State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance v. Anders

965 N.E.2d 1056, 197 Ohio App. 3d 22
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 1, 2012
DocketNo. 11AP-511
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 965 N.E.2d 1056 (State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance v. Anders) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance v. Anders, 965 N.E.2d 1056, 197 Ohio App. 3d 22 (Ohio Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

French, Judge.

{¶ 1} Defendants-appellants, Brian K. Anders and Celadon Trucking Services, Inc., appeal the judgment of the Franklin County Municipal Court in favor of plaintiff-appellee, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company. For the following reasons, we affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

{¶ 2} State Farm filed this subrogation action on October 21, 2009, to recover money paid to or on behalf of its insured, Mark Poland, as the result of a motor vehicle accident that occurred on December 9, 2008. State Farm alleges that Anders, while in the course and scope of his employment by Celadon, negligently [26]*26operated a motor vehicle so as to cause a collision with the motor vehicle operated by Poland. State Farm further alleges that it paid $8,642.06 on behalf of Poland, pursuant to Poland’s insurance policy, and that it is subrogated in that amount.

{¶ 3} At a bench trial on April 21, 2011, the testimony revealed the following facts. At approximately 8:00 a.m. on December 9, 2008, Poland was traveling in the right lane of westbound 1-270, between Sawmill Road and State Route 33, in Dublin, Ohio. Poland attempted to brake when he noticed brake lights ahead, but he lost control of his vehicle on the wet road, and the front passenger side of his vehicle collided with the barrier wall along the right side of the freeway. Upon impact, Poland’s vehicle spun, and the front of his vehicle reentered the right lane of travel, so that his vehicle was facing south, perpendicular to the lane of travel. Ann Miller, who was driving the vehicle behind Poland, came to a complete stop. Anders, who was driving a tractor-semitrailer in the right lane, two vehicles behind Poland, collided with Miller’s vehicle, which spun in front of Poland’s vehicle, and came to rest with its driver’s side against the barrier wall. The semi then collided with Poland’s vehicle, and, as a result, the rear of Poland’s vehicle struck the barrier wall.

{¶ 4} In order to prove the damage to Poland’s vehicle caused by the collision with the semi, State Farm presented the expert testimony of Thomas Showalter, an “auto estimatics inspector” employed by State Farm. Showalter’s prior experience includes writing estimates for damaged automobiles on behalf of State Farm and management and ownership of automotive body shops. Showalter’s current job duties involve monitoring State Farm’s “select service shop facilities” and auditing estimates written by body shops for fairness and accuracy. Showalter explained that to be a select service facility, “[tjhere is a certain agreement that [the facility has] to abide by in preparing [its] estimates and uploading photos to document the file.” With respect to this case, Showalter reviewed a $9,857.04 estimate to repair Poland’s vehicle. The estimate, prepared by Tan-sky’s Advanced Auto Body, a State Farm select service facility, was included in State Farm’s claim file. The Tansky estimate, dated December 16, 2008, lists an inspection date of December 9, 2008, the date of the accident. Showalter, who normally evaluates estimates prepared by State Farm’s select service facilities by looking at photographs, testified that the Tansky estimate was reasonable.

{¶ 5} Showalter testified that he was requested to review the Tansky estimate and to separate the damages caused by Poland’s initial collision with the barrier wall from the damages attributable to the collision with the semi operated by Anders. In addition to the Tansky estimate, Showalter considered the facts of the collision, the police accident report, and photographs of Poland’s vehicle taken by Tansky, but he did not personally inspect Poland’s vehicle. Showalter testified that both the estimate and the photographs were provided to State Farm [27]*27in the normal course of handling a claim. Based upon his review of the documents and his experience, Showalter testified that the damage caused by Poland’s initial impact with the barrier wall totaled $1,535.27 and that the remainder of the $9,857.04 Tansky estimate represented damages associated with the impact with the semi. Although Showalter prefers to look at a vehicle when preparing a repair estimate, he stated that he was able to complete his task in this case without personally observing Poland’s vehicle.

{¶ 6} Appellants objected to Showalter’s testimony regarding the Tansky estimate and photographs and moved to exclude those exhibits as hearsay. Appellants also moved to strike Showalter’s expert testimony, as improperly reliant on inadmissible hearsay. Appellants argued that the absence of a witness from Tansky to testify that the estimate and photographs were prepared in the ordinary course and scope of its business and to testify to their accuracy rendered the documents inadmissible. The trial court overruled appellants’ objections and admitted the exhibits, as well as Showalter’s testimony. The trial court expressly found that the Tansky estimate and photographs were business records between Tansky and State Farm and were admissible under the hearsay exception set forth in Evid.R. 803(6).

{¶ 7} On May 18, 2011, the trial court entered judgment in favor of State Farm and against appellants, jointly and severally, in the amount of $8,321.77, plus costs and postjudgment interest. Appellants filed a timely notice of appeal.

II. ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR

{¶ 8} Appellants assert the following assignments of error for our consideration:

(1) The trial court abused its discretion by admitting Tansky’s repair estimate into evidence because there was no testimony by any witness that prepared the estimate or had personal knowledge of Tansky’s record-keeping system.
(2) The trial court abused its discretion by admitting Tansky’s photographs into evidence because there was no testimony to authenticate the photographs.
(3) The trial court abused its discretion by permitting state farm’s expert to render opinions based upon hearsay documents that were prepared by Tansky.
(4) The trial court abused its discretion by permitting state farm’s expert to render opinions that were not based upon reliable, scientific information.

III. DISCUSSION

{¶ 9} Each of appellants’ assignments of error stems from the trial court’s admission of evidence. A trial court has broad discretion to determine [28]*28whether to admit or exclude evidence, and an appellate court will not disturb the trial court’s determination absent an abuse of discretion. Krischbaum v. Dillon, 58 Ohio St.3d 58, 66, 567 N.E.2d 1291 (1991). “ ‘[A]buse of discretion’ connotes more than an error of law or judgment; it implies that the court’s attitude is unreasonable, arbitrary or unconscionable.” Blakemore v. Blakemore, 5 Ohio St.3d 217, 219, 450 N.E.2d 1140 (1983). Even upon a showing of an abuse of discretion, a reviewing court will uphold a trial court’s evidentiary ruling unless the appellant also establishes that the abuse of discretion caused material prejudice to him or her. Banford v. Aldrich Chem. Co., Inc., 126 Ohio St.3d 210, 2010-Ohio-2470, 932 N.E.2d 313, ¶ 38.

A. First Assignment of Error

{¶ 10} By their first assignment of error, appellants contend that the trial court abused its discretion by admitting the Tansky estimate, which appellants maintain is hearsay and outside the scope of the business-records exception to the hearsay rule.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
965 N.E.2d 1056, 197 Ohio App. 3d 22, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-farm-mutual-automobile-insurance-v-anders-ohioctapp-2012.