Baker vs Maples

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FILED IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF TENNESSEE Cecil Crowson, Jr. AT KNOXVILLE ESTATE OF FRANK BAKER BY KENNETH BAKER, Administrator and Next of Kin, Plaintiff-Ap pellant, v. JOEL LEE MAPLES, Defendant-Appellee. January 20, 1999 Appe llate Court Clerk ) C/A NO. 03A01-9805-CV-00160 ) ) SEVIER CIRCU IT ) ) HON. JOHN TURNBULL, ) JUDGE ) ) ) VACATED ) AND ) REMANDED PERRY P. PAINE , JR., PAINE, G ARRE TT & B RAY, M aryville, for PlaintiffAppellan t. STEV EN E. M ARSH ALL, M ARSH ALL & DELIU S, Sevierv ille, for Defen dantAppellee. O P I N IO N Franks, J. In this action for the wrongful death of Frank Baker, the Trial Judge granted the defendant Joel Lee Maples summary judgment, and plaintiff has appealed. The circumstances giving rise to this action occurred on November 7, 1994, when Maples shot and killed Baker. Baker was married to Maples sister Sandr a, and F rank an d Sand ra lived n ear M aples. Frank Baker s son filed this wrongful death action against Maples as Administrator and Next of Kin of the Estate of Frank Baker, alleging that Maples carelessly and negligently killed Baker, and that he intentionally, wilfully, and maliciously shot and killed Baker. After the action was filed, Baker s surviving spouse, Sandra, requested she be allowed to withdraw as co-administrator of the Estate, which request was granted. Sandra then executed a release on August 30, 1995 for the sole consideration of ten dollars, relieving Maples of all liability for the death of Frank Baker. In her deposition, Sandra testified that there were no negotiation s about the a mount o f considera tion to be pa id. She said th at she told Maples attorney that she would leave the amount up to his discretion, and when ten dollars was suggested, she agreed to it. It appears from the record that Maples attorney had also petitioned the Court on behalf of Sandra to be relieved of her duties as co-administrator of Baker s Estate. This action was dismissed on the basis that Sandr a had e xecute d a relea se wh ich wa s bindin g on all p arties. The issues on appeal are whether Sandra waived her right to pursue, control and negotiate the wrongful death action under Tennessee Code Annotated §20-5-106, and w hether she executed a bona fide com promise and v alid release for a consid eration o f ten do llars to he r brothe r. If there are no disputed issu es of mate rial fact, summ ary judgm ent is approp riate. Byrd v H all, 847 S.W .2d 208, 21 4 (Tenn. 1 993); see also Carvell v. Bottoms, 900 S.W.2d 23, 26 (Tenn. 1995). To determine whether there is a genuine issue as to m aterial facts, the C ourt mus t determine whether a reasonab le jury could legitimately resolve those facts and favor one side or the othe r. If so, then summary judgm ent is ina pprop riate. Byrd. In determ ining wh ether sum mary jud gment is appropriate, courts must view the evidence in a light most favorable to the nonmovi ng part y, and a llow all r easona ble infer ences in that part y s favo r. Id. Courts should grant summary judgment only when both the facts and the conclusions to be 2 drawn from th e facts p ermit a reason able pe rson to r each o nly one conclu sion . Carve ll, 900 S .W.2d at 26. It is beyond dispute that th e cause of a ction for w rongful de ath passes to the deceased s surviving spouse. T.C.A. §20-5-106(a). The statute further provides that the surviving spouse may effect a bona fide compromise in such a suit or right of action and may execute a valid release which shall be binding upon all children of the deceased or next of kin of the deceased. T.C.A. §20-5-110(b) (1994). A surviving spouse mainta ins con trol ove r the righ t of actio n until h e or she waive s that righ t. Spitzer v. Knoxville Iron Co., 133 Ten n. 217, 180 , S.W.2d 163, 164 (1915); Foster v. Jeffers, 813 S.W .2d 449, 45 1 (Tenn. A pp. 1991 ). The result re mains the same, ev en if the spo use w aives h is or her r ight to ad ministe r the Es tate. Spitzer. A spouse may mainta in contr ol over an actio n by eff ecting a comp romise . Foster, 813 S.W.2d at 453. Sandra did not waive her rights under the statute. The issue thus becomes whether there is disputed material evidence on wheth er Sand ra s relea se was bona fide . The record establishes that two days before Baker s death, he and Maples had a disagreement about a road that Baker was building and harsh words were exchanged. Maples, in his deposition, testified he went to the Sportsmans Club to target practice, and took two pistols, two rifles and a shotgun. On his way home he stopped at a friend s hous e, and the two of them went to the store to get som e beer. They returne d to M aples h ome a nd arou nd 8:00 p.m., M aples to ok his fr iend ho me. He then visited his brother and had drunk three or four beers at the time. Maples left his brother s house after 11 p.m. to go home. About halfway home he stopped and removed his .357 Magnum and two speed loaders from the tool box in the back of his truck and placed them on the seat. He stated that he had hit a bump near the pond by his brother s house and remembered that the g un was in 3 the tool box, so he removed it so it would not get scratched. This took place about five hundred yards from Maples home. Maples continued toward home and observed headlights coming up the new road. The vehicle stopped at the intersection blocking Maples path and Maples stopped and turned off his engine. The vehicles were about ten or twelv e feet apart. H e stated that B aker got ou t of the other v ehicle with a rifle in hand and that he chambered the rifle as he came toward Maples. In response, Maples loaded his pistol and Baker came around to the driver s side of the truck and opened th e door. A s Baker o pened the door, M aples rolled o ut of the truck while firing the pistol at Baker. Baker fell face down and died. The autopsy report on Baker states the cause of death as homicide, and noted six gunshot wounds to Baker s body. The wounds went from the left side of the body to the right in a downward trajectory. In response to defendant s testimony, plaintiff offered the testimony of a consultant in forensic sciences, which testimony was supplemented, after reviewing Maples testimony. The consultant opined that compa ring the phy sical eviden ce with M aples desc ription of the e vents, it was h is opinion that Maples statement that he was in or exiting his vehicle when he shot Baker was untrue due to the nature of the gunshot wounds. Although Sandra had withdrawn from the administration, she was acting as a fidu ciary on behalf o f all the p laintiffs in terests w hen sh e exec uted the release . We believe there is sufficient evidence from the surrounding circumstances and from the inferences to be drawn in favor of the plaintiff to vacate the summary judgment and rem and for a determ ination o f wheth er Sand ra effec ted a b ona fid e com prom ise . The extent of her investigation into the facts is disputed. She released her blood brother and there is material evidence that disputes her brother s version of the circumstances surrou nding the death of B aker. Accordingly, w e vacate the summ ary judgment an d remand for furthe r 4 proceedings consistent with this opinion, with costs assessed to appellee. __________________________ Herschel P. Franks, J. CONCUR: ___________________________ Don T. McM urray, J. ___________________________ Charles D. Susano, Jr., J. 5

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