Trivette v. Yount

720 S.E.2d 732, 217 N.C. App. 477, 2011 N.C. App. LEXIS 2598
CourtCourt of Appeals of North Carolina
DecidedDecember 20, 2011
DocketNo. COA11-446
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 720 S.E.2d 732 (Trivette v. Yount) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Trivette v. Yount, 720 S.E.2d 732, 217 N.C. App. 477, 2011 N.C. App. LEXIS 2598 (N.C. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinions

HUNTER, JR., Robert N., Judge.

Peter Edward Yount (“Defendant”) appeals the trial court’s order denying his motion to dismiss and denying his motion for summary judgment. On appeal, Defendant contends the trial court erred by (1) exercising subject matter jurisdiction over this matter, as Plaintiffs’ remedy is limited to relief under the Workers’ Compensation Act and [479]*479(2) denying Defendant’s motion for summary judgment because even if the trial court’s jurisdiction was proper, Defendant’s conduct as alleged does not constitute willful, wanton, and reckless negligence. After careful review, we affirm.

I. Factual & Procedural Background

In October 2008, Defendant was employed as the principal of William Lenoir Middle School. Joan Trivette worked as an office assistant in the school’s front office. Ms. Trivette’s duties included answering telephones and performing general secretarial work for Defendant.

On 23 October 2008, a student discharged a fire extinguisher in one of the school’s classrooms. Upon investigation, Defendant determined the safety pin had been removed from the fire extinguisher. To avoid further incident, Defendant directed the school custodian to place the fire extinguisher in the front office of the school. The following day, Defendant placed the fire extinguisher on or near Ms. Trivette’s desk. According to Ms. Trivette, Defendant began joking around and pretended to spray Ms. Trivette with the fire extinguisher. Suddenly, the fire extinguisher discharged, spraying Ms. Trivette with a powder-like chemical substance. Defendant admits handling the fire extinguisher at the precise moment it discharged, but asserts he intended only to move the fire extinguisher into his office for “safety precautions,” and, further, he was not joking around with the fire extinguisher, nor did he point it at Ms. Trivette.

A few days after the incident, Ms. Trivette experienced a sharp pain in her chest and sought medical treatment. It was determined that Ms. Trivette had inhaled some of the powder-like substance emitted from the fire extinguisher, causing damage to her lungs and aggravating a preexisting neuromuscular condition.1 Prior to the incident, Ms. Trivette was an active bike rider and bowled regularly with the school’s bowling team. Presently, Ms. Trivette has difficulty with basic activities, such as vacuuming, showering, and styling her own hair.

On 23 March 2010, Ms. Trivette and her husband Terry Trivette (collectively, “Plaintiffs”) filed a complaint against Defendant alleging gross negligence and loss of consortium. The complaint alleges [480]*480Defendant’s actions aggravated Ms. Trivette’s pre-existing medical condition and caused her serious permanent bodily injury. The complaint further alleges Ms. Trivette has incurred medical and other expenses, lost wages, and a decreased earning capacity as a result of Defendant’s conduct.

Defendant filed an answer to Plaintiffs’ complaint on 2 June 2010. In his answer, Defendant raises several defenses: (1) Plaintiffs failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted, as Defendant was immune from suit pursuant to governmental or sovereign immunity; (2) the trial court lacked personal jurisdiction over Defendant and also lacked subject matter jurisdiction; (3) Plaintiffs’ claims were barred by the doctrines of waiver, laches, or estoppel; (4) Plaintiffs failed to mitigate their damages; and (5) Plaintiffs failed to state aggravating factors to support an award of punitive damages.

On 26 August 2010, Plaintiffs amended their complaint to allege that Defendant and the Caldwell County Board of Education waived the defense of sovereign immunity by purchasing insurance. On 28 September 2010, Defendant filed an answer to the amended complaint, raising an additional defense: Ms. Trivette sustained her injuries while working within the scope of her employment, and, therefore, Plaintiffs’ claims were barred by the exclusivity of the North Carolina Worker’s Compensation Act.

On 8 October 2010, Defendant filed a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1) of the North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure, asserting: (1) the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over Plaintiffs’ claims, as the North Carolina Workers’ Compensation Act provided Plaintiffs’ exclusive remedy, and (2) Defendant was entitled to summary judgment because, viewing the facts in the light most favor to Plaintiffs, no genuine issue of material fact existed and Defendant’s alleged conduct, as a matter of law, did not amount to willful, wanton, and reckless negligence. The trial court denied Defendant’s motion in an order entered 16 November 2010. Defendant filed a Notice of Appeal with this Court on 13 December 2010.

II. Jurisdiction

We note at the outset the trial court’s order denying Defendant’s motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1) and motion for summary judgment pursuant to Rule 56(c) is interlocutory. An order is interlocutory “if it is made during the pendency of an action and does not dispose of the case but requires further action by the trial court in [481]*481order to finally determine the entire controversy.” N.C. Dept. of Transp. v. Page, 119 N.C. App. 730, 733, 460 S.E.2d 332, 334 (1995) (citation omitted). The trial court’s order in the case at bar is interlocutory because it did not address and dispose of Plaintiffs’ loss of consortium claim.

The general rule is that an interlocutory order is not immediately appealable to this Court. See Barrett v. Hyldburg, 127 N.C. App. 95, 98, 487 S.E.2d 803, 805 (1997). An exception to this rule lies where the order affects a substantial right. See N.C. Gen. Stat. § l-277(a) (2009); N.C. Gen. Stat. § 7A-27(d)(l) (2009). “A substantial right is one which will clearly be lost or irremediably adversely affected if the order is not reviewable before final judgment.” Turner v. Norfolk S. Corp., 137 N.C. App. 138, 142, 526 S.E.2d 666, 670 (2000) (quotation marks and citation omitted). “The burden is on the appealing party to establish that a substantial right will be affected.” Id. “Whether an interlocutory appeal affects a substantial right is determined on a case by case basis.” McConnell v. McConnell, 151 N.C. App. 622, 625, 566 S.E.2d 801, 803 (2002).

In Burton v. Phoenix Fabricators & Erectors, Inc., the plaintiffs brought wrongful death actions against the defendant-employer alleging the defendant’s intentional tortious conduct resulted in the death of their husbands, who had been employed by the defendant. 194 N.C. App. 779, 781, 670 S.E.2d 581, 582, review denied, 363 N.C. 257, 676 S.E.2d 900 (2009). The defendant moved to dismiss the plaintiffs’ suit pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1) of the North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure, contending the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction as plaintiffs’ remedy was limited to relief under the Workers’ Compensation Act. Id. at 781, 676 S.E.2d at 583. The trial court denied the defendant’s motion. Id. This Court affirmed the trial court’s ruling in Burton v.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
720 S.E.2d 732, 217 N.C. App. 477, 2011 N.C. App. LEXIS 2598, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/trivette-v-yount-ncctapp-2011.