As a result of the incident, Kidz University

permanently closed.

On September 22, 2017, Beinlein filed a complaint in Jefferson

Circuit Court against Kidz University, its owners, Nunley, and Blankenship

alleging H.B. and N.B. suffered physical, emotional, and psychological injuries

from witnessing the abuse, and that Kidz University was vicariously liable for its

-2- employees’ actions.1 Blankenship did not answer the complaint and the trial court

entered a default judgment against her in the amount of $650,000.00. The Kidz

University defendants denied any liability. The parties underwent mediation and

submitted an agreed order dismissing all claims except the vicarious liability claim

pertaining to Blankenship’s actions.

Following the agreed order of partial dismissal, both parties filed

motions for summary judgment on the vicarious liability issue. The trial court

denied both motions, holding that neither party had provided sufficient evidence on

whether Blankenship was acting in the scope of employment when the abuse

occurred. Beinlein then filed a renewed motion for partial summary judgment on

the liability issue,2 along with an affidavit from Blankenship.

The affidavit stated that Blankenship’s actions were not committed

“out of personal bias or ill will toward any child” nor was she “personally

motivated to harm any child[.]” It further claimed that at all times she “was acting

in the course and scope of [her] employment as Director of Kidz University[,]” and

“never intended anything other than accomplishment of my job running a daycare

. . . and disciplin[ing] . . . the children attending the daycare.” According to the

1 The complaint stated claims for assault, negligence per se, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, failure to hire, train, and supervise, and punitive damages. 2 Kidz University also filed a motion for summary judgment to dismiss any vicarious liability claim relating to employee Nunley’s actions that might potentially remain, pursuant to the agreed order of partial dismissal.

-3- affidavit, all of Blankenship’s actions were motivated by her desire to “please the

owners of Kidz University . . . .”

Blankenship conceded she was “overwhelmed by stress, resentment

and anger about my hours, my pay, the poor staffing situation and the lack of input

or assistance from the [owners of Kidz University,]” and “let my frustration and

anger and stress get the better of me . . . .” She acknowledged that she “was ill-

equipped emotionally to handle the stress” of the job. The trial court again denied

the motion, finding that “many of the reasons [Blankenship] provides for her

actions speak of personal reasons disconnected from any interest of her employer.

Thus issues of material fact remain as to vicarious liability . . . .”

A jury trial was held on the issue of vicarious liability. Videos of the

abuse were presented as evidence, but Blankenship did not testify. David Pitts, Jr.

testified he was unaware of the abuse and that the daycare had a posted policy

against abusing children. Video cameras had been installed to protect the children,

and he reviewed surveillance video once a week or every other week.

Following the evidence, both parties moved for directed verdicts on

vicarious liability which were denied. The trial court also ruled Beinlein could not

recover punitive damages because that claim had been dismissed pursuant to the

agreed order of partial dismissal. The jury found Blankenship was acting in the

-4- course and scope of her employment and in furtherance of Kidz University’s

business when she physically abused children and awarded $26,500.00 in damages.

Beinlein filed a motion to set aside the $26,500.00 damage award and

enter a new judgment for damages in the amount of $650,000.00, consistent with

the trial court’s default judgment entered against Blankenship. She also filed a

motion for a new trial on punitive damages. Kidz University also filed a motion

for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, arguing, as it did on directed verdict, that

it was not vicariously liable for Blankenship’s abuse as a matter of law. The trial

court denied all motions. These appeals followed.

Turning first to Beinlein’s appeal, she argues the trial court erred in

denying summary judgment and a directed verdict on the issue of Kidz

University’s vicarious liability for Blankenship’s actions. As the jury found in

favor of Beinlein on her vicarious liability claim, we find these arguments moot.

Beinlein next argues the trial court erred in having the jury determine

damages rather than setting damages at $650,000.00 pursuant to the default

judgment entered against Blankenship. Beinlein claims to have preserved this

error in both her motion for partial summary judgment and in her motion for

judgment notwithstanding the verdict. In both instances, we find this argument

waived. While Beinlein requested the trial court enforce the default judgment

damage award against Kidz University in her motion for partial summary

-5- judgment, Beinlein subsequently filed a renewed motion for partial summary

judgment asking the trial court to “enter an order setting the matter for a one-day

jury trial on damages.”

As to her motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, Beinlein

argues the trial court erred in submitting the issue of compensatory damages to the

jury. However, Beinlein did not object to the trial court’s instruction on damages

and in fact submitted her own damages construction. Therefore, she has waived

this issue. Further, “[o]bjections to jury instructions in a motion for judgment

notwithstanding the verdict are ‘too late’ to preserve the argument for appeal.” See

Morris v. Boerste, 641 S.W.3d 688, 695 (Ky. App. 2022) (citation omitted).

Even if this issue were properly before us, we find no error. “As a

general rule, in an action for unliquidated damages, a defaulting party admits

liability but not the amount of damages.” Howard v. Fountain, 749 S.W.2d 690,

693 (Ky. App. 1988) (citations omitted). And here, the default judgment was

entered against Blankenship, not Kidz University. Kidz University denied

vicarious liability in its answer to the complaint and requested a jury trial. As long

as the issues are raised by its pleadings, an employer “is entitled to try the issues of

negligence, respondeat superior and the amount of damages.” United Salt Corp. v.

McKee, 628 P.2d 310, 313 (N.M. 1981).

-6- Beinlein next argues that the trial court erred in failing to instruct the

jury on punitive damages. The trial court held that Beinlein’s punitive damages

claim was precluded by the agreed partial order of dismissal. We agree. The

construction and interpretation of a contract are questions of law and are reviewed

de novo. Hazard Coal Corp. v. Knight, 325 S.W.3d 290, 298 (Ky. 2010) (citations

omitted).

The agreed order dismissed all claims except “the alleged vicarious

liability claims relating to co-defendant Carrie Blankenship with respect to

defendant Kidz University . . . .” Beinlein argued to the trial court, as she does on

appeal, that punitive damages are simply an element of her vicarious liability

claim, and therefore, not part of the agreed order of dismissal. However, in

Kentucky “punitive damages [are] a separate claim and not merely an additional

remedy along with compensatory damages.” Chesley v. Abbott, 524 S.W.3d 471,

480 (Ky. App. 2017) (citing MV Transp., Inc. v. Allgeier, 433 S.W.3d 324, 327

(Ky. 2014)). Here, Beinlein’s complaint stated a separate claim for punitive

damages; the agreed order of partial dismissal dispensed with all claims except the

vicarious liability claim. The language of the agreement is clear. Therefore, we

find no error.

Beinlein next argues the trial court erred in excluding three video clips

of Nunley’s alleged abuse. Before trial, Beinlein requested to play five video clips

-7- of Nunley committing acts of alleged abuse against children. Beinlein argued that

because Blankenship was responsible for training and supervising Kidz

University’s employees, evidence of Nunley’s misdeeds was evidence of

Blankenship’s negligence and, thus, relevant to vicarious liability and damages.

The trial court agreed but limited Beinlein to two video clips, finding more to be

unduly prejudicial.

We review a trial court’s evidentiary rulings for abuse of discretion.

Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. v. Thompson, 11 S.W.3d 575, 577 (Ky. 2000)

(citations omitted). “The test for abuse of discretion is whether the trial judge’s

decision was arbitrary, unreasonable, unfair, or unsupported by sound legal

principles.” Id. at 581 (citation omitted).

Generally, all relevant evidence is admissible. Hall v.

Commonwealth, 645 S.W.3d 383, 391 (Ky. 2022) (citing KRE3 402). However,

relevant evidence “may be excluded if its probative value is substantially

outweighed by the danger of undue prejudice . . . or needless presentation

of cumulative evidence.” KRE 403. “Evidence is unduly prejudicial if it is

harmful beyond its natural probative force, meaning that it appeals to the jury’s

sympathies, arouses its sense of horror, provokes its instinct to punish, or otherwise

may cause a jury to base its decision on something other than the established

3 Kentucky Rules of Evidence.

-8- propositions in the case.” Hall, 645 S.W.3d at 391 (internal quotation marks and

citation omitted). “Whether relevant evidence should be excluded as unduly

prejudicial or needlessly cumulative is also a matter we leave to the trial court’s

sound discretion.” Gaither v. Commonwealth, 521 S.W.3d 199, 205 (Ky. 2017)

(citation omitted).

Here, the trial court allowed Beinlein to introduce two video clips of

Nunley’s alleged abuse in addition to video clips showing Blankenship’s abuse.

The jury saw ample evidence of Blankenship’s acts and omissions to judge

whether they were in the scope of employment and to assess damages. Any

additional video clips would have little probative value. See Hall v.

Commonwealth, 468 S.W.3d 814, 823-24 (Ky. 2015) (citation omitted) (“The

probative force of a particular item of evidence is . . . inherently dependent upon

the overall probativeness of other available evidence on that point.”). Further, the

acts of alleged abuse were committed against children, evidence particularly prone

to arouse the jurors’ sympathies and provoke their instinct to punish. We find no

error.

Turning to Kidz University’s cross-appeal, it argues the trial court

erred in denying its motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. Specifically,

it argues there is no evidence Blankenship’s intentional abuse of students was in

the scope of her employment.

-9- “When this Court reviews a trial court’s decision to deny a motion for

judgment notwithstanding the verdict, we apply the same standard of review that

we use when reviewing a lower court’s decision to deny a motion for a directed

verdict.” Radioshack Corp. v. ComSmart, Inc., 222 S.W.3d 256, 261 (Ky. App.

2007) (citation omitted). “[T]he trial court may only grant judgment

notwithstanding the verdict where ‘there is a complete absence of proof on a

material issue in the action, or if no disputed issue of fact exists upon which

reasonable men could differ.’” Id. (citation omitted). On appellate review, we will

reverse the trial court’s ruling only if we find that the jury could not have

“reasonably . . . reached its verdict on the basis of the evidence before it[.]”

Ellison v. R & B Contracting, Inc., 32 S.W.3d 66, 75 (Ky. 2000).

An employer is only liable for an employee’s actions committed in the

scope of employment. Patterson v. Blair, 172 S.W.3d 361, 366 (Ky. 2005). To be

within the scope of employment, “the conduct must be of the same general nature

as that authorized or incidental to the conduct authorized[,]” or “calculated to

advance the cause of the principal[.]” Osborne v. Payne, 31 S.W.3d 911, 915 (Ky.

2000) (citations omitted). “[Generally,] the master is held liable for any intentional

tort committed by the servant where its purpose, however misguided, is wholly or

in part to further the master’s business.” Papa John’s Intern., Inc. v. McCoy, 244

S.W.3d 44, 52 (Ky. 2008) (citation omitted). However, “if the servant acts from

-10- purely personal motives . . . which [are] in no way connected with the employer’s

interests, he is considered in the ordinary case to have departed from his

employment, and the master is not liable.” Id. (internal quotation marks and

citation omitted). Thus, “the focus is consistently on the purpose or motive of the

employee in determining whether he or she was acting within the scope of

employment.” Id. at 51 (citation omitted).

In denying both parties’ motions for summary judgment on vicarious

liability, the trial court relied upon Blankenship’s affidavit which provided both

employment-related and personal reasons for her actions and found that genuine

issues of material fact existed for trial. For example, Blankenship said her intent

was never to harm any child but only to accomplish her job in running the daycare

and disciplining children. However, she conceded she let her “frustration and

anger and stress get the better” of her.

While this affidavit was not introduced into evidence at trial, and

Blankenship did not testify, Beinlein introduced video evidence of the incidents

and the circumstances surrounding them. In one video, a child can be seen taking a

seat between two other children on a long bench. Blankenship grabs the child by

the arm and pushes him to the floor, saying “I’m tired of you doing that type of

stuff – sitting right on top of kids.” She then asks the child if he needs a nap and

-11- tells him to apologize to the other children. He refuses and she pulls him up by the

arm and says “ok then, take a nap, that’s all there is to it. Now you’re done.”

From this evidence, a jury could reasonably conclude that

Blankenship believed she was disciplining children as part of her job. As noted

above, a master is generally liable “for any intentional tort committed by the

servant where its purpose, however misguided, is wholly or in part to further the

master’s business.” Papa John’s Intern., Inc., 244 S.W.3d at 52 (citation omitted).

While Kidz University argues abusing children does not further its business, the

relevant issue is Blankenship’s motive, “however misguided.” The question on

appeal is whether the jury could not have “reasonably . . . reached its verdict on the

basis of the evidence before it[.]” Ellison, 32 S.W.3d at 75. We find no error.

Based upon the foregoing, the judgment of the Jefferson Circuit Court

is affirmed.

ALL CONCUR.

BRIEFS FOR APPELLANT/CROSS- BRIEF FOR APPELLEES/CROSS- APPELLEE: APPELLANTS:

Jeffrey Allan Sexton Robert T. Watson Michael R. Mazzoli Louisville, Kentucky Louisville, Kentucky

-12-