Rodenburg v. Fargo-Moorhead Young Men's Christian Ass'n

2001 ND 139, 632 N.W.2d 407, 2001 N.D. LEXIS 154, 2001 WL 823585
CourtNorth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedJuly 23, 2001
Docket20000279
StatusPublished
Cited by60 cases

This text of 2001 ND 139 (Rodenburg v. Fargo-Moorhead Young Men's Christian Ass'n) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering North Dakota Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rodenburg v. Fargo-Moorhead Young Men's Christian Ass'n, 2001 ND 139, 632 N.W.2d 407, 2001 N.D. LEXIS 154, 2001 WL 823585 (N.D. 2001).

Opinion

KAPSNER, Justice.

[¶ 1] Clifton and Donna Rodenburg appealed a district court judgment, an order denying their motion for a new trial, and “every other ruling of the court adverse to the plaintiffs.” We reverse the judgment dismissing Rodenburgs’ action against Patrick Parker. We affirm in all other respects.

[¶ 2] While in the weight room of the Fargo-Moorhead Young Men’s Christian Association (‘YMCA”) on March 26, 1996, *411 Clifton Rodenburg was injured when William J. Hart shot him with a .357 magnum revolver. Rodenburgs sued Hart for damages. In an amended complaint, Roden-burgs added the YMCA as a defendant, alleging in part: “The YMCA negligently failed to take reasonable measures to prevent Hart from gaining access to the YMCA and negligently failed to take reasonable precautions to provide for the safety of the YMCA’s patrons, including Clifton Rodenburg.” In a second amended complaint, Rodenburgs added Mark La-throp, Amelia Oponski, and Patrick Parker as defendants. Rodenburgs alleged:

32. Lathrop and Oponski, in breach of this duty, negligently and carelessly:
a. obtained Hart’s release from jail by posting bail for him,
b. allowed Hart to possess the .357 magnum revolver that was in their possession,
c. transported Hart to Fargo, and
d. failed to warn the authorities and/or Clifton Rodenburg of Hart’s risk of assault upon Clifton Rodenburg and others.
33. By breach of their duty, Lathrop and Oponski aided, enabled, and facilitated Hart’s assault and battery of Clifton Rodenburg.

Rodenburgs alleged Parker owned the revolver and ammunition Hart used to shoot Clifton Rodenburg and alleged:

41. Parker, in breach of this duty, negligently and carelessly entrusted his .357 magnum revolver and ammunition to be used in an enterprise where Clifton Rodenburg was shot with this firearm and ammunition by Hart.... Parker, by providing the .357 magnum revolver and ammunition, aided, enabled, and facilitated Hart’s shooting of Rodenburg.

[¶ 3] Rodenburgs moved for partial summary judgment striking part of the YMCA’s answer, “on the grounds that, under North Dakota comparative fault law, liability may not be apportioned between an intentional tortfeasor ... and a negligent tortfeasor ... whose liability is predicated upon breaching a duty to protect, when both are proximate causes of an indivisible injury.” The court denied Ro-denburgs’ motion and their subsequent motion for reconsideration.

[¶ 4] Rodenburgs moved to strike the part of Parker’s answer alleging the trial court lacked personal jurisdiction over him. The trial court denied Rodenburgs’ motion to strike, and Parker moved to dismiss the action against him because the court lacked personal jurisdiction. The trial court found “the contacts of defendant Patrick Parker with the State of North Dakota are so minimal such that the exercise of jurisdiction over him in the State of North Dakota offends traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice” and granted Parker’s motion to dismiss on May 19, 1999. On June 16, 1999, this Court denied Rodenburgs’ application for a supervisory writ. 1 Upon Rodenburgs’ motion, the trial court ordered their action against Lathrop and Oponski dismissed without prejudice.

[¶ 5] After a trial, the jury returned a special verdict finding the YMCA was not negligent, attributing to Hart 100% of the fault proximately causing damages to Ro-denburgs, and fixing the amount of damages to Rodenburgs. Judgment against Hart and dismissing Rodenburgs’ corn- *412 plaint against the YMCA was entered on June 1, 2000. The court denied Roden-burgs’ motion for a new trial on the grounds of erroneous exclusion of evidence, erroneous jury instructions, and on the ground that the jury’s verdict was contrary to the weight of the evidence. Rodenburgs appealed.

I

[¶ 6] Rodenburgs contend: “The Jury’s Verdict That the YMCA Was Not Negligent Is Clearly Contrary to the Evidence, and the Trial Court’s Denial of the New Trial Motion Was an Abuse of Discretion.” Rodenburgs contend the evidence shows “the YMCA failed to take the most basic steps to protect its members in the face of a clear and substantial risk of harm.”

[¶ 7] We uphold special verdicts whenever possible and set aside a special verdict only if it is perverse and clearly contrary to the evidence. Phillips v. Dickinson Mgmt., Inc., 1998 ND 123, ¶ 6, 580 N.W.2d 148. In reviewing a jury’s findings, “we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict and determine only if substantial evidence supports it.” Ingalls v. Paul Revere Life Ins. Group, 1997 ND 43, ¶ 24, 561 N.W.2d 273. A motion for a new trial under N.D.R.Civ.P. 59(b)(6) is addressed to the sound discretion of the trial court. Braunberger v. Interstate Eng’g, Inc., 2000 ND 45, ¶ 7, 607 N.W.2d 904. “A trial court abuses its discretion when it acts in an arbitrary, unreasonable, or unconscionable manner.” Id. In reviewing a trial court’s decision on a motion for a new trial based on insufficiency of the evidence, we examine the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict to determine if there is sufficient evidence to justify the verdict. Kreidt v. Burlington Northern R.R., 2000 ND 150, ¶ 19, 615 N.W.2d 153.

[¶ 8] Rodenburgs rely on several evidentiary items supporting their argument the YMCA knew of a risk of harm Hart posed to Clifton Rodenburg and failed to take reasonable steps to protect him from Hart. There was evidence, however, supporting the YMCA’s argument it acted reasonably under the circumstances in light of its knowledge about Hart. The trial court observed in considering Roden-burgs’ motion for new trial, “[t]he evidence in this case was extremely close on the question of negligence.”

[¶ 9] Paul Finstad, the executive director of the YMCA, testified: (1) in a telephone conversation on February 22, 1996, Rodenburg told him Hart “had been exhibiting some bizarre behavior, that at times he could be very friendly, and sometimes he could be very difficult. I believe he also told me that he had thrown a weight at him,” and that Ed Renner and Bill Engelhardt “also had concerns about” Hart, and Rodenburg encouraged Finstad to consider taking away Hart’s membership; (2) he did not recall Rodenburg telling him Hart threatened to kill Roden-burg; (3) in that conversation, Finstad told Rodenburg, “before I make a decision on what we needed to do, I wanted to be able to try and talk to both parties in regard to what had happened;” (4) he could suspend or revoke a member’s privileges, which could be flagged on the computer; and (5) on March 26, 1996, there were no flags or restrictions on Hart’s membership. Fin-stad testified if he “would kick somebody out of the Y every time a member ...

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2001 ND 139, 632 N.W.2d 407, 2001 N.D. LEXIS 154, 2001 WL 823585, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rodenburg-v-fargo-moorhead-young-mens-christian-assn-nd-2001.