PAMELA ARGABRITE v. JIM NEER, et al.
Appellate Case No. 26220
Trial Court Case No. 12-CV-7402
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT MONTGOMERY COUNTY
Rendered on the 16th day of January, 2015.
[Cite as Argabrite v. Neer, 2015-Ohio-125.]
HALL, J.
Attorney for Plaintiff-Appellant, Pamela Argabrite
LISA A. LUEBKE, Atty. Reg. #0081315, and JOHN CUMMING, Atty. Reg. #0018710, 301 West Third Street, 5th Floor, Dayton, Ohio 45422
Attorney for Defendants-Appellees, Tony Ball, Daniel Adkins, Julie Stephens and Karen Osterfield
LAWRENCE E. BARBIERE, Atty. Reg. #0027106, Schroeder, Maundrell, Barbiere & Powers, 5300 Socialville Foster Road, Suite 200, Mason, Ohio 45040
Attorney for Defendant-Appellee, John Dipietro
EDWARD J. DOWD, Atty. Reg. #0018681, and JOSHUA SCHIERLOH, Atty. Reg. #0078325, 1 Prestige Place, Suite 700, Miamisburg, Ohio 45342
Attorneys for Defendants-Appellees, Jim Neer and Gregory Stites
OPINION
{¶ 2} The defendants all moved for summary judgment, contending that they are immune from liability under
{¶ 3} The trial court granted the summary judgment motions on the proximate-cause issue. As to the county officers, the court concluded that no reasonable juror could find that the conduct of either officer was extreme or outrageous. Officer Adkins, said the court, was not involved in the pursuit, and Officer Ball‘s tracking of the suspect was at a distance and at reasonable speeds, breaking off well before the accident in favor of the Miami Township officers. As to the township оfficers, the trial court concluded that their conduct was reckless, but no reasonable juror could conclude that their conduct was extreme or outrageous.
{¶ 4} Argabrite appealed, alleging in the sole assignment of error that the trial court erred by granting summary judgment. Our review of a summary judgment decision is de novo. Grafton v. Ohio Edison Co., 77 Ohio St.3d 102, 105, 671 N.E.22d 241 (1996). This means we use the same standard that the trial court should have used, and we determine whether the evidence presents a genuine issue of fact for trial. Dupler v. Mansfield Journal Co., 64 Ohio St.2d 116, 413 N.E.22d 1187 (1980). The trial court‘s decision is not granted any deference by the reviewing appellate court. Brown v. Scioto Cty. Bd. Of Commrs., 87 Ohio App.3d 704, 711, 622 N.E.22d 1153 (4th Dist.1993). Therefore, we could review and analyze whether the trial court‘s conclusion that Township officers Neer and Stites were reckless is supported by the record or, if a genuine issue of recklessness is found, whether that behavior was the proximate cause of Barnhart‘s collision with the Argabrite vehicle. If there is no genuine issue of either recklessness or proximate cause resulting from recklessness, then the officers are entitled to immunity under
{¶ 5} Argabrite asks us to reconsider the proximatе-cause rule applied in Whitfield. This rule comes from the Ninth District‘s “no proximate cause” holding in Lewis v. Bland: “When a law enforcement officer pursues a fleeing violator and the violator injures a third party as a result of the chase, the officer‘s pursuit is not the proximate cause of those injuries unless the circumstances indicate extreme or outrageous conduct by the officer, as the possibility that the violator will injure a third party is too remote to create liability until the officer‘s conduct becomes extreme.” 75 Ohio App.3d 453, 456, 599 N.E.22d 814 (9th Dist.1991). We adhered to this holding in Whitfield because we recognized it as “established law” in Ohio. Whitfield, 167 Ohio App.3d 172, 2006-Ohio-2917, 854 N.E.22d 532, at ¶ 59. “Ohio appellate districts, including our own,” we said, “* * * apply the ‘nо proximate cause’ holding of Lewis to cases where pursuits end in injury to innocent third parties or to occupants of the pursued vehicle without direct contact with a police vehicle.” Id. at ¶ 57, citing Jackson v. Poland Twp., 7th Dist. Mahoning Nos. 96 CA 261, 97 CA 13, and 98 CA 105, 1999 WL 783959 (Sept. 29, 1999); Pylypiv v. Parma, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 85995, 2005-Ohio-6364; Shalkhauser v. Medina, 148 Ohio App.3d 41, 2002-Ohio-222, 772 N.E.22d 129 (9th Dist.); Heard v. Toledo, 6th Dist. Lucas No. L-03-1032, 2003-Ohio-5191, ¶ 12 (rejecting an argument that Lewis is “outdated, contrary to sound public policy and should no longer govern Ohio cases“); and Sutterlin v. Barnard, 2d Dist. Montgomery No. 13201, 1992 WL 274641 (Oct. 6, 1992) (a previous case in which this district followed Lewis‘s approach).
{¶ 6} According to Argabrite, the “no proximate cause” rule is the minority position in this country: “The majority of jurisdictions, focusing on the importance of public safety, adopt
{¶ 7} The “no proximate cause” rule is still the established law in this state. Since Whitfield, no Ohio court has questioned the rule, and at least one has rejected an argument not to follow it, see Perry v. Liberty Twp., 11th Dist. Trumbull No. 2012-T-0056, 2013-Ohio-741, ¶ 18-21. We are not convinced that this is the case in which to reconsider the rule.
{¶ 8} The remaining issue is whether the trial court applied the “no proximate cause” rule correctly in this case. To determine whether the police officers’ conduct was extreme or outrageous in Whitfield we referred to the description of extreme and outrageous conduct adopted by the Ohio Supreme Court: The conduct is ” ‘so extreme in degree, as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency, and to be regarded as atrocious, and utterly intolerable in a civilized
{¶ 9} “In a case decided on summary judgment, we must determine whether an issue of material fact remains to be litigated, whether the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, and whether when viewing the evidence most strongly in favor of the nonmoving party, reasonable minds can only reach a conclusion that is adverse to the nonmoving party.” Snyder v. Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources, Slip Opinion No. 2014-Ohio-3942, ¶ 20, citing
{¶ 10} At 11:37 a.m. on July 11, 2011, Sergeant Rex Thompson was sitting in his office at the Miami Township Police Department when hе heard on his police radio dispatch that there was a burglary in progress in Washington Township. The suspects were identified as two black males who had just broken into a residence, taken some items, and were leaving in a white vehicle without a front license plate. About 15 minutes later, the suspects’ vehicle was further
{¶ 11} Sergeant Thompson was the shift supervisor of the Miami Township police road patrol division that day and was in charge of аll the Miami Township police officers and responsible for any police pursuits. Thompson left his office and got into his cruiser so that he could monitor the roadways nearby in the event the suspects’ vehicle drove past. While Thompson monitored the roadway, he heard on the radio one of his patrol officers tell officer Gregory Stites that the description of the car involved in the burglary sounded like a car last seen at a residence on Mardell Drive. Thompson radioed Stites that he would meet him on Mardell Drive to investigate.
{¶ 12} Thompson arrived first. Parked in the driveway at 2037 Mardell Drive, he saw an older, white Chevy Caprice with no hubcaps. The driver‘s side door was open and someone was sitting in the driver‘s seat with a leg draped out the door. Thompson pulled into the driveway and parked his cruiser 6 to 8 feet behind the car. Meanwhile, Stites had arrived and pulled up to the curb.
{¶ 13} Thompson got out and slowly approached the car, hoping to catch its occupant off-guard. Thompson was within 10 feet of the open driver‘s side door when the person sitting in the driver‘s seat exited the car, talking on a cell phone. He startled when he saw Thompson and immediately turned around and got back into the car. Thompson, concerned that the man might be attempting to get a weapon, drew his gun and started shouting at the man to stop. But he didn‘t stop. Instead, he slammed the car door closed and started the engine. Thompson moved to within touching distance of the driver‘s side and continued to shout to the suspect through the open
{¶ 14} Thompson called in the license plate of the fleeing car. Then, since there were other officers around, he turned his attention to the fleeing passenger. Thompson found the man laying in the ravine behind the house, where the man had broken his leg. After calling for medical assistance, Thompson stayed with the man and asked him the name of the driver, but the man refused to say.
{¶ 15} Miami Township police officer Jim Neer was on patrol a few blocks away from Mardell Drive when he heard the radio broadcast about the burglary and the white car on Mardell Drive. He headed that way, arriving on the street just in time to see the car going through the side yard. Neer turned on his lights and sirens and told dispatch that he was in pursuit. Officer Stites, parked in front of the Mardell Drive house, joined Neer in the pursuit.
{¶ 16} John DiPietro was the Deputy Chief of Police for Miami Township. When the radio broadcast about the burglary went out, he was at the police service garage. Initially, DiPietro only heard a small portion of the information relayed over the radio as he was talking with people at the garage, and the radio did not have his full attention. DiPietro did hear a
{¶ 17} From Mardell Drive the suspect‘s car headed south on Graceland Street and then east on State Route 725. At the Lyons Road intersection the light was red, and the suspect slowed as he approached the intersection before going into the opposing lane, through the red light, and north on Lyons Road. Neer, then Stites, cautiously followed through the intersection. By the time Neer was on Lyons Road, the suspect was more than 100 yards ahead of him. At McEwen Road, the suspect slowed and turned south. As the suspect approached S.R. 725, he slowed and waited for traffic to clear before continuing. Neer and Stites also slowed before proceeding through the intersection, “inch[ing] [their] way through it as well.” (Stites dep. 39). Captain Karen Osterfeld of the Montgomery County Sheriff‘s Office assisted by blocking westbound traffic from entering
{¶ 18} Further south of S.R. 725, on McEwen Road, is the Montgomery County Sheriff‘s Offiсe Washington Township substation. Deputy Tony Ball was there when he heard over his radio that Miami Township officers were headed into Washington Township. Ball got into his cruiser and headed north on McEwen Road. Before he got to S.R. 725, a white car that matched the description of the vehicle being driven by the suspect passed him in the opposite lane, traveling “faster than normal” and going into opposing lanes of travel. (Ball dep. 14-15). Ball could not see any police vehicles in pursuit, though he saw their lights in the distance and figured that they had gotten “held up” at an intersection. (Id. at 17). He decided to follow thе suspect to at least keep eyes on it until the Miami Township officers caught up. Ball turned on his lights and siren, made a u-turn, and immediately turned off the lights and siren. At Spring Valley Pike intersection, Ball again turned on his lights and siren briefly and followed the suspect west. Ball looked back to see whether the Miami Township officers were close enough so that he could “get out of their way,” (Id. at 22), as he was only trying to keep the suspect in sight and did not intend to pursue. They hadn‘t caught up yet. As he followed the suspect, Ball activated either his lights or his lights and siren when he was passing vehicles or going through intersections in order to warn motоrists that he and the Miami Township officers were coming through the area. Finally, Ball saw that the Miami Township police officers had caught up, so he began looking for a place to pull over to allow them to pass. Fearing that if he pulled over or tried to maneuver out of their way, they would follow him, Ball radioed the officers to pass him when he was just east of Washington Church Road. When he pulled into the middle lane and slowed, Neer and Stites passed him. Ball continued west on Spring Valley Pike without his lights or siren, though he
{¶ 19} After Neer and Stites passed Ball, they accelerated because the suspeсt was now well ahead of them. They slowed as they crested a hill to see if the suspect had gone down a side street, but Neer saw the white car ahead of them, at the S.R. 741 intersection. The suspect slowed, or stopped, and waited for traffic to clear the intersection before going through a red light and turning south.
{¶ 20} Sergeant Daniel Adkins of the Montgomery County Sheriff‘s Office heard the radio broadcast about the burglary while he was on patrol in Washington Township. While driving to the scene of the burglary, Adkins heard that the suspects had left the area in an older white car, so Adkins started driving around the general area, hоping to find it. When he heard over the radio that Miami Township officers were in pursuit, Adkins began to follow the pursuit from the north, thinking that they might need him to assist in clearing intersections or to wait for the suspect to flee on foot. He worked his way over to S.R. 741, reasoning that if the suspect went north on that road, he (Adkins) would need to help direct traffic because at that time of the day traffic would be “horrendous.” (Adkins dep. 12). But the suspect went south, and Adkins never saw him.
{¶ 21} When Neer reached the Spring Valley Pike and S.R. 741 intersection, he slowed, then stopped, and made sure no traffic was coming in either direction before proceeding. Once on S.R. 741, Neer accelerated in order to catch up to the suspect, who was well ahead of him and cresting a hill near Waldruhe Park. Neer and Stites lost sight of the suspect until they crested the same hill. When they caught sight of him again, they watched him move left into the opposing lane of traffic and crash head-on into Argabrite. The crash was announced over the radio at 11:57
{¶ 22} Argabrite contends that the pursuit wаs extreme or outrageous because the officers pursued at high speeds through residential areas, because the police officers violated their respective policies on motor vehicle pursuits, and because they knew who the suspect was and could have arrested him with a warrant.
{¶ 23} In all, the pursuit covered just under 6 miles and lasted just under 7 minutes. The speed limits along the route ranged from 25 m.p.h. on Graceland Street to 45 m.p.h. on S.R. 725 to 35 m.p.h. on Spring Valley Road to 55 m.p.h. on S.R. 741. Ball estimated that while on McEwen Road he drove 45-50 m.p.h. Stites testified that on Spring Valley Road, before he reаched Washington Church Road, he was traveling at 45-50 m.p.h. Neer testified that, after he passed Ball, he accelerated to between 60 and 80 m.p.h. because the suspect was now well ahead of him. Stites said that on S.R. 741 he never went over 70 m.p.h. The weather during the pursuit was clear, dry, and sunny. Neer and Stites both testified that the traffic during the pursuit was generally light. Stites said that he was able to negotiate it without any problems. Under the described circumstances, no reasonable juror could conclude that the officers’ speeds during the pursuit were extreme or outrageous.
{¶ 24} The Miami Township Pursuit of Motor Vehicles Policy allows an officer to pursue a fleeing suspect who the officer has probable cause to believe committed a burglary or felonious assault. (Miami Township Pursuit of Motor Vehicles Policy, 41.2.8(C)). But the policy also states that “[i]f the risk to the public from the initiation or continuation, of a pursuit
{¶ 25} Even if it is assumed for the sake of analysis that the officers did violate their respective pursuit policies, their conduct was not extreme or outrageous. The most that can be said of a violation of a “departmental policy enacted for the safety of the public” is that it “may be relevant to determining the culpability of a course of conduct.” Anderson, 134 Ohio St.3d 380, 2012-Ohio-5711, 983 N.E.22d 266, at ¶ 37; see also Shalkhauser, 148 Ohio App.3d at 51, 772 N.E.22d 129 (saying, “a violation of an internal departmental procedure is irrelevant to the issue of whether appellees’ conduct constituted willful or wanton misconduct“). ” ‘Without evidence of an accompanying knowledge thаt the violations “will in all probability result in injury,” Fabrey [v. McDonald Village Police Dept.], 70 Ohio St.3d [351] at 356, 639 N.E.22d 31 [ (1994) ] evidence that policies have been violated demonstrates negligence at best.’ ” Anderson at ¶ 38, quoting O‘Toole v. Denihan, 118 Ohio St.3d 374, 2008-Ohio-2574, 889 N.E.22d 505, ¶ 92. Here,
{¶ 26} Neer and DiPietro each testified that he did not know who the suspect was until after the crash. But Stites knew early on. Three months earlier, the same white car had failed to stop for another officer, and Stites and that officer discovered that the car was registered to Andrew Barnhart‘s mother. One could speculate whether the оfficers should have discontinued the pursuit, and at what point that decision should be made. But that‘s not the right question here. The question is, was the pursuit extreme or outrageous? We do not think that a reasonable person could fairly say that it was.
{¶ 27} None of the officers’ conduct may fairly be characterized as “atrocious, and utterly intolerable in a civilized society.” Certainly, nothing about Ball‘s or Adkins’ conduct comes close. While one of Argabrite‘s experts states in his affidavit that Neer‘s, Stites‘s, DiPietro‘s, and Ball‘s conduct was outrageous and unconscionable, (see McDevitt Aff. ¶ 5), such evidence, as we said above, states a legal conclusion, not a factual assertion. The trial court disagreed and so do we.
{¶ 28} Lastly, we need not address whether the officers are immune under the Political Subdivision Tort Liability Act. As we said in Whitfield, “since there must always be a causal connection between disputed conduct and an injury, a plaintiff would have to satisfy proximate-cause requirements even if an officer‘s conduct is wanton or reckless.” Whitfield, 167 Ohio App.3d 172, 2006-Ohio-2917, 854 N.E.22d 532, at ¶ 44. That issue is dispositive.
{¶ 29} The sole assignment of error is overruled.
{¶ 30} The trial court‘s judgment is affirmed.
WELBAUM, J., concurs.
FROELICH, P.J., dissenting.
{¶ 31} I dissent from the majority‘s conclusion that Whitfield v. Dayton, 167 Ohio App.3d 172, 2006-Ohio-2917, 854 N.E.22d 532 (2d Dist.), should continue to be followed.
{¶ 32} A claim for personal injuries requires the existence of a duty, the defendant‘s breach of that duty, and injury or damages that are proximately caused by that breach. Wallace v. Ohio Dept. of Commerce, 96 Ohio St.3d 266, 2002-Ohio-4210, 773 N.E.22d 1018, ¶ 22. Without proximate cause, there can be no liability.
{¶ 33} Proximate cause is the law‘s distinction between the injury‘s cause in fact and causation for which society holds an actor responsible.2 The Supreme Court of Ohio has discussed proximate cause, stating:
The term, “proximate cause,” is often difficult of exact definition as applied to the facts of a particular case. However, it is generally true that, where an original act is wrongful or negligent and in a natural and continuous sequence produces a result which would not have taken place without the act, proximate cause is established, and the faсt that some other act unites with the original act to cause injury does not relieve the initial offender from liability.
Clinger v. Duncan, 166 Ohio St. 216, 222, 141 N.E.22d 156 (1957). An injury is the natural and probable consequence of an act if the injury complained of “could have been foreseen or reasonably anticipated” from the conduct. Strother v. Hutchinson, 67 Ohio St.2d 282, 287, 423 N.E.22d 467 (1981).
{¶ 34} According to Lewis v. Bland, 75 Ohio App.3d 454, 599 N.E.22d 814 (9th Dist.1991), and the cases that follow it, police officers must engage in “extreme or outrageous conduct” before there can be proximate cause. Id. at 456. This approach is contrary to traditional notions of proximate cause, which focus on the foreseeability of the consequence, not
{¶ 35} Ohio‘s sovereign immunity statute sets forth standards imposing liability of governmental entities and their employees for wrongful conduct.
{¶ 36} As we stated in Moon v. Trotwood Madison City Schs., 2014-Ohio-1110, 9 N.E.3d 541 (2d Dist.):
The terms “wanton” and “reckless” describe different and distinct degrees of care and are not interchangeable. Anderson v. Massillon, 134 Ohio St.3d 380, 2012-Ohio-5711, 983 N.E.2d 266, paragraph one of the syllabus. They are sometimes desсribed “as being on a continuum, i.e., willful conduct is more culpable than wanton, and wanton conduct is more culpable than reckless.” Id. at ¶ 42 (Lanzinger, J., concurring in judgment in part and dissenting in part).
Recklessness is a high standard. Rankin v. Cuyahoga Cty. Dept. of Children and Family Servs., 118 Ohio St.3d 392, 2008-Ohio-2567, 889 N.E.2d 521, ¶ 37. “Reckless conduct is characterized by the conscious disregard of or indifference to a known or obvious risk of harm to another that is unreasonable under the circumstances and is substantially greater than negligent conduct.” Anderson at ¶ 34, adopting 2 Restatement of the Law 2d, Torts, Section 500 (1965).
{¶ 37} By requiring extreme and outrageous conduct to establish proximate cause (which is required for liability), Lewis usurps the legislative determination as to the type of conduct that is required of employees of political subdivisions for immunity from liability. Under Lewis, even if a police officer is reckless, the officer would still be immune from liability unless the conduct is extreme or outrageous. The argument that Lewis involves “proximate cause” as opposed to “duty” could devolve into a historical or pedagogical discussion of duty versus proximate cause. See, e.g., Palsgraf v. Long Island R.Co., 248 N.Y. 339, 162 N.E. 99 (1928). Suffice it to say, the bottom-line concerning potential responsibility is the same. It may or may not be good public policy to require “extreme or outrageous” conduct to removе immunity and impose liability upon police officers who pursue a fleeing suspect, but that question has been decided by the legislature when it only required “reckless” conduct.
{¶ 38} If the legislature desired a different standard for immunity when police officers are pursuing fleeing suspects in their vehicles, the legislature could have expressly created such an exception. The legislature has created an exception to political subdivision liability for negligent operation of a motor vehicle when a police officer “was operating a motor vehicle
{¶ 39} I concede that stare decisis weighs in favor of following Whitfield, which followed Lewis. However, Anderson has since clarified certain definitions regarding the degrees of care for purposes of the sovereign immunity statute. Moreover, I believe that Whitfield was wrongly decided at the time, the decision defies practical workability, and abandoning the precedent would not cause undue hardship for those who have relied on it. See Westfield Ins. Co. v. Galatis, 100 Ohio St.3d 215, 2003-Ohio-5849, 797 N.E.2d 1256, ¶ 48 (adopting a standard to determine when courts may vary from established precedent).
Copies mailed to:
Kenneth J. Ignozzi
Liza J. Luebke
John Cumming
Lawrence E. Barbiere
Edward J. Dowd
Joshua R. Schierloh
Hon. James A. Brogan
(sitting for Judge Barbara P. Gorman)
Notes
In our universe, all events can be analyzed as caused by all other events. It is a weary truism now, thanks to the explorations of chaos theory, that “but for” the flapping of a butterfly‘s wings in Mexico, Dorothy would never have been blown to Oz.
On the scale of human (not just physical) events, historical interactions have been thoroughly revealed and explored. In short, the “but for” analysis casts a net so wide that conceivably all events are traceable to all other events, and the touchstone of individual responsibility sinks beneath a sea billowing with enumerable occurrences all jostling each other. (Footnotes omitted.) Id. at 753 (Young, J.).