Sandelin v. Sosbe

2023 Ohio 2091, 218 N.E.3d 311
Ohio Court of Appeals·Decided June 23, 2023·No. L-22-1193·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO SIXTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

LUCAS COUNTY

Danielle Sandelin et al., individually Court of Appeals No. L-22-1193 and as parent and natural guardian of A.S., a minor, and Danielle Sandelin, Trial Court No. CI0202101850 individually and as parent and natural guardian of S.S., a minor.

Appellant v. Jackie Sosbe, et al. DECISION AND JUDGMENT Appellee Decided: June 23, 2023

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Lorri J. Britsch, for appellant.

Joseph G. Ritzler and Robin Christine Kunikis, for appellant.

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MAYLE, J.

{¶ 1} Appellant, Danielle Sandelin, individually and as guardian of her minor children, A.S. and S.S., appeals the July 25, 2022 decision of the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas granting summary judgment in favor of appellee, Jackie Sosbe, and dismissing Sandelin’s claims against Sosbe. For the following reasons, we affirm.

I. Background and Facts

{¶ 2} On May 1, 2019, Sandelin was involved in a car accident with a pickup truck. The driver of the truck turned left in front of Sandelin, striking her van. The driver fled the scene of the accident, leaving the truck he was driving behind. Sandelin testified at her deposition that the driver was male, but she could not recall any other details about him. As a result of the accident, Sandelin sustained a concussion and injuries to her neck and back; the children each sustained minor injuries. Sandelin’s injuries continue to cause her pain and have affected the quality of her life.

{¶ 3} At her deposition, Sosbe testified that the truck involved in the accident belonged to her. The truck was one of two vehicles that she owned, and she did not drive it often. She kept the truck’s keys (and other assorted household items) on a table in her living room.

{¶ 4} At the time of the accident, Sosbe lived with Jason Brilla. Sosbe said that she and Brilla had been dating for approximately five and one-half years, and had lived together “[o]n and off for five years.” He was the only other person who could have taken the truck keys from Sosbe’s home. Their relationship ended shortly after the accident because, according to Sosbe, Brilla was “stealing * * * [m]oney out of [her] purse and selling [her] possessions.” Brilla did not return to Sosbe’s home after the accident and moved out within a couple of weeks. Although Brilla occasionally tried to contact Sosbe after he moved out, she did not respond to his messages and did not know where he was living.

{¶ 5} Sosbe testified that she was at home and asleep at the time of the accident.

She learned of the accident when Brilla called and told her that “[h]e was in an accident and he left the scene.” After telling her that, Brilla hung up the phone and did not answer when Sosbe called him back. She did not recall talking to the police, and was unaware of what, exactly, happened to the truck; she “was told it was in the police impound” lot, but she did not attempt to retrieve the truck because she believed that it was “not driveable” and she “didn’t have the money to go get it out.”

{¶ 6} Sosbe knew that Brilla did not have a valid driver’s license on May 1, 2019;

she said that he did not have one the entire time they dated. As far as she knew, his license was suspended because “he owed too much to get it” due to “court costs for other incidents.” Brilla had not driven either of Sosbe’s vehicles before the accident, although he had asked her if he could drive them. Sosbe testified that she told him “[n]o” when he asked “[b]ecause he didn’t have a license.” And, as far as Sosbe knew, Brilla had not taken the keys to her vehicles before May 1, 2019. Additionally, Sosbe testified that, “[t]wo years into [their] relationship[,]” she specifically told Brilla that “he wasn’t allowed to drive [her] vehicles if he didn’t have a license and [she] wasn’t going to be in trouble for any of his mistakes.” Sosbe did not file a police report regarding Brilla taking her truck. Her reasons for not reporting him were that she “just wanted [Brilla] out of [her] life for good” and she “just didn’t. No reason.”

{¶ 7} As exhibits to her response to Sosbe’s motion for summary judgment, Sandelin submitted five documents from the Toledo Municipal Court. The first is the docket sheet from a 2018 OVI case that lists Brilla as the defendant and includes entries showing that Brilla pleaded no contest and was found guilty (although the docket does not specify the charge that Brilla pleaded to). The second document is the docket sheet from a 2014 traffic case that lists Sosbe as the defendant, refers to a violation of “TMC 335.01A2 PERMIT OPERATION WITHOUT LICENSE[,]” and includes an entry showing that Sosbe pleaded guilty at her initial appearance and without counsel (although the docket does not specify the charge that Sosbe pleaded to). The third document is a traffic citation, labeled with the case number of the 2014 traffic case, issued to Sosbe in 2014 for “allowing an un-licensed operator” in violation of “TMC 335.01a2.” The affidavit accompanying the citation indicates that Sosbe “allowed an unlicensed driver to operate her vehicle knowing that the person Jason Brilla did not have a license. * * * [Sosbe] stated that her vehicle was suspose [sic] to be broke [sic] down and no one was suspose [sic] to be driving her truck.” The citation apparently resulted from Brilla’s involvement in an accident while driving a truck that Sosbe owned at the time. The fourth document is a list of case numbers and charges that each indicate that the defendant is “BRILLA, JASON.” The document does not indicate the disposition of those cases (i.e., it does not show whether the Jason Brilla charged in those cases was actually convicted of the listed charges). The final document is the docket sheet from a 2012 criminal case that lists Brilla as the defendant, refers to a violation of “TMC 525.21A FALSE INFORMATION TO A POLICE OFFICER[,]” and lists a disposition of “Off Docket.” There is no indication that Brilla pleaded to or was convicted of a crime in the 2012 case.1

{¶ 8} The trial court granted Sosbe’s motion for summary judgment. In its judgment entry, the court first found that Sosbe was entitled to summary judgment on Sandelin’s negligence claim because Sandelin conceded that Sosbe was not driving the truck that caused the accident.2

{¶ 9} The court went on to determine that Sosbe’s deposition testimony showed that she did not give Brilla express permission to drive her truck the day of the accident. Further, Sosbe and Brilla living together, the place Sosbe kept her keys, Sosbe not reporting the truck stolen, Brilla calling Sosbe after the accident, and one documented instance of Sosbe allowing Brilla to drive her vehicle five years before the accident were “insufficient to support an inference that [Sosbe] negligently entrusted her vehicle to Brilla * * *.” In reaching its conclusion, the trial court commented that it views [Sosbe’s] 2014 conviction as a lesson learned which made her more aware of the consequences of her actions when she allows Brilla to drive her vehicles without a valid driver’s license and was more likely than

1 Sandelin originally included the complaint from the 2012 case as an exhibit. However, when she later moved to substitute certified copies of the municipal court documents for the uncertified versions included with her response to Sosbe’s motion for summary judgment, she did not include that complaint. Instead, she asked the trial court to substitute the docket sheet of the 2012 case for the complaint, which the trial court did. 2 Sandelin is not appealing this portion of the trial court’s decision.

not a deterrent for [Sosbe] than a pattern of behavior especially since it appears that the May 1, 2019 accident was the first time that Brilla disobeyed [Sosbe’s] instruction not to drive her vehicle.

Ultimately, the trial court found, Sandelin failed to show a genuine issue of material fact on the first element of a negligent entrustment claim and Sosbe was entitled to summary judgment.

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Sandelin v. Sosbe, 2023 Ohio 2091, 218 N.E.3d 311 (Ohio Ct. App. 2023).

2023 Ohio 2091 (Sandelin v. Sosbe) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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