Joseph D. Hardiman and Jaketa L. Patterson, as Co-Administrators of the Estate of Britney R. Meux v. Jason R. Cozmanoff , 989 N.E.2d 799 ( 2013 )


Menu:
  •                                                            May 23 2013, 9:34 am
    FOR PUBLICATION
    ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT:                          ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE:
    ADAM J. SEDIA                                    EDWARD W. HEARN
    Rubino, Ruman, Crosmer & Polen                   Johnson & Bell, P.C.
    Dyer, Indiana                                    Crown Point, Indiana
    IN THE
    COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
    JOSEPH D. HARDIMAN and                           )
    JAKETA L. PATTERSON, as                          )
    Co-Administrators of the Estate of               )
    BRITNEY R. MEUX, Deceased,                       )
    )
    Appellants-Plaintiffs/Cross-Appellees,    )
    )
    vs.                                )     No. 45A03-1210-CT-437
    )
    JASON R. COZMANOFF,                              )
    )
    Appellee-Defendant/Cross-Appellant.       )
    INTERLOCUTORY APPEAL FROM THE LAKE SUPERIOR COURT
    The Honorable Diane Kavadias Schneider, Special Judge
    Cause No. 45D11-1209-CT-214
    May 23, 2013
    OPINION - FOR PUBLICATION
    CRONE, Judge
    Case Summary
    Britney R. Meux was hit by a car while she was jogging. She subsequently died from
    her injuries. The State charged the alleged driver of the vehicle, Jason R. Cozmanoff, with
    thirteen crimes including class C felony reckless homicide. Joseph E. Hardiman and Jaketa
    L. Patterson, as co-administrators of Meux’s estate (“the Estate”), filed a civil wrongful-
    death complaint against Cozmanoff. Rather than filing an answer to the civil complaint or
    responding to the initial discovery requests, Cozmanoff filed a motion to stay all civil
    proceedings pending resolution of his criminal case. Cozmanoff asserted that a stay of
    proceedings was necessary to protect his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-
    incrimination. Following a hearing, the trial court entered an order granting a stay of
    discovery with respect to Cozmanoff but also ordered Cozmanoff to file an answer to the
    complaint within thirty days. Both parties requested certification for interlocutory appeal.
    On appeal, the Estate asserts that the trial court abused its discretion in staying all
    discovery with respect to Cozmanoff. On cross-appeal, Cozmanoff asserts that the trial court
    abused its discretion in failing to stay the civil proceedings in their entirety by ordering him
    to file an answer to the complaint. Concluding that the trial court abused its discretion in
    staying discovery but did not abuse its discretion in ordering Cozmanoff to file an answer to
    the complaint, we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand.
    Facts and Procedural History
    On March 6, 2012, Meux, a correctional officer with the Lake County Sheriff’s
    Department, was jogging with three fellow officers along 93rd Avenue in Crown Point when
    2
    she was struck by a car. The driver of the car allegedly fled the scene. Meux was critically
    injured and subsequently died from her injuries. On March 9, 2012, the State charged the
    alleged driver of the car, Cozmanoff, with thirteen counts, including one count of class C
    felony reckless homicide and three counts of class D felony criminal recklessness resulting in
    serious bodily injury. Thereafter, on March 22, 2012, the Estate filed a civil suit for
    wrongful death against Cozmanoff alleging that Cozmanoff negligently operated the vehicle
    that struck Meux, and then fled the scene. On April 27, 2012, the Estate served Cozmanoff
    with its first set of interrogatories and requests for production. The Estate also contacted
    defense counsel to inquire about taking Cozmanoff’s deposition.
    On May 29, 2012, Cozmanoff filed a motion to stay all proceedings pending
    resolution of his criminal case. Specifically, Cozmanoff argued that responding to the
    complaint, providing answers to interrogatories, or answering deposition questions would
    violate his Fifth Amendment “right not to testify against himself in both his criminal and civil
    proceedings.” Appellant’s App. at 17. He further argued that even if he were to invoke his
    Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination regarding only certain questions or
    allegations, he would be prejudiced due to certain inferences that “can be ascertained by his
    choice of which allegations and questions he would choose to respond to or answer and
    which he would not.” 
    Id. The Estate
    filed its response in opposition to the stay arguing that
    Cozmanoff, as a defendant in a civil proceeding, may refuse to answer certain questions by
    asserting his Fifth Amendment privilege but that a stay is inappropriate and would cause
    prejudice to the Estate. Following a hearing on July 17, 2012, the trial court entered an order
    3
    staying all discovery with respect to Cozmanoff but also ordered him to file a responsive
    pleading to the complaint within thirty days of the order.1
    On August 16, 2012, Cozmanoff requested the trial court to certify for interlocutory
    appeal that portion of its order requiring him to file a responsive pleading to the complaint.
    The Estate responded with a belated cross-motion to certify that portion of the order staying
    all discovery with respect to Cozmanoff. Concluding that both motions for interlocutory
    appeal involved substantial questions of law that relate to constitutional rights, the trial court
    granted both motions for certification. This interlocutory appeal and cross-appeal followed.
    Discussion and Decision
    I. Motion for Stay
    We first address the Estate’s appeal of the trial court’s decision to stay all discovery
    with respect to Cozmanoff pending the outcome of his criminal proceeding. We review the
    trial court’s grant or denial of a motion to stay pursuant to an abuse of discretion standard. In
    re A.D., 
    737 N.E.2d 1214
    , 1216 (Ind. Ct. App. 2000). A trial court abuses its discretion
    when its decision is clearly against the logic and effect of the facts and circumstances before
    the court. Alsheik v. Guerrero, 
    979 N.E.2d 151
    , 155 (Ind. 2012). In reviewing a trial court’s
    ruling on a discretionary motion such as the one at issue here, we will affirm if there is any
    rational basis for the trial court’s action. Drexel Burnham Lambert, Inc. v. Merchs. Inv.
    Counseling, Inc., 
    451 N.E.2d 346
    , 349 (Ind. Ct. App. 1983).
    1
    We note that the motion for stay was granted by a different Lake County trial judge prior to the
    Honorable Diane Kavadias Schneider assuming jurisdiction as Special Judge on August 30, 2012.
    4
    Cozmanoff’s motion to stay was based upon his assertion that allowing his civil case
    to proceed while his criminal case is pending violates his Fifth Amendment privilege against
    self-incrimination.2 The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides in
    relevant part that no person “shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against
    himself.” The Indiana Constitution makes the same fundamental guarantee by providing that
    “[n]o person, in any criminal prosecution, shall be compelled to testify against himself.” IND.
    CONST. art. 1 § 14. The privilege against self-incrimination “not only protects the individual
    against being involuntarily called as a witness against himself in a criminal prosecution but
    also privileges him not to answer official questions put to him in any other proceeding, civil
    or criminal, formal or informal, where the answers might incriminate him in future criminal
    proceedings.” Lefkowitz v. Turley, 
    414 U.S. 70
    , 77 (1973). However, it is well settled that
    “the Fifth Amendment does not forbid adverse inferences against parties to civil actions
    when they refuse to testify in response to probative evidence offered against them.” Baxter v.
    Palmigiano, 
    425 U.S. 308
    , 318 (1976). In other words, although the refusal to testify in a
    civil case cannot be used against one asserting the privilege in a subsequent criminal
    proceeding, the privilege against self-incrimination does not prohibit the trier of fact in a civil
    case from drawing adverse inferences from a witness’s refusal to testify. Gash v. Kohm, 
    476 N.E.2d 910
    , 913 (Ind. Ct. App. 1985), trans. denied.
    2
    Although Cozmanoff requested a stay of “all civil proceedings” pending resolution of his criminal
    case based upon his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination, the trial court entered an order
    staying “discovery” with respect to Cozmanoff coupled with a seemingly conflicting additional order for
    Cozmanoff to file an answer to the complaint. Appellant’s App. at 5, 16.
    5
    The Estate argues that the trial court abused its discretion in staying all discovery with
    respect to Cozmanoff based merely upon his general assertion that a stay is constitutionally
    mandated to protect his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. Specifically,
    the Estate contends that a stay of civil proceedings pending the outcome of criminal
    proceedings is not constitutionally mandated and that before a court can exercise its
    discretion in determining whether a stay is required in the interests of justice, the court
    should consider several relevant factors regarding the propriety of a stay in a particular case.
    We agree with the Estate.
    Even where a privilege as important as the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-
    incrimination is implicated in civil proceedings, trial courts have taken steps to ensure that
    the litigation proceeds in a manner consistent with the interests of justice. State v. Int’l Bus.
    Machs. Corp., 
    964 N.E.2d 206
    , 211-12 (Ind. 2012). In a procedurally and factually
    analogous case, this Court recently reviewed a trial court’s consideration of the factors
    relevant in determining whether a stay of discovery in civil proceedings pending outcome of
    criminal proceedings is warranted in the interests of justice based upon the Fifth Amendment
    privilege. Fry v. Schroder, No. 09A02-1206-CT-474 (Ind. Ct. App. Feb. 28, 2013)
    (publication ordered Apr. 16, 2013), trans. pending. In Fry, we noted that while a trial court
    has the inherent power to stay its proceedings, a stay of civil proceedings pending the
    outcome of criminal proceedings is not constitutionally required. 
    Id., slip op.
    at 4. (citing
    Jones v. City of Indianapolis, 
    216 F.R.D. 440
    , 450 (S.D. Ind. 2003)). The ultimate question
    is whether the court should exercise its discretion in order to avoid placing the defendant in
    6
    the position of having to choose between risking a loss in his civil case by invoking his Fifth
    Amendment rights, or risking conviction in his criminal case by waiving his Fifth
    Amendment rights and testifying in the civil proceedings. 
    Id. To answer
    that ultimate question, we determined in Fry that:
    In deciding whether to stay civil proceedings where a similar criminal action is
    brought before the completion of the civil proceedings, a court may consider a
    variety of factors. They include: (1) the interest of the plaintiff in proceeding
    expeditiously with the litigation or any particular aspect of it, and the potential
    prejudice to the plaintiff of a delay; (2) the burden which any particular aspect
    of the proceedings may impose on the defendant; (3) the convenience of the
    court in the management of its cases, and the efficient use of judicial
    resources; (4) the interests of persons not parties to the civil litigation; and (5)
    the interest of the public in pending civil and criminal litigation.
    
    Id. (internal citations
    omitted). The trial court in Fry considered and balanced these five
    factors before ultimately denying the defendant’s motion to stay, specifically noting that “‘it
    is not unconstitutional to force a litigant to choose between invoking the Fifth Amendment in
    a civil case and risk the negative inference permitted in that situation, or answering questions
    in the civil context and risking the potential negative effects on the criminal prosecution.’”
    
    Id., slip op.
    at 6 (citation omitted). Upon appellate review of the trial court’s consideration
    and balancing of the relevant factors in Fry, we affirmed the trial court’s denial of the motion
    for stay. 
    Id., slip op.
    at 7.
    Consideration of the five factors in the instant case leads to a result opposite that
    reached by the trial court here when it granted a stay. 3 First, the Estate clearly has an interest
    3
    Despite the absence of authority from our supreme court doing so, Cozmanoff invites this Court to
    construe the Indiana self-incrimination provision independently of Fifth Amendment jurisprudence and to
    determine that the Indiana provision provides greater protection. We decline his invitation.
    7
    in the expeditious resolution of the wrongful-death proceedings, and that interest would be
    severely hampered by a stay of all discovery with respect to Cozmanoff. This is especially so
    in light of the procedural posture of the case being in its initial stage. It is only through the
    discovery process that a plaintiff can determine the merit or lack thereof in his case and
    develop his strategy. By refusing to even respond to the complaint, Cozmanoff has prevented
    the Estate from conducting any discovery regarding the circumstances surrounding the
    accident that claimed Meux’s life, and the current indefinite stay presents a legitimate
    concern that evidence may be lost and that potential witnesses cannot be discovered or may
    become unavailable.
    Regarding the burden to which any particular aspect of the proceedings may impose
    on Cozmanoff, we recognize that because the civil and criminal actions arise out of many of
    the same facts and circumstances, absent a stay, Cozmanoff will likely be faced with the
    difficult decision to either invoke his Fifth Amendment privilege as to certain questions and
    risk the negative inference permitted in that situation, or to risk the use of any statement
    against him in his criminal case. As stated above, however, placing a defendant in a position
    to make this unsavory choice is neither unconstitutional nor necessarily inconsistent with the
    “interests of justice.” See 
    id., slip op.
    at 4. Mindful of these concerns, we note again the
    early procedural stage of this case and that, at least at this juncture, there are methods much
    less drastic than the current broad and indefinite stay that would promote the interests of
    justice. See Ind. Trial Rule 26(C) (providing various options for limiting discovery through
    imposition of a protective order). Thus, although this factor perhaps weighs in favor of some
    8
    protection for Cozmanoff, it does not weigh in favor of the broad and indefinite protection
    provided by the current stay of discovery.
    As to the efficient use of judicial resources, neither the parties nor the claims are the
    same in both the civil and criminal proceedings, so we are not faced with a situation where
    allowing both cases to proceed simultaneously would result in a duplication of efforts,
    discovery or otherwise. Staying the civil proceedings, however, leaves much uncertainty to
    the civil court in the management of its cases. Although a criminal trial date has apparently
    been set within the next year, it is mere speculation on Cozmanoff’s part that it will proceed
    as scheduled. An indefinite stay of discovery imposed at the outset of the civil case brings
    the case essentially to a standstill while awaiting the outcome of the pending criminal
    proceeding. The civil court is rendered helpless by issues relating to the criminal court
    calendar, not to mention issues relating to the appellate court calendar in the event of any
    criminal appeals, issues over which it has no control. This factor weighs against the current
    stay.
    Persons not parties to the civil litigation also have an interest in allowing the civil case
    to proceed. Although Cozmanoff is currently the only named defendant, our review of the
    limited record before us indicates that there could be third parties not currently parties to the
    litigation who the Estate may consider adding as additional parties after further discovery. A
    stay of discovery with respect to Cozmanoff inhibits the Estate’s ability to discover the
    identity of those parties. Those third parties have an interest in being named expeditiously
    9
    and being prepared to defend against potential liability. A stay of discovery negatively
    affects the interests of those parties.
    Finally, there is a general public interest in the swift resolution of both civil and
    criminal matters, and this factor weighs against the grant of the current stay. Under the
    circumstances presented, the relevant factors to be considered weigh against a stay of
    proceedings and/or all discovery with respect to Cozmanoff. We conclude that the trial court
    abused its discretion in entering its order staying discovery with respect to Cozmanoff.
    Therefore, the stay should be lifted and the civil litigation permitted to proceed. As we
    similarly acknowledged in Fry, nothing in our determination today prevents the parties from
    raising or the trial court from revisiting the propriety of a more limited stay in the interests of
    justice pending future developments. See Fry, slip op. at 7.
    II. Cross-Appeal
    On cross-appeal, Cozmanoff contends that the trial court abused its discretion when it
    failed to stay the civil proceeding in its entirety by ordering him to file an answer to the
    complaint. In light of our foregoing discussion and decision, the cross-appeal issue is now
    moot. We affirm that portion of the trial court’s order requiring Cozmanoff to file an answer
    to the complaint. We reverse the trial court’s order staying all discovery with respect to
    Cozmanoff and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
    Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.
    ROBB, C.J., and FRIEDLANDER, J., concur.
    10
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 45A03-1210-CT-437

Citation Numbers: 989 N.E.2d 799

Filed Date: 5/23/2013

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 1/12/2023