Zuluaga ex rel. Zuluaga v. Bashas', Inc.

394 P.3d 32, 242 Ariz. 205, 757 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 12, 2017 WL 491689, 2017 Ariz. App. LEXIS 16
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arizona
DecidedFebruary 3, 2017
DocketNo. 2 CA-CV 2016-0104
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 394 P.3d 32 (Zuluaga ex rel. Zuluaga v. Bashas', Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Zuluaga ex rel. Zuluaga v. Bashas', Inc., 394 P.3d 32, 242 Ariz. 205, 757 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 12, 2017 WL 491689, 2017 Ariz. App. LEXIS 16 (Ark. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

OPINION

VÁSQUEZ, Judge:

¶ 1 In this negligence action, Maricruz Zu-luaga appeals from the trial court’s judgment in favor of Bashas’, Inc. and the denial of her motion for a new jury trial. On appeal, Zulua-ga argues the court erred by unreasonably limiting the scope of voir dire. Zuluaga also contends the court erred by giving a curative [207]*207instruction after plaintiffs counsel referred during opening statements to the manner and timing of Bashas’ disclosure of certain information. For the following reasons, we affirm the court’s judgment.

Factual and Procedural Background

¶2 “We view the evidence and all reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to upholding the jury’s verdict.” Romero v. Sw. Ambulance, 211 Ariz. 200, ¶ 2, 119 P.3d 467, 469 (App. 2005). On June 2, 2011, six-year-old Zuluaga and her parents were shopping at a Food City location, operated by Bashas’. While in the store, Zuluaga briefly separated from her mother and went to the produce department. At the same time, a Food City employee, Carlos Martinez, passed through the produce department on his way to the back of the store. The two collided, and Zuluaga fell and sustained a skull fracture and subdural hemorrhage.

¶ 3 Zuluaga’s mother brought this action on her behalf in July 2012, claiming Zuluaga suffered damages because of Martinez’s negligence, for which Bashas’ was vicariously liable. During the seven-day trial, the parties disputed whether Martinez had been running or walking through the produce department and whether he ran into Zuluaga or she ran into him. The jury returned a defense verdict in favor of Bashas’. The trial court denied Zuluaga’s motion for a new trial, and this appeal followed. We have jurisdiction pursuant to A.R.S. §§ 12-120.21(A)(1) and 12-2101(A)(1), (5)(a).

Scope of Voir Dire

¶4 Zuluaga argues the trial court “unreasonably limited her voir dire by refusing to allow questions about grocery store employment.” We will not overturn a trial court’s ruling on the scope of voir dire absent an abuse of discretion. State v. Burns, 237 Ariz. 1, ¶ 19, 344 P.3d 303, 314 (2015).1 In addition, we will not reverse a judgment unless the error was prejudicial. See Ariz. Const. art. VI, § 27; United Cal. Bank v. Prudential Ins. Co. of Am., 140 Ariz. 238, 295, 681 P.2d 390, 447 (App. 1983).

¶5 The trial court conducted the initial portion of voir dire in this case, asking prospective jurors if they, a close family member, or a close friend “work[ed] for Bashas or Food City.” One juror responded affirmatively and was later dismissed for cause. During Zuluaga’s portion of voir dire, counsel asked a similar, but broader, question: ‘Who here, or a family member, or a close Mend, has ever worked in a grocery store? This could be 30 years ago, checkout clerk; cashier manager; surveillance.” Five jurors responded affirmatively, and the first four briefly explained their connections. The court stopped Zuluaga’s counsel before he could address the fifth juror, however, and the following exchange occurred:

The Court: You’re getting to some areas here that are so long and I don’t know how helpful it is. I’m surprised you haven’t asked who hasn’t worked at a grocery store because that’s such a common way of kids to advance to adults. It doesn’t really matter whether somebody has worked at a grocery store or has a good friend that has.
You can ask for similar specific areas, but I’m going to ask you to be more explicit asking the questions and move things along.
[Zuluaga’s counsel]: Your Honor, thank you.
For the record, this case involves the actions of a grocery store with [an] em[208]*208ployee and a manager, and whether or not their testimony is reasonable under the circumstances and upon the evidence the jury is going to hear, I believe it’s very important to know which jurors have worked in that environment of a grocery store....
And I’m not going into this to each individual person. I’m trying to get answers and the jurors saying yes, and then I’ll move past that. And I’m entitled to do that.
The Court: Well, ... you’re not going to be able to evaluate until somebody views the witness and until that witness takes the stand. So, really, I think you’re getting too specific here. You’re going to find people that are candid and people who are less than candid. Ultimately, the jury is going to use their collective common sense in deciding what’s credible or not, so I’m going to ask you to move on.
[[Image here]]
[Zuluaga’s counsel]: To clarify the Court’s ruling, the Court is preventing me [from] finishing this line of questions with the panel in respect to which members of the panel have worked in grocery stores or can remember—
The Court: Right. You can ask them, is there anything about their experience or experiences of a family [member] or friend that might [a]ffect [their] ability to fairly weigh the credibility of the witnesses in this case, whether they worked in a grocery store or not. So that’s really the question here.
So get on with it.

¶ 6 In turn, Zuluaga’s counsel asked the following question:

With respect to those of you who have had experience yourself in a grocery store or a close friend or family member, is there anything about those associations in your life or those people in your life, anything about conversations with them or knowledge about their jobs that would make it more likely, in this case, for you to start off favoring the grocery store or its employees in terms of credibility?

No jurors responded to the question. Of the five jurors who initially stated they, or someone close to them, had some experience working at a grocery store, two ultimately sat for trial, including the fifth juror who never disclosed the nature of that experience.2

¶ 7 Rule 47(b)(3), Ariz. R. Civ. P., provides that, “[u]pon the request of any party, the court shall permit that party a reasonable time to conduct a further oral examination of the prospective jurors.”3 Although the court “may impose reasonable limitations with respect to questions allowed,” id., it cannot restrict questions “to the grounds of challenge for cause,” Ariz. R. Civ. P. 47(d). Instead, voir dire “may extend to any legitimate inquiry which might disclose a basis for exercise of a peremptory challenge.” Id; see A.R.S. § 21-211 (listing grounds for challenge for cause); Ariz. R. Civ. P. 47(c) (same); Evans v. Mason, 82 Ariz. 40, 46, 308 P.2d 245, 249 (1957). For parties to “intelligently exercise these rights of challenge, they are privileged to examine prospective jurors as to their qualifications.” Wilson v. Wiggins, 54 Ariz. 240, 241-42, 94 P.2d 870, 871 (1939); see also State v. McMurtrey, 136 Ariz.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State v. Cox
Court of Appeals of Arizona, 2026
Puckett v. Manghram
Court of Appeals of Arizona, 2025
Ratliff v. Vanig
Court of Appeals of Arizona, 2025
Brown v. Arizona Natures
Court of Appeals of Arizona, 2024
Premier Consulting v. Peace Releaf
Court of Appeals of Arizona, 2024
Samuel Paz v. City of Tucson
539 P.3d 906 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 2023)
Socaa v. Dtt Acc
Court of Appeals of Arizona, 2021
Synergy v. Singh
Court of Appeals of Arizona, 2021
White v. 1st Choice
Court of Appeals of Arizona, 2020
Diazteca v. Palenque
Court of Appeals of Arizona, 2018
Romero v. Langston
Court of Appeals of Arizona, 2018

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
394 P.3d 32, 242 Ariz. 205, 757 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 12, 2017 WL 491689, 2017 Ariz. App. LEXIS 16, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/zuluaga-ex-rel-zuluaga-v-bashas-inc-arizctapp-2017.