Stoner v. Montpelier Tavern Co.

98 N.E.3d 1092, 2017 Ohio 7995
CourtCourt of Appeals of Ohio, Sixth District, Williams County
DecidedSeptember 29, 2017
DocketNo. WM–16–009
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 98 N.E.3d 1092 (Stoner v. Montpelier Tavern Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Ohio, Sixth District, Williams County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Stoner v. Montpelier Tavern Co., 98 N.E.3d 1092, 2017 Ohio 7995 (Ohio Super. Ct. 2017).

Opinion

OSOWIK, J.

{¶ 1} This is an appeal from a judgment of the Williams County Court of Common Pleas which granted the motion for summary judgment by the appellees, The Montpelier Tavern Company and Dennis Wyse. For the reasons set forth below, this court affirms the judgment of the trial court.

{¶ 2} On March 24, 2015, appellant Ashley Stoner filed a complaint with jury demand against appellees, The Montpelier Tavern Company (aka "The Bar") and David Wyse, in addition to unidentified defendant employees of The Bar, setting forth claims of negligence towards business invitees, negligent infliction of emotional distress, intentional infliction of emotional distress, vicarious liability for employee conduct, and punitive damages. Stoner alleged he suffered personal and psychological injuries at The Bar when he intervened in the sudden assault of his friend by unidentified men at The Bar's rear smoking area in the early hours of March 29, 2014. Stoner alleged this was due to appellees fostering a dangerous environment through a history of condoning fighting and failing to maintain adequate safety of its alcohol drinking patrons. The appellees admitted Wyse was the sole shareholder of The Montpelier Tavern Company, an Ohio corporation, and commonly known as The Bar, and generally denied the allegations. Following a period of discovery by the parties, appellees filed a motion for summary judgment, which appellant opposed. The parties also supplemented their motion for summary judgment and opposition, respectively. On September 9, 2016, the trial court granted appellees' motion, which the clerk served on the parties on September 12, 2016. Appellant then filed this appeal on October 11, 2016.

{¶ 3} Appellant sets forth four assignments of error:

I. Where Defendants Admitted They Did Foresee this Type of Violence, the Court Erred in Disregarding That Evidence and Finding the Violence was not Foreseeable. (Emphasis in original.)
II. The Court Erred in Disregarding the Testimony of Mr. Stoner's Uncontroverted Premises Security Expert.
III. The Court Erred in Ruling, As a Matter of Law, on the Significance of 28 Police Reports and Whether They Indicated Violence Was Foreseeable.
IV. The Court Erred in Ruling That Defendants' Failures Were Not the Proximate Cause of Mr. Stoner's Injuries.

{¶ 4} Appellate review of trial court summary judgment determinations is de novo, employing the same Civ.R. 56 standard as trial courts. Chalmers v. HCR ManorCare, Inc. , 2017-Ohio-5678, 93 N.E.3d 1237, ¶ 21 ; Hudson v. Petrosurance, Inc. , 127 Ohio St.3d 54, 2010-Ohio-4505, 936 N.E.2d 481, ¶ 29.

{¶ 5} Summary judgment may be granted only "if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, written admissions, affidavits, transcripts of evidence, and written stipulations of fact, if any, timely filed in the action, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact *1095and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law * * * [and] that reasonable minds can come to but one conclusion and that conclusion is adverse to the party against whom the motion for summary judgment is made, that party being entitled to have the evidence or stipulation construed most strongly in the party's favor." Civ.R. 56(C) ; Harless v. Willis Day Warehousing Co., 54 Ohio St.2d 64, 66, 375 N.E.2d 46 (1978).

{¶ 6} When seeking summary judgment, a party must specifically delineate the basis upon which the motion is brought and identify those portions of the record that affirmatively demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact-not the reliance on conclusory assertions that non-movant has no evidence to prove its case-regarding an essential element of the non-movant's case. Beckloff v. Amcor Rigid Plastics USA, LLC , 2017-Ohio-4467, 93 N.E.3d 329, ¶ 14. When a properly supported motion for summary judgment is made, an adverse party may not rest on mere allegations or denials in the pleadings, but must respond with specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue of material fact for trial in accordance with Civ.R. 56(E). Id. A "material" fact is one which would affect the outcome of the suit under the applicable substantive law. Id.

{¶ 7} We conducted a de novo review of the entire record. The following facts are relevant to the issues raised on appeal.

{¶ 8} After a few hours visiting each other at appellant's home in Montpelier, Ohio, on the evening of Friday, March 28, 2014, appellant and his friends, Greg Toomey and Josh Williams, decided to walk the three blocks to The Bar to continue enjoying their evening together. Toomey had just broken up that week with his girlfriend, Manessa Gamble, with whom he had a young child. Appellant described Toomey as "upset over their split-up" while Toomey explained he kicked her out because she "didn't have her priorities straight." The three friends thought an evening at The Bar would be enjoyable for them. None expected Gamble to be at The Bar that night. They arrived around 8:30 p.m.

{¶ 9} Some alcohol had already been consumed at appellant's home, and the three friends continued to drink alcohol at The Bar. None considered themselves to be drunk at all that night. About six times from 8:30 p.m. until The Bar closed at 2:30 a.m. the friends left their table (and their coats) to go out the closed back door to smoke where there was a fenced-in smoking area. Appellant and Toomey could recognize Wyse and the full-time bartenders at The Bar, and appellant thought he saw Wyse in The Bar around 10:00 or 11:00 p.m. Toomey testified at his deposition he saw Wyse drink alcohol all night.

{¶ 10} Around 10:30 p.m. Gamble entered the packed The Bar with one or two girlfriends. Gamble and her friends and appellant and his friends did not interact with each other. Within an hour of Gamble's arrival, appellant noticed "[Toomey] was just getting a lot of-you want to call it-bad stares or [a couple of] people coming up and calling him a woman beater or whatnot." Appellant and Toomey did not know these people.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
98 N.E.3d 1092, 2017 Ohio 7995, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/stoner-v-montpelier-tavern-co-ohctapp6william-2017.