Estate of Karen Burden, by Michael Hoskins, Personal Representative v. Lawrence Hardison ( 2020 )

RENDERED: DECEMBER 23, 2020; 10:00 A.M.
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED
Commonwealth of Kentucky
Court of Appeals
NO. 2018-CA-1601-MR
ESTATE OF KAREN BURDEN,
BY MICHAEL HOSKINS,
PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE APPELLANT
APPEAL FROM BULLITT CIRCUIT COURT
v. HONORABLE RODNEY BURRESS, JUDGE
ACTION NO. 13-CI-01276
LAWRENCE HARDISON
AND LINDA HARDISON APPELLEES
OPINION
AFFIRMING
** ** ** ** **
BEFORE: GOODWINE, TAYLOR, AND K. THOMPSON, JUDGES.
TAYLOR, JUDGE: The Estate of Karen Burden, by Michael Hoskins, Personal
Representative (the Estate), brings this appeal from a July 10, 2018, Order of the
Bullitt Circuit Court granting summary judgment for Lawrence Hardison and
Linda Hardison (the Hardisons) and dismissing the Estate’s negligence claim. We
affirm.
BACKGROUND
Karen Burden (Karen) resided with the Hardisons in their home in
Shepherdsville, Kentucky. On June 30, 2013, Karen assisted Lawrence and Linda
in collecting brush on their property and assembling it into a large pile. Linda
decided to burn the brush pile and poured gasoline on the brush. At her deposition,
Linda testified that she poured gasoline on the brush pile, in Karen’s presence.
Linda also testified that Karen directed her to pour additional gasoline on at least
two other spots in the pile. Linda then testified she had left her matches to light the
pile at the house which she went to retrieve. Before leaving for the house, Karen
suggested to Linda that she could light the pile with her cigarette lighter. Linda
testified that she adamantly told Karen not to light the pile with her cigarette
lighter and continued walking away. Linda further testified that shortly after
telling Karen not to light the pile, Linda heard a “boom” and saw Karen rolling
downhill away from the fire. Karen had lit the brush pile with her lighter which
exploded. As a result, Karen suffered serious burns and injuries.
On December 20, 2013, Karen filed a negligence action against the
Hardisons in Bullitt Circuit Court. The complaint alleged that Karen had no
knowledge that the brush had been soaked with gasoline by Linda and that Linda
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instructed Karen to light the brush. On December 27, 2013, Karen died. On
March 31, 2014, the Estate filed an amended complaint alleging Karen died from
her burn injuries.1
The circuit court granted summary judgment to the Hardisons by
order entered July 10, 2018. By order entered October 18, 2018, the court denied
the Estate’s Kentucky Rules of Civil Procedure (CR) 59.05 motion to alter, amend,
or vacate the summary judgment. This appeal follows.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
In Kentucky, the standard of review on appeal of a summary judgment
is “whether the trial court correctly found that there were no genuine issues as to
any material fact and that the moving party was entitled to judgment as a matter of
law.” Scifres v. Kraft, 916 S.W.2d 779, 781 (Ky. App. 1996) (citing CR 56.03).
“The record must be viewed in a light most favorable to the party opposing the
motion for summary judgment and all doubts are to be resolved in his favor.”
Steelvest, Inc. v. Scansteel Service Ctr, Inc., 807 S.W.2d 476, 480 (Ky. 1991).
Summary judgment is not a substitute for trial. Id.
1
Lawrence Hardison and Linda Hardison (the Hardisons) state in their brief that Karen Burden
(Karen) died from cancer. The amended complaint filed by the Estate of Karen Burden (the
Estate) alleges Karen died from the injuries she sustained from the fire. Record on Appeal at 22.
The Estate’s appellate brief does not reference a claim for wrongful death or that Karen died
from her burn injuries. The order granting summary judgment found that Karen died “from
health issues not related to this incident.” Record on Appeal at 232.
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And, relevant to our review in this appeal as will be discussed, is the
sufficiency of evidence presented by a party in opposition to a properly supported
motion for summary judgment. Such a motion will not be defeated without the
responding party presenting some affirmative evidence establishing that there
exists a genuine issue of material fact. Steelvest, 807 S.W.2d at 482; Hubble v.
Johnson, 841 S.W.2d 169, 171 (Ky. 1992). This affirmative evidence must also be
admissible. Walker v. Commonwealth, 503 S.W.3d 165, 177 (Ky. App. 2016).
ANALYSIS
A. Evidence Admissibility Issues
In responding to the Hardisons’ motion for summary judgment, the
Estate relied on a videotaped statement by Karen taken under oath on November
18, 2013, prior to the filing of the complaint and Karen’s death. The circuit court
concluded this was inadmissible hearsay evidence. The Estate also responded to
the motion with two recorded statements of neighbors living near the Hardisons
who were working nearby when the explosion occurred. The statements were
taken by an investigator retained by the Estate. The statements were not taken
under oath nor in the presence of counsel. As with Karen’s statement, the circuit
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court declined to consider these statements, since the witnesses gave no sworn
testimony that was part of the record before the court.2
The Estate argues that the circuit court erred in failing to consider this
evidence to rebut the motion for summary judgment. Accordingly, we will review
this issue first.
As for Karen’s sworn statement taken prior to the litigation, the Estate
appears to concede that her statement was hearsay evidence but argues it is still
admissible under the exception set out in Kentucky Rules of Evidence (KRE)
804(b)(1), which reads as follows:
(1) Former Testimony. Testimony given as a witness at
another hearing of the same or a different proceeding,
or in a deposition taken in compliance with law in the
course of the same or another proceeding, if the party
against whom the testimony is now offered, or, in a
civil action or proceeding, a predecessor in interest, had
an opportunity and similar motive to develop the
testimony by direct, cross, or redirect examination.
The Estate contends Karen’s statement falls under this hearsay
exception because she is unavailable as a witness and the Hardisons’ insurance
carrier was notified that the statement was being taken and thus, the carrier became
the Hardisons’ predecessor in interest. What qualifies as a predecessor in interest
under Kentucky law is unsettled. However, we need not determine here whether
2
For some unexplained reason, these witnesses had not been deposed during the four-year
history of the case.
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the Hardisons’ insurance carrier was their predecessor in interest because KRE
804(b)(1) applies only to testimony given in a court or similar legal proceeding.
When Karen made her statement, there was no pending litigation and, thus, there
were no pending legal proceedings at that time. See BLACK’S LAW DICTIONARY
(11th ed. 2019) (defining “proceeding” as “[t]he regular and orderly progression of
a lawsuit, including all acts and events between the time of commencement and the
entry of judgment.”). Additionally, taking a sworn statement in contemplation of
litigation falls outside the usual parameters of testimony admissible under KRE
804(b)(1). See TRIAL HANDBOOK FOR KY. LAW § 29:12 (2020 ed.) (noting that
“[t]he most common uses of the exception will be the following: (1) the trial and
retrial of a single case; (2) the sequential trial of multiple causes of action with
common issues of fact, including a civil case and a criminal trial arising from the
same transaction; and (3) a preliminary hearing and trial of a criminal charge”).3
Karen’s recorded statement does not fall within the hearsay exception.
The Estate also makes a short argument that Karen’s statement was a
dying declaration, admissible under KRE 804(b)(2). However, this rule also
requires the statement to be made in a criminal prosecution, civil action, or legal
3
Neither the Hardisons nor their legal representative were notified of the taking of Karen’s
sworn statement. The record reflects that the Hardisons’ insurance carrier was only notified of
the planned statement the day before it was to be given, which would not constitute a
“reasonable notice” for a deposition required by Kentucky Rule of Civil Procedure 30.02.
Moreover, there is no indication that the Hardisons’ insurer was told Karen’s statement would be
taken orally or under oath.
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proceeding, which as previously discussed, did not occur in this case. Likewise,
the rule is limited to testimony about the cause or circumstances of the declarant’s
impending death. The record reflects that Karen died from other medical causes,
not from injuries incurred in the explosion. Thus, this exception is not available to
the Estate under the facts of this case. Turner v. Commonwealth, 5 S.W.3d 119,
121 (Ky. 1999).
Therefore, we agree with the circuit court that Karen’s statement was
inadmissible hearsay and otherwise not affirmative evidence sufficient to defeat
the motion for summary judgment.
As concerns the two unsworn statements by the Hardisons’ neighbors,
we must emphasize neither statement was given under oath. Furthermore, both
statements were taken by an investigator hired by the Estate, without the presence
of the Hardisons or their counsel. The statements thus are hearsay and the Estate
has not shown that either meets any of the exceptions to the general rule against the
admissibility of hearsay evidence set forth in KRE 803 and KRE 804.
Instead, the Estate argues the circuit court’s ruling was premature in
excluding the statements because the neighbors were willing to testify at trial.
However, as the judge noted, the case lingered before the circuit court for more
than four years before summary judgment was granted to the Hardisons, which was
more than ample time for the neighbors to be deposed. “[A] party responding to a
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motion for summary judgment cannot complain of the lack of a complete factual
record when it can be shown that the respondent has had an adequate opportunity
to undertake discovery.” Cargill v. Greater Salem Baptist Church, 215 S.W.3d 63,
69 (Ky. App. 2006) (citation omitted). Consequently, the Estate’s promise to
present admissible evidence later, at trial, is insufficient. Equally important, we
must question the relevance of this testimony to rebut the granting of summary
judgment since neither neighbor was an eyewitness to the events which led to
Karen’s injuries, including the explosion. And, neither witness could have offered
relevant proof as to any discussions that occurred between Karen and Linda
immediately before the explosion.4 Again, we believe the circuit court correctly
excluded the neighbors’ statements in considering the summary judgment motion.
B. Premises Liability
We agree with the Estate that the complaint, as amended, sets out a
premises liability claim against the Hardisons for alleged injuries sustained by
Karen in the burning of the brush pile on the Hardisons’ property. However, we do
4
One neighbor, Michael Johnson, meanderingly answered in relevant part as follows when asked
if he saw who lit the fire or poured the gasoline: “No sir, the only thing that I heard was that, me
and, when I was with me and Glen we just heard a giant explosion from the reprocussion of the
lighting the gas and then when we went over there, we looked up and we seen that woman.”
Record on Appeal at 206. The other neighbor, Glen Flemming, said “I have no idea” when
asked if he knew who “dumped the gas” and similarly answered “[n]o, I did not” when asked if
he saw Karen light the fire. Record on Appeal at 213.
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not agree that the Hardisons’ conduct was the reason for Karen sustaining injuries
from the fire.
Prior to 2010, the facts of this case would have easily fit into an open
and obvious doctrine analysis that would have precluded any liability by the
Hardisons to Karen for injuries from the explosion. Under this doctrine, a land
possessor could not be held liable to a visitor on his property, regardless of the
visitor’s status, who was injured by open and obvious dangers that were known to
the visitor or otherwise so obvious that the visitor would be expected to discover
them. Rogers v. Prof’l Golfers Ass’n of Am., 28 S.W.3d 869 (Ky. App. 2000).
However, the Kentucky Supreme Court has modified the open and
obvious doctrine beginning with Kentucky River Medical Center v. McIntosh, 319
S.W.3d 385 (Ky. 2010) and its progeny.5 In McIntosh, the Kentucky Supreme
Court adopted the position of the RESTATEMENT (SECOND) OF TORTS with respect
to open and obvious conditions. That position is stated as follows:
A possessor of land is not liable to his invitees for
physical harm caused to them by any activity or
condition on the land whose danger is known or obvious
to them, unless the possessor should anticipate the harm
despite such knowledge or obviousness.
RESTATEMENT (SECOND) OF TORTS § 343A(1) (1965).
5
See also Dick’s Sporting Goods, Inc. v. Webb, 413 S.W.3d 891 (Ky. 2013); Shelton v. Kentucky
Easter Seals Soc’y, Inc., 413 S.W.3d 901 (Ky. 2013); Carter v. Bullitt Host, LLC, 471 S.W.3d
288 (Ky. 2015); and Goodwin v. Al J. Schneider Co., 501 S.W.3d 894 (Ky. 2016).
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The Supreme Court further expounded upon its position in McIntosh
in Shelton v. Kentucky Easter Seals Society, Inc., 413 S.W.3d 901 (Ky. 2013). In
explaining the retreat from the open and obvious doctrine, the Court stated:
Traditionally, the open-and-obvious doctrine
stated, “land possessors cannot be held liable to invitees
who are injured by open and obvious dangers.” As a
result, if a plaintiff was injured by an open and obvious
hazard, the landowner, regardless of any negligent
conduct on its part, had a complete defense to any
asserted liability. But, in McIntosh, we noted that a
growing majority of states has moved “away from the
traditional rule absolving, ipso facto, owners and
occupiers of land from liability for injuries resulting from
known or obvious conditions” and, instead, adopted the
Restatement (Second) of Torts’s approach to allow the
jury to assess comparative fault.
Id. at 906 (citations omitted).
In Shelton, 413 S.W.3d 901, the Supreme Court went on to explain:
A target for criticism for well over fifty years, the
open-and-obvious doctrine persists in our jurisprudence.
In McIntosh, we took steps to ameliorate the harsh effect
of the open-and-obvious doctrine for injured persons
seeking recovery. We adopted the Restatement (Second)
of Torts Section 343A and held that “lower courts should
not merely label a danger as ‘obvious’ and then deny
recovery. Rather [the courts] must ask whether the land
possessor could reasonably foresee that an invitee would
be injured by the danger.” According to Section 343A,
harm to the invitee is reasonably foreseeable despite the
obviousness of the condition “where the possessor has
reason to expect that the invitee’s attention may be
distracted, so that he will not discover what is obvious or
will forget what he has discovered, or fail to protect
himself against it” and, also, “where the possessor has
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reason to expect that the invitee will proceed to encounter
the known or obvious danger because to a reasonable
man in his position the advantages of doing so would
outweigh the apparent risk.” Under this modern
approach to cases dealing with open-and-obvious
dangers, there is no duty for the land possessor to warn of
the dangers; but this “does not mean there is no duty at
all[.]” Indeed, “even where the condition is open and
obvious, a landowner’s duty to maintain property in a
reasonably safe condition is not obviated[.]”
. . . [T]he existence of an open and obvious danger does
not pertain to the existence of duty. Instead, Section
343A involves a factual determination relating to
causation, fault, or breach but simply does not relate to
duty. . . .
Id. at 907 (citations omitted).
Despite these modifications to the open and obvious doctrine, the
Supreme Court has not closed the door to summary judgment in premises liability
actions. As explained in Shelton, 413 S.W.3d 901, “a court no longer makes a no-
duty determination but, rather, makes a no-breach determination, dismissing a
claim on summary judgment or directed verdict when there is no negligence as a
matter of law, the plaintiff having failed to show a breach of the applicable duty of
care.” Id. at 904. Thus, “when the open-and-obvious doctrine relieves a defendant
of liability, it is not because damages are not recoverable as a matter of policy (as
the case with contributory negligence). Instead, the defendant is not liable because
he has satisfied the standard of care in the given factual scenario.” Id. at 910.
The Supreme Court further stated in Shelton that:
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It is important to emphasize that summary judgment
remains a viable concept under this approach. The
court’s basic analysis remains the same because, on a
motion for summary judgment, a court must still examine
each element of negligence in order to determine the
legitimacy of the claim. But the question of
foreseeability and its relation to the unreasonableness of
the risk of harm is properly categorized as a factual one,
rather than a legal one. This correctly examines the
defendant’s conduct, not in terms of whether it had a duty
to take particular actions, but instead in terms of whether
its conduct breached its duty to exercise the care required
as a possessor of land. If reasonable minds cannot differ
or it would be unreasonable for a jury to find breach or
causation, summary judgment is still available to a
landowner. And when no questions of material fact exist
or when only one reasonable conclusion can be reached,
the litigation may still be terminated.
Id. at 916 (citations and quotation marks omitted). See also Goodwin v. Al J.
Schneider Co., 501 S.W.3d 894, 898-99 (Ky. 2016).
In this case, the unrefuted evidence in the record below established
that Karen was living with the Hardisons at the time of the accident; that Karen
was assisting Linda with placing brush and tree limbs in a huge brush pile on the
Hardisons’ property; that Karen was present and participated with Linda in pouring
gasoline on the brush pile; that Linda specifically warned Karen not to light the
brush pile with a cigarette lighter and further told her she was going to light the
brush with matches that she was retrieving from the house; and finally, despite the
warning, Karen lit the fire with the cigarette lighter, resulting in serious burns and
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injuries to Karen.6 Based on this evidence, we cannot conclude that the Hardisons
breached any duty of care or otherwise acted unreasonably in regard to Karen
under the facts of this case. In fact, Karen participated in creating the dangerous
condition on the Hardisons’ property that she now complains of. And, it certainly
was not foreseeable that Karen would light the fire with a cigarette lighter after
Linda specifically instructed her not to.7 In other words, the only reasonable
conclusion that can be reached in this case is that the Hardisons were not the legal
cause of the injuries suffered by Karen.
As the Supreme Court noted in Carter v. Bullitt Host, LLC, 471
S.W.3d 288, 297 (Ky. 2015), “[u]nder the right circumstances, the plaintiffs[ʼ]
conduct in the face of an open-and-obvious hazard may be so clearly the only fault
of his injury that summary judgment could be warranted against him[.]” We
believe these are the right circumstances where summary judgment was warranted.
It is beyond dispute that the Hardisons had done everything reasonable under the
circumstances to warn Karen not to light the fire. By acting reasonably, the
Hardisons committed no breach and were not at fault for Karen’s injuries. See id.
6
The crux of the evidence presented by the Hardisons below in support of their motion for
summary judgment comes from the deposition of Linda Hardison. Her testimony stands
unrefuted in the record on appeal before this Court.
7
The Supreme Court reaffirmed in Grubb v. Smith, 523 S.W.3d 409, 419-20 n.11 (Ky. 2017),
that “[n]egligent invitees still are not entitled to recover for their own negligence.”
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at 298-99. See also Goodwin, 501 S.W.3d at 900. Thus, the circuit court properly
granted summary judgment for the Hardisons.
C. Dangerous Instrumentality Argument
The Estate also argues on appeal that Linda’s use of gasoline to burn
the brush created a heightened duty of care to take exceptional precautions to
prevent Karen’s injuries. However, the Estate did not raise this argument before
the circuit court in response to the motion for summary judgment. Rather, the
Estate raised this issue for the first time in its CR 59.05 motion to alter, amend, or
vacate the judgment. This Court has previously held that a party cannot invoke CR
59.05 to present arguments or evidence that should have been raised before entry
of the judgment. Hopkins v. Ratliff, 957 S.W.2d 300, 301 (Ky. App. 1997).
Accordingly, the circuit court correctly declined to consider this argument on the
Estate’s CR 59.05 motion and, likewise, we will not consider it in this appeal.
Notwithstanding, even if the Hardisons had a heightened duty because of the use of
gasoline, absent physically removing the lighter from Karen’s possession, we are
not aware of any other actions Linda could have taken to prevent Karen from
lighting the fire, other than instructing her not to light it.
D. Spoiled Evidence Issue
The Estate’s final argument on appeal is that the Hardisons’ failure to
call for an ambulance to transport Karen to the hospital or otherwise notify the fire
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department of her injuries from the fire has resulted in the destruction or loss of
evidence that would support the Estate’s negligence claim. Based upon our ruling
that the Hardisons breached no duty owed to Karen, this argument is moot.8
However, we agree with the circuit court’s analysis that the failure of the Estate to
identify any specific evidence that is missing or destroyed, coupled with the lack of
any evidence to establish that the Hardisons acted in bad faith, renders this
argument meritless.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the uncontroverted facts establish that Karen was
injured by her own actions after being specifically instructed not to light the
gasoline soaked brush pile with her cigarette lighter. Under the facts of this case,
the Hardisons acted reasonably as it was not foreseeable or reasonable to believe
that Karen would light the fire with a cigarette lighter after being instructed to the
contrary. Thus, we find no error in the granting of summary judgment in favor of
the Hardisons.
For the foregoing reasons, the Order of the Bullitt Circuit Court
granting summary judgment and dismissing the Estate’s complaint, as amended, is
affirmed.
8
The complaint, as amended, does not assert any claims of negligence in the failure of the
Hardisons to call 911 for emergency assistance after Karen was injured by the fire.
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GOODWINE, JUDGE, CONCURS.
THOMPSON, K., JUDGE, CONCURS IN RESULT ONLY.
BRIEFS FOR APPELLANT: BRIEF FOR APPELLEES:
Michael Nisbet Ryan D. Nafziger
Jeffersonville, Indiana Joseph M. Effinger
Louisville, Kentucky
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