West v. Bd. of Cnty. Comm'rs of Pawnee Cnty.

2011 OK 104

273 P.3d 31

Charles WEST, Personal Representative of the Estate of Angela Schreiner, Deceased, Plaintiff/Appellee,

v.BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF PAWNEE COUNTY, Defendant/Appellant.

No. 108,960.

Supreme Court of Oklahoma.

Dec. 20, 2011.Rehearing Denied Feb. 23, 2012.

CERTIORARI TO THE COURT OF CIVIL APPEALS, DIVISION 1¶ 0 Angela Schreiner drowned in May of 1999 after driving into twelve feet of flood water covering a roadway in Pawnee County. The plaintiff/appellee, Charles West (West/father), filed a wrongful death action as the personal representative of Schreiner's estate against the defendant/appellant, Board of County Commissioners of Pawnee County (Commissioners/County). After a trial spanning two days, the jury returned a verdict in the estate's favor for $13,663.00. West moved for a new trial alleging the damages awarded were grossly inadequate. The trial court heard argument, granting a new trial based on a determination that the jury's monetary award for the loss of a human life was unconscionable and shocked the conscience. The Court of Civil Appeals reversed and remanded finding that the trial court applied the wrong standard in granting the new trial motion and that the jury's verdict was supported by the evidence. The evidence established that: the mother was an exemplary parent working to better herself to increase the economic support of her five minor children; the children lost not only the companionship of the mother but of each other as well; the mother's death was tragic and traumatic; and $5,800.00 was expended for funeral expenses. The award of only $13,663.00, in and of itself, evidences that the passion and partiality inhering in it are so clear as to strike mankind, at first blush, as being beyond all measure unreasonable and outrageous. Under these facts, we hold that the trial court was justified in ordering a new trial to address the damages issue.CERTIORARI PREVIOUSLY GRANTED; COURT OF CIVIL APPEALS' OPINION VACATED; TRIAL COURT AFFIRMED AND CAUSE REMANDED.

Derek S.A. Lawrence, Derek S.A. Lawrence, PLLC, Tulsa, Oklahoma, for plaintiff/appellee.

Eric D. Cotton, Collins, Zorn, & Wagner, P.C., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for defendant/appellant.

WATT, J.:

¶ 1 We granted certiorari for the sole purpose of determining whether the trial court erred in granting a motion for new trial where the jury awarded damages of $13,663.00 in a wrongful death action to the estate of a mother leaving behind five minor children. In so doing, we emphasize that Clark v. Bearden, 1995 OK 71, 903 P.2d 309 supports the granting of a new trial where the inadequacy or excessiveness of an award, in and of itself, evidences that the passion and partiality inhering in it are so clear as to strike mankind, at first blush, as being beyond all measure unreasonable and outrageous.

¶ 2 The jury heard evidence that at thirty-one (31) Schreiner was an exemplary mother to her five minor children and was working while pursuing a college degree in chemical engineering to better her children's lives when she suffered a horrific death by drowning. The panel was appraised not only of the children's loss of companionship with their mother but with each other through placement with different family members, some of the living arrangements being less desirable than others. Evidence was presented that $5,800.00 was expended for funeral expenses. Despite this largely uncontested evidence, the jury returned a verdict in the estate's favor of only $13,663.00. The meager award, in and of itself, evidences that the passion and partiality inhering in it are so clear as to strike mankind, at first blush, as being beyond all measure unreasonable and outrageous. Under these facts, we determine that the trial court did not err in ordering a new trial to address the issue of damages.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶ 3 On the evening of May 7, 1999, Schreiner said “good night” to her five (5) children and left to visit a friend in rural Pawnee County. She was thirty-one (31) at the time. Schreiner took Cemetery Road, a portion of which floods on a regular basis. On the day of the accident, there were signs in place warning of high water and indicating the road was closed to through traffic. Arguably, Schreiner ignored the signs and drove over a hill into approximately twelve (12) feet of water.

¶ 4 The forensic pathologist who examined Schreiner's body and conducted the autopsy testified that the external and internal examinations indicated death by drowning.¹ He also noted the manner of bruising and the large number of contusions on her legs along with superficial injuries to her hands, including a broken nail and other abrasions, and significant bruising to the left hand.² He ordered a complete toxicology screen which returned negative for drugs or alcohol.³ In addition, the pathologist opined that: nothing was revealed in the autopsy to indicate that Schreiner was not conscious when the car hit the water and began to sink; she likely struggled to escape the vehicle and that the contusions and injuries to the body occurred during the fight to survive; and for some period, while the vehicle was sinking and the driver was conscious, the mother experienced pain and suffering.⁴

¶ 5 At the time of her death, Schreiner had custody of all five of her children to whom she was an excellent mother.⁵ She was working to support her children and was attending Tulsa University to further her education in an attempt to provide them with more economic stability.⁶

¶ 6 Despite Schreiner's ability to provide for her five children, there simply was no one at her death who could accommodate all of the siblings.⁷ A family that had previously been a unit was broken up and parceled out to different homes. Three children went to live with their natural father. However, he was overwhelmed with the situation and one of the three moved in with her maternal grandfather. The two youngest children were placed with a great-aunt and uncle. Eventually, one of the children who had previously been living with his father was forced to move in with a grandmother because of allergies to cats in the father's home.⁸ The child who originally lived in the father's home and moved in with the maternal grandfather described her father's home as “dysfunctional” and not well kept. ⁹ The separate households kept the children from developing normal sibling relationships.¹⁰

¶ 7 West filed the wrongful death action ¹¹ on January 18, 2007 naming the Commissioners as defendants. The father alleged that his daughter's death arose as the direct result of the County's negligence in not closing the roadway when it became inundated with flood waters and/or failing to erect appropriate warning signs. After hearing evidence over a three (3) day period, the jury returned a verdict finding that: Schreiner was forty-three (43) percent negligent and that the County was fifty-seven (57) percent negligent. The jury awarded West $13,663.00 to be reduced by the trial judge by Schreiner's percentage of negligence making the actual cash award to the estate $7,787.91. When the $5,800.00 for burial expenses is subtracted from the monies actually received for Schreiner's wrongful death, less than $2,000.00 remained for the support of five minor children.

¶ 8 West filed a motion for new trial on April 16, 2008 alleging that the egregiously low value attributed to Schreiner's loss of life was inconsistent and contrary to the undisputed evidence and clearly in violation of 12 O.S.2001 § 651(4) ¹² providing that a new trial is warranted if the damages awarded are so excessive or inadequate as to appear to have been given under the influence of passion or prejudice.

¶ 9 On October 28, 2010, a hearing was held on the motion for new trial. The trial court granted a new trial based on a determination that the jury's monetary award for the loss of a human life was unconscionable and shocked the conscience. The Court of Civil Appeals reversed and remanded finding that the trial court applied the wrong standard in granting the new trial motion and that the jury's verdict was supported by the evidence. West filed a petition for certiorari on August 11, 2011. Having reviewed the petition and answer thereto, we granted certiorari on October 31, 2011.

Standard of Review

¶ 10 It has long been recognized that the granting of a new trial is within the wide discretion of the trial court. ¹³ We will not reverse an order granting a new trial unless error is clearly established in respect to some pure, simple, and unmixed question of law.¹⁴ The judge who presides at the trial: hears the testimony; observes the witnesses; and has full knowledge of the proceedings during the trial process. It is that adjudicator who is in the best position to know whether substantial justice has been done. Where such a judge sustains a motion for new trial, a clear showing of manifest error and an abuse of discretion must be made before this Court is justified in reversing the ruling. The threshold for upholding the grant of a new trial is much lower than where the motion is overruled.¹⁵ Furthermore, when, as here, the new trial is granted by the same judge who tried the case, a much stronger showing of error or abuse of discretion is required for this Court to reverse than if a party appeals from a refusal to grant a new trial.¹⁶

¶ 11 The only issue upon which new trial was requested was for the determination of an adequate monetary award for Schneider's wrongful death. By sustaining the motion, the parties are placed in a position to have the damages issue again submitted to a jury or court.

¶ 12 Under the facts presented, the trial court was justified in ordering a new trial to address damages. The award of only $13,663.00 in damages for the death of a thirty-one year old woman with the responsibility to support five minor children, in an of itself, evidences that the passion and partiality inhering in the award...