Edwards v. Crowder

1

Veronica Edwards, individually and as the personal representative of the Estate of Corey Demills Hatcher, Jr., deceased, and Corey D. Hatcher, Sr. v. Kimberly Johnson Crowder; David Lyons; Carole A. Phillipsen; Southern Sportsman Hunting Lodge, Inc.; Edward S. McCurdy, Jr.; Jim Mason; and McCurdy Plantation Horse Association

No. SC-2023-0151

Supreme Court of Alabama

May 24, 2024

Appeal from Lowndes Circuit Court (CV-22-900016).

MENDHEIM, Justice. ^[1]

Corey Demills Hatcher, Jr. ("Corey"), died as a result of injuries he incurred when a vehicle he was driving collided with horses that were on the road he was traversing, U.S Highway 80. Veronica Edwards, individually and as the personal representative of Corey's estate, and Corey D Hatcher, Sr. ("the plaintiffs"), commenced in the Lowndes Circuit Court ("the circuit court") a wrongful-death action^[2] against Southern Sportsman Hunting Lodge Inc. ("Southern Sportsman"); Jim Mason; David Lyons; McCurdy Plantation Horse Association ("the Association"); Edward S. McCurdy, Jr.; Kimberly Johnson Crowder; and Carole A. Phillipsen ("the defendants"). The circuit court entered a summary judgment in favor of the defendants, and the plaintiffs appealed. We affirm the circuit court's judgment.

Facts and Procedural History

Most of the material facts appear to be undisputed. Southern Sportsman is owned by Lyons and Mason. Southern Sportsman owns property in Lowndes County, at which, according to the affidavit of Mason, it "offers outdoor recreational activities and lodging ...." On October 30, 2021 Southern Sportsman allowed the Association to host a trail ride on Southern Sportsman's property. McCurdy is the director of the Association.

Crowder and Phillipsen participated in the trail ride that occurred on October 30, 2021. On October 29, 2021, the day before the trail ride, Crowder and Phillipsen trailered horses they owned to Southern Sportsman's property; Crowder brought two horses, and Phillipsen brought one horse. Crowder and Phillipsen set up an electric fence in which to corral their horses while they were not being used for the trail ride. Crowder's affidavit indicates that "[t]he fence contained 4 hot and/or electrically charged wires that were fastened to posts. The fenced area was approximately 30 to 40 feet long and approximately 25 feet wide." Crowder's affidavit further indicates that the electric fence was working properly after it was set up and that the horses "remained in the fencing and there were no problems with the horses or fencing on the night of October 29, 2021." Additionally, Crowder's affidavit indicates that she had "been using this same fence and charging unit for approximately 4 years" before October 30, 2021, and that "[a]t no time prior _ [had her] horses ever gotten out of this fencing." It is undisputed that no other party in this action had anything to do with the electric fence.

On October 30, 2021, Crowder and Phillipsen took their horses on the trail ride hosted by the Association. Crowder's and Phillipsen's affidavits indicate that, after the trail ride was complete, they placed their horses back in the electric fence at approximately 8:30 p.m., that the electric fence was working properly at that time, and that Crowder and Phillipsen went to bed. At approximately 10:00 p.m. that evening, according to her affidavit, Crowder received a telephone call from the Lowndes County Fire Marshal "advising [her] that [her] horses were on U.S. Highway 80," which bordered Southern Sportsman's property. Crowder's affidavit indicates that, upon receiving the call from the fire marshal, she "immediately went to U.S. Highway 80 and saw that two horses had been hit by vehicles. One of those horses was a white horse owned by [Crowder]." Crowder's affidavit further indicates that, "[p]rior to receiving [the] telephone call, [she] did not have any knowledge that [her] horse or horses had gotten out of the fencing" and that "[a]t no time ... did [she] knowingly or willfully put or place [her] horse or horses upon or in U.S. Highway 80 .." The other horse that had been hit by a vehicle was owned by Phillipsen. Phillipsen's affidavit indicates that she "did not have any knowledge or reason to believe that [her] horse had gotten out of the electric fence" and that she "did not knowingly or willfully put or place [her] horse ... upon or in the roadway of U.S. Highway 80 ...."

According to the complaint filed by the plaintiffs, on October 30, 2021, Corey was driving his vehicle on U.S. Highway 80 when his vehicle collided with Crowder's horse and Phillipsen's horse. Corey died as a result of the injuries he incurred in the collision.

On March 21, 2022, the plaintiffs commenced a wrongful-death action against the defendants. The plaintiffs alleged that the defendants had not used the kind of fencing allegedly required by § 3-4-1, Ala. Code 1975, to corral the horses and, based on that alleged failure by the defendants, asserted that the defendants were liable premised on theories of negligence per se, nuisance, and wantonness. The plaintiffs also attached to their complaint documentary evidence in support of their allegations.

On April 21, 2022, Southern Sportsman, Mason, and Lyons filed a motion to dismiss or, in the alternative, for a summary judgment. Southern Sportsman, Mason, and Lyons argued that the plaintiffs' claims against them were due to be dismissed because, they argued, "under Alabama law, all claims for damages for injury or harm directly caused by a collision with livestock on a road are limited to only the remedy allowed under Ala. Code 1975, § 3-5-3(a)." Section 3-5-3(a), Ala. Code 1975, provides:

"(a) The owner of such livestock or animal being or running at large upon the premises of another or upon the public lands, roads, highways or streets in the State of Alabama shall be liable for all damages done to crops, shade or fruit trees or ornamental shrubs and flowers of any person, to be recovered before any court of competent jurisdiction; provided, that the owner of any stock or animal shall not be liable for any damages to any motor vehicle or any occupant thereof suffered, caused by or resulting from a collision with such stock or other animal, unless it be proven that such owner knowingly or wilfully put or placed such stock upon such public highway, road or street where such damages were occasioned."

(Emphasis added.) Southern Sportsman, Mason, and Lyons made extensive arguments relying upon precedent interpreting and applying § 3-5-3(a), which will be discussed in greater detail below. In summary, Southern Sportsman, Mason, and Lyons argued that § 3-5-3(a) provides the exclusive remedy to the plaintiffs and that that section provides a remedy against only the owners of the livestock. Because Southern Sportsman, Mason, and Lyons are undisputedly not the owners of the horses that were involved in the collision, they argued, the plaintiffs' "complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted and is due to be dismissed pursuant to Ala. R. Civ. P., Rule 12(b)(6)." Alternatively, Southern Sportsman, Mason, and Lyons argued that, if the circuit court "considers matters outside of the pleadings, [they] are entitled to [a] summary judgment ...." In support of their motion, Southern Sportsman, Mason, and Lyons included the affidavits of Mason and Lyons.

On May 17, 2022, the plaintiffs filed a response. Among other things, the plaintiffs argued that § 3-5-3 applies only to the owners of the horses, Crowder and Phillipsen, and that it has no application to their claims against Southern Sportsman, Mason, and Lyons. The plaintiffs argued that § 3-5-3 does not provide an exclusive remedy and that they are permitted to proceed against Southern Sportsman, Mason, and Lyons on their theories of negligence per se, nuisance, and wantonness. The plaintiffs also argued that, even if § 3-5-3 does apply to Southern Sportsman, Mason, and Lyons, they had alleged sufficient facts to survive the motion to dismiss.

On May 27, 2022, the Association and McCurdy also filed a motion to dismiss or, in the alternative, for a summary judgment, asserting essentially the same arguments as those asserted by Southern Sportsman, Mason, and Lyons. Additionally, the Association and McCurdy argued that the plaintiffs' wrongful-death claim was the only claim that could be asserted because Corey died in the collision. The Association and McCurdy stated that, "if the court considers matters outside of the pleadings, the [Association and McCurdy] are entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law ...." They also supported their motion with the affidavit of McCurdy. On June 30, 2022, the plaintiffs filed a response.

On June 29, 2022, Crowder filed a motion to dismiss or, in the alternative, for a summary judgment. Crowder argued, as Southern Sportsman, Mason, Lyons, the Association, and McCurdy had, that the only cause of action available to the plaintiffs is a wrongful-death claim based on § 3-5-3. Accordingly, Crowder argued that the plaintiffs' claims of negligence per se, nuisance, and wantonness must be dismissed. Concerning the plaintiffs' wrongful-death claim, Crowder stated that it is undisputed that she had owned one of the horses involved in the collision, but she argued that "there is absolutely no evidence before the [circuit c]ourt that Crowder at any time and specifically on the day in question ever knowingly or willfully put or placed her horse or horses upon Highway 80." As a result, Crowder argued that the plaintiffs' wrongful-death claim is "due to be dismissed." Alternatively, Crowder argued that, if the circuit court "considers matters outside of the pleadings, [Crowder] is entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law as Plaint...