Biggs v. Brooks ( 2022 )

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF NORTH CAROLINA
2022-NCCOA-548
No. COA21-653
Filed 16 August 2022
Durham County, No. 15 CVS 2972
LISA BIGGS, Individually and as Administrator, ESTATE OF KELWIN BIGGS,
Plaintiffs,
v.
DARYL BROOKS, NATHANIEL BROOKS, SR., KYLE OLLIS, Individually, and
BOULEVARD PRE-OWNED, INC., Defendants.
Appeal by plaintiff from order entered 4 May 2017 by Judge W. Osmond Smith,
III, in Durham County Superior Court. Heard in the Court of Appeals 27 April 2022.
Couch & Associates, PC, by Finesse G. Couch and C. Destine A. Couch, for
plaintiff-appellant.
Sue, Anderson & Bordman, LLP, by Stephanie W. Anderson, for defendants-
appellees.
DIETZ, Judge.
¶1 In January 2015, Boulevard Pre-Owned, Inc., a used car business, sold a 1995
Camaro to Nathaniel Brooks. Nathaniel Brooks and Boulevard executed a bill of sale;
signed and notarized title transfer forms; and executed various other documents
typically accompanying the sale of an automobile, such as insurance and registration
paperwork. After executing this paperwork, an adult relative of Nathaniel Brooks,
Daryl Brooks, arrived at the dealership and drove the Camaro off the lot.
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2022-NCCOA-548
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¶2 Shortly after the sale, the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles rejected
the title transfer paperwork because Boulevard had misplaced its copy of Nathaniel
Brooks’s driver’s license. Boulevard tried unsuccessfully to contact Nathaniel Brooks
multiple times between January and March 2015 to obtain a replacement copy.
¶3 Later in March 2015, Daryl Brooks was driving the Camaro while impaired
and caused a serious automobile accident that led to the death of Kelwin Biggs.
¶4 Lisa Biggs, individually and as the representative of Kelwin Biggs, brought
claims for negligence and negligent entrustment against Boulevard and its owner,
Kyle Ollis. Biggs relied on a statute, N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-71.1, providing that proof
of ownership of a motor vehicle—in this case the title and registration that had not
yet been transferred to Nathaniel Brooks—was prima facie evidence that the motor
vehicle was being operated with the authority, consent, and knowledge of Boulevard,
the owner, and “being operated by and under the control of a person for whose conduct
the owner was legally responsible.”
¶5 The trial court granted summary judgment for Boulevard and Ollis on these
negligence claims. Following entry of final judgment against other parties in the case,
Biggs appealed.
¶6 We affirm. As explained below, Boulevard and Ollis presented undisputed
evidence that Boulevard relinquished authority and control over the Camaro when it
completed the sale and released the Camaro to the buyer. Under controlling
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precedent from this Court, because Biggs did not forecast any evidence that rebutted
Boulevard’s evidence and created a genuine issue of material fact on this issue,
Boulevard and Ollis were entitled to judgment as a matter of law on these negligence
claims. We therefore affirm the trial court’s summary judgment order.
Facts and Procedural History
¶7 Defendant Boulevard Pre-Owned, Inc. is a used car dealership. Defendant Kyle
Ollis is the president and owner of Boulevard.
¶8 In January 2015, Boulevard sold a used 1995 Chevrolet Camaro to Nathaniel
Brooks. At the time of the sale, the parties executed a bill of sale; signed and notarized
reassignment of title paperwork on the form required by the North Carolina Division
of Motor Vehicles; and signed various other paperwork typically accompanying an
automobile sale such as an arbitration agreement governing the sale, and insurance
and vehicle registration paperwork.
¶9 Following the sale, Daryl Brooks—who is an adult, younger relative of
Nathaniel Brooks according to the record—arrived at the dealership and picked up
the Camaro.
¶ 10 Although the parties undisputedly intended to transfer title of the Camaro as
part of this sale, that transfer did not happen. When Boulevard submitted the title
transfer paperwork to the Division of Motor Vehicles, Boulevard misplaced its copy
of Nathaniel Brooks’s driver’s license, and the DMV rejected the title transfer for
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2022-NCCOA-548
Opinion of the Court
insufficient documentation. From late January through early March, Boulevard
called Nathaniel Brooks eight times seeking a replacement copy of his driver’s license
but never heard back.
¶ 11 Two months after the sale, on 11 March 2015, Daryl Brooks was driving the
Camaro. He was impaired at the time. At a speed of approximately 80 miles per hour,
Brooks collided with the back of a vehicle occupied by Lisa and Kelwin Biggs. The
crash pushed the Biggs’s vehicle into oncoming traffic and Kelwin Biggs suffered fatal
injuries.
¶ 12 At the time of the collision, Daryl Brooks was driving with a suspended license
due to earlier offenses of driving while impaired, driving while license revoked, and
failure to appear.
¶ 13 As part of the crash investigation, the State notified Boulevard that a vehicle
still titled and registered with the company had been involved in an accident. The
DMV’s License and Theft Bureau later investigated and cited Boulevard for failure
to timely deliver title as part of the sale.
¶ 14 After obtaining a copy of Nathaniel Brooks’s driver’s license, DMV ultimately
transferred title of the Camaro to Nathaniel Brooks in late April 2015, long after the
collision involving the Camaro.
¶ 15 Lisa Biggs, individually and as representative of her husband’s estate, sued
Boulevard and its owner, Kyle Ollis, for negligence, negligent entrustment, emotional
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Opinion of the Court
distress, gross negligence, and punitive damages. Biggs also brought claims against
both Daryl Brooks and Nathaniel Brooks.
¶ 16 At summary judgment, the trial court dismissed all claims against Boulevard
and Ollis. Biggs sought to immediately appeal that ruling, but this Court dismissed
that interlocutory appeal for lack of jurisdiction. Biggs v. Brooks, 261 N.C. App. 773,
818 S.E.2d 643 (2018) (unpublished).
¶ 17 The case against the remaining defendants was stayed repeatedly over the
next several years because of Daryl Brooks’s pending criminal trial. In 2017, Brooks
was convicted and sentenced for second degree murder and other related offenses in
connection with the crash.
¶ 18 Following exhaustion of the criminal appeal process, the civil case against
Daryl Brooks proceeded to trial. After the trial court entered judgment finding Daryl
Brooks liable for wrongful death in causing the fatal collision, the court conducted a
bench trial on compensatory and punitive damages and awarded $10,000,000 in
damages.
¶ 19 In June 2021, following entry of final judgment on all remaining claims in this
case, Biggs appealed the trial court’s May 2017 order granting summary judgment in
favor of Boulevard and Kyle Ollis.
Analysis
¶ 20 Biggs challenges the trial court’s order granting summary judgment in favor
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Opinion of the Court
of Defendants Boulevard Pre-Owned, Inc. and Kyle Ollis. We review that order de
novo. In re Will of Jones, 362 N.C. 569, 573, 669 S.E.2d 572, 576 (2008).
¶ 21 Summary judgment is proper when “the pleadings, depositions, answers to
interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that
there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that any party is entitled to a
judgment as a matter of law.” N.C. R. Civ. P. 56(c). To survive a motion for summary
judgment, the non-movant must forecast sufficient evidence to create a genuine issue
of material fact on all essential elements of the asserted claims. Waddle v. Sparks,
331 N.C. 73, 82, 414 S.E.2d 22, 27 (1992).
I. Agency theory of liability
¶ 22 We begin by addressing the various negligence claims that depend on an
agency relationship between Daryl Brooks and Boulevard Pre-Owned, Inc.
¶ 23 Biggs asserts that Boulevard is liable for Daryl Brooks’s negligence under an
agency theory that stems from a statutory provision governing ownership of motor
vehicles. By law, proof of ownership of a motor vehicle at the time of a collision is
prima facie evidence that the motor vehicle was being operated with the authority,
consent, and knowledge of the owner and “being operated by and under the control of
a person for whose conduct the owner was legally responsible”:
(a) In all actions to recover damages for injury to the person
or to property or for the death of a person, arising out of an
accident or collision involving a motor vehicle, proof of
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ownership of such motor vehicle at the time of such
accident or collision shall be prima facie evidence that said
motor vehicle was being operated and used with the
authority, consent, and knowledge of the owner in the very
transaction out of which said injury or cause of action
arose.
(b) Proof of the registration of a motor vehicle in the name
of any person, firm, or corporation, shall for the purpose of
any such action, be prima facie evidence of ownership and
that such motor vehicle was then being operated by and
under the control of a person for whose conduct the owner
was legally responsible, for the owner’s benefit, and within
the course and scope of his employment.
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-71.1.
¶ 24 “The purpose of the section is to facilitate proof of ownership and agency where
a vehicle is operated by one other than the owner.” Winston v. Brodie, 134 N.C. App.
260, 266, 517 S.E.2d 203, 207 (1999). Proof of ownership under Section 20-71.1
“creates a prima facie case of agency that permits, but does not compel a finding for
plaintiff.” Id. Importantly, Section 20-71.1 is “a rule of evidence and not substantive
law.” Id. This means that the plaintiff “continues to carry the burden of proving an
agency relationship between the driver and owner at the time of the driver’s
negligence.” Id. The defendant “at no point carries the burden of proof.” Id.¶ 25 As a result, when a plaintiff relies on proof of ownership through this statute,
“the defendant may offer positive, contradicting evidence which, if believed, would
establish the absence of an agency relationship.” Id. This contradictory evidence
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entitles the defendant to “a peremptory instruction that if the jury does believe the
contrary evidence, it must find for defendant on the agency issue.” Id. In other words,
when the defendant presents evidence contradicting this statutory agency principle,
the “statutory presumption is not weighed against defendant’s evidence by the trier
of facts.” DeArmon v. B. Mears Corp., 312 N.C. 749, 756, 325 S.E.2d 223, 228 (1985).
Instead, the plaintiff must present affirmative evidence supporting the agency
theory. Id.¶ 26 This, in turn, means that, at the summary judgment stage, when a defendant
forecasts undisputed evidence that rebuts the agency relationship described by
Section 20-71.1, the plaintiff must forecast at least some evidence, beyond the statute
itself, that creates a genuine issue of material fact on this question. See Thompson v.
Three Guys Furniture Co., 122 N.C. App. 340, 345, 469 S.E.2d 583, 586 (1996). The
plaintiff cannot rely solely on the statute in the face of undisputed counter-evidence,
because the statutory provision alone cannot be weighed against competing evidence
at trial. DeArmon, 312 N.C. at 756, 325 S.E.2d at 228.
¶ 27 So, for example, in Thompson, this Court held that summary judgment for the
defendant was inappropriate after the defendant presented evidence refuting an
agency relationship because “plaintiff has submitted affidavits pursuant to Rule
56(e), and thus has presented evidence in addition to the prima facie showing of
agency provided by G.S. § 20–71.1.” Thompson, 122 N.C. App. at 345, 469 S.E.2d at
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Opinion of the Court
586 (emphasis added). Without that affidavit, raising credibility questions with
defendant’s own evidence, the statute alone would have been insufficient to survive
summary judgment. Id.¶ 28 Here, the unique facts of this case make it one of the rare cases where there
are no genuine issues of fact, and thus the trial court properly entered summary
judgment in favor of the defendants. It is undisputed that, on 8 January 2015,
Nathaniel Brooks and Boulevard Pre-Owned, Inc. signed various documents
collectively representing the sale and intended transfer of ownership of the Camaro
from Boulevard to Nathaniel Brooks. These included a bill of sale for a total purchase
price of $7,500 signed by both Brooks and Boulevard; a dealer’s reassignment of title
on the form issued by the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles, signed and
notarized by both Brooks and Boulevard; vehicle registration information necessary
to register the vehicle in Brooks’s name; and various other fully executed paperwork
that often accompanies the purchase of an automobile, such as an arbitration
agreement concerning the sale transaction, and various loan and insurance
paperwork.
¶ 29 Boulevard and Kyle Ollis also submitted an affidavit from Ollis describing the
sale of the Camaro to Nathaniel Brooks on 8 January 2015 and testifying that Daryl
Brooks had no connection to Boulevard and was not an employee or agent of
Boulevard at any time.
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¶ 30 This undisputed evidence demonstrates, as a matter of law, that there was no
agency relationship between Boulevard and Daryl Brooks. Although the formal
transfer of title to the Camaro did not occur because Boulevard misplaced its copy of
Nathaniel Brooks’s driver’s license—and thus was unable to complete the title
transfer through the DMV—Boulevard relinquished authority and control over the
Camaro when it completed the sale and released the Camaro to the buyer.
Accordingly, the trial court properly entered summary judgment in favor of
Boulevard and Ollis on all claims that depended on the agency theory of liability.1
II. Negligent entrustment theory
¶ 31 We next examine the negligent entrustment claim. Biggs contends that she
forecast sufficient evidence of the direct negligence of Boulevard based on the
company’s negligent entrustment of the Camaro to Daryl Brooks, who had a
suspended license and a history of driving while impaired.
¶ 32 “Negligent entrustment occurs when the owner of an automobile entrusts its
operation to a person whom he knows, or by the exercise of due care should have
1Biggs also argues that under “North Carolina General Statutes § 20-279.21(b)(2),
the owner of the vehicle is liable for the negligent conduct of the driver where the victim’s
damages were ‘caused by an accident and resulting from the ownership, maintenance or use
of' the owner’s vehicle.”
Section 20-279.21 is not a liability provision; it is an insurance coverage provision.
Biggs did not raise this insurance coverage issue in the trial court and cannot assert it for
the first time on appeal. N.C. R. App. P. 10. We therefore reject this argument as
unpreserved.
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known, to be an incompetent or reckless driver who is likely to cause injury to others
in its use.” Thompson, 122 N.C. App. at 346, 469 S.E.2d at 586–87.
¶ 33 There are two fatal flaws with this negligent entrustment theory. First, as
explained above, undisputed evidence demonstrates that Boulevard relinquished
authority and control over the Camaro when it completed the sale and title transfer
paperwork on 8 January 2015, and that Daryl Brooks, when he drove the Camaro off
Boulevard’s lot, was doing so on behalf of his relative, Nathaniel Brooks, who was the
buyer of the Camaro and now had authority and control over the vehicle. Thus, the
undisputed evidence demonstrates that it was not Boulevard who entrusted Daryl
Brooks with the use of the Camaro at that time, but instead Nathaniel Brooks, who
had recently purchased the vehicle.
¶ 34 Moreover, the collision at issue in this case did not occur when Daryl Brooks
drove the Camaro off Boulevard’s lot following the sale. It occurred more than two
months later, on 11 March 2015. There is no evidence in the record that Boulevard
entrusted Daryl Brooks with the use of the Camaro—over which it relinquished
authority and control two months earlier—at the time of the collision. Accordingly,
the trial court did not err in granting summary judgment in favor of Boulevard and
Ollis on the negligent entrustment claim as well.
III. Remaining claims, legal theories, and requests for damages
¶ 35 Having determined that the trial court properly entered summary judgment
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in favor of Boulevard and Ollis on all of Biggs’s negligence and negligent entrustment
claims, we need not address Biggs’s other arguments on appeal—including issues of
piercing the corporate veil and the award of costs—because these issues necessarily
depended on rejection of the trial court’s summary judgment ruling on the negligence
claims. We therefore affirm the trial court’s order in its entirety.
Conclusion
We affirm the trial court’s order.
AFFIRMED.
Judges GRIFFIN and JACKSON concur.