Katrina Murray and Aquila F. Flynn, as Co-Personal Representatives of the Estate of Jaylan T. R. Murray v. Indianapolis Public Schools and Arlington Community High School

FILED
Dec 18 2018, 9:14 am
CLERK
Indiana Supreme Court
Court of Appeals
and Tax Court
ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANTS ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEES
Karl L. Mulvaney Caren L. Pollack
Nana Quay-Smith Zachary J. Stock
Bingham Greenebaum Doll, LLP Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis, Indiana
R. T. Green
Kellie C. Clark
Blackburn & Green
Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
Katrina Murray and Aquila F. December 18, 2018
Flynn, as Co-Personal Court of Appeals Case No.
Representatives of the Estate of 18A-CT-1955
Jaylan T. R. Murray, Deceased, Appeal from the Marion Superior
Appellants-Plaintiffs, Court
The Honorable James A. Joven,
v. Judge
Trial Court Cause No.
Indianapolis Public Schools and 49D13-1703-CT-11107
Arlington Community High
School,
Appellees-Defendants.
Riley, Judge.
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STATEMENT OF THE CASE
[1] Appellants-Plaintiffs, Katrina Murray and Aquila F. Flynn, as Co-personal
Representatives of the Estate of Jaylan T.R. Murray (collectively, Appellants),
appeal the trial court’s summary judgment in favor of Appellees-Defendants,
Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) and Arlington Community High School
(Arlington) (collectively, School) on Appellants’ Complaint for wrongful death.
[2] We reverse and remand for further proceedings.
ISSUES
[3] Appellants present us with one issue on appeal, which we restate as the
following three issues:
(1) Whether Appellants waived their argument on appeal by failing to
respond to the School’s motion for summary judgment;
(2) Whether a genuine issue of material fact exists with respect to the
School’s duty to supervise its students and monitor the School’s exits;
and
(3) Whether a genuine issue of material fact exists which precludes the entry
of summary judgment based on contributory negligence.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
[4] Jaylan Murray (Jaylan) was a 16-year-old student at Arlington. Jaylan’s
parents were divorced and he lived with his father, Marcus Murray (Marcus).
At home, Jaylan was openly defiant to Marcus and would frequently run away.
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As a result, he had an open case file with the Indiana Department of Child
Services (DCS). However, even though Jaylan would run away from home, he
would usually still go to school. During Jaylan’s absences, Marcus knew that
Jaylan would either be with a friend or with the girl across the street. Marcus
would report Jaylan missing to the police, and DCS would pick Jaylan up and
call Marcus to retrieve his son. “Usually, the police report kicks out to the
school, and they would know that he’s a runaway.” (Appellants’ App. Vol. II,
p. 43). In addition, Marcus had informed Stan Law, Arlington’s principal,
about Jaylan’s issues.
[5] On January 25, 2016, Jaylan ran away from home. Although Marcus knew
where Jaylan was, on January 29, 2016, Marcus reported Jaylan’s absence to
the police. Jaylan was murdered on the afternoon of February 3, 2016, and his
body was discovered around 4:02 p.m. at the apartment complex across the
street from Arlington. Little is known about the circumstances surrounding
Jaylan’s murder. The police report merely indicated that Jaylan’s death was
caused by a firearm, and was not gang-related.
[6] Marcus was later informed that, on February 3, 2016, Jaylan had gone to
Arlington around 1:00 p.m. and had signed in at the front desk. After seeing
some of his friends at school, he had left the premises without Arlington’s
knowledge, without signing out, and presumably through an unlocked and
unmonitored exit. Arlington admitted that Jaylan had signed in at the front
office on February 3, 2016 at 1:07 p.m. and did not sign out when he left. A
surveillance video shows Jaylan walking past door #16 at approximately 1:24
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p.m. Arlington’s students are expected to enter and exit through the front
entrance to the building and to sign in and out if arriving or leaving during the
regular school day. The front entrance provides the only entry access to the
building. “No other doors can be opened from the outside. . . . A non-
compliant student could exit through any exit door, as fire codes prohibit
locking exit doors.” (Appellants’ App. Vol. II, p. 60).
[7] On March 20, 2017, Appellants filed a Complaint for wrongful death against
the School, alleging that the School had been negligent for failing to properly
supervise and monitor its students during school hours. On June 15, 2018, the
School filed a motion for summary judgment, memorandum of law, and
designation of evidence. In its motion, the School claimed that it was immune
from any failure to adopt or enforce an attendance policy under the Indiana
Tort Claims Act, and asserted that Jaylan was contributorily negligent in his
own murder. On July 19, 2018, the trial court summarily granted the motion
and entered summary judgment for the School.
[8] The following day, July 20, 2018, Appellants filed a motion to set aside the
summary judgment. In their motion, they explained that on June 25, 2018—
ten days after the School had moved for summary judgment—counsel had
contacted the School’s counsel to request additional time to respond to the
motion for summary judgment as they intended to conduct more extensive
discovery and depose additional witnesses. The School’s counsel agreed to the
request, advising in writing that they would not oppose the extension of time.
However, due to confusion associated with a staffing change precipitated by
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one of Appellants’ counsels’ departure from the law firm, the request for an
extension of time was inadvertently not filed and the trial court entered
summary judgment. On August 3, 2018, the School opposed Appellants’
motion to set aside. On the same date, and without a hearing, the trial court
summarily denied Appellants’ motion to set aside the summary judgment.
[9] Appellants now appeal. Additional facts will be provided as necessary.
DISCUSSION AND DECISION
I. Waiver of the Appeal
[10] Prior to turning to the merits of Appellants’ appeal, we address the School’s
threshold procedural argument that the claims advanced by Appellants are
waived because they failed to respond to the School’s summary judgment
motion. Acknowledging the authority to the contrary, the School nevertheless
requests this court to reconsider the current precedents regarding a party’s
failure to respond to a summary judgment motion, as they claim this case law
to be unsanctioned by our supreme court, to be inconsistent with the purpose of
the waiver rule, and to be contrary to the preservation of judicial economy.
[11] We agree with the School that as a general rule, a party may not present an
argument or issue to an appellate court unless the party raised that argument or
issue to the trial court. GKC Ind. Theatres, Inc. v. Elk Retail Inv’r, LLC., 764
N.E.2d 647, 651 (Ind. Ct. App. 2002). This rule exists because trial courts have
the authority to hear and weigh the evidence, to judge the credibility of
witnesses, to apply the law to the facts found, and to decide questions raised by
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the parties. Id. Appellate courts, on the other hand, have the authority to
review questions of law and to judge the sufficiency of the evidence supporting
a decision. Id.[12] However, with respect to summary judgment, Indiana Trial Rule 56(C)
stipulates that “summary judgment shall not be granted as of course because the
opposing party fails to offer opposing affidavits or evidence, but the [c]ourt shall
make its determination from the evidentiary matter designated to the [c]ourt.”
As such, the summary judgment practice differentiates from other motions
because it obligates the trial court to consider the merits and the designated
evidence regardless whether a response is filed. This distinction has been
recognized for several decades and Indiana’s precedents have promulgated that
the party opposing summary judgment has no obligation to respond to the
motion until the moving party satisfies its burden and shifts the evidentiary
burden to the non-moving party. See, e.g., Layman v. Atwood, 370 N.E.2d 933,
935 (Ind. Ct. App. 1977). Accordingly, even where, as here, the motion for
summary judgment is unopposed, the movant is not entitled to judgment until
the trial court has established that there is no genuine issue of material fact on
an element of the claim and that judgment in the party’s favor is proper. See,
e.g., Templeton v. City of Hammond, 679 N.E.2d 1368, 1371 (Ind. Ct. App. 1997)
(judgment reversed because the moving party’s designated evidence did not
support summary judgment). Our supreme court affirmed this practice in
Warner Trucking, Inc. v. Carolina Cas. Ins. Co., 686 N.E.2d 102, 103 (Ind. 1997),
when it cautioned that “[a] party opposing summary judgment is not required
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to come forward with contrary evidence until the moving party demonstrates
the absence of a genuine issue of material fact.” “In other words, summary
judgment is awarded on the merits of the motion, not on technicalities.”
Murphy v. Curtis, 930 N.E.2d 1228, 1233 (Ind. Ct. App. 2010), trans. denied.
[13] We recognize that “summary judgment is a lethal weapon and courts must be
ever mindful of its aims and targets and beware of overkill in its use. Bunch v.
Tiwari, 711 N.E.2d 844, 847 (Ind. Ct. App. 1999). As such, “Indiana
consciously errs on the side of letting marginal cases proceed to trial on the
merits, rather than risk short-circuiting meritorious claims.” Hughley v. State, 15
N.E.3d 1000, 1004 (Ind. 2014). In light of the well-established precedent and in
absence of a persuasive reason to deviate from this jurisprudence, we decline
the School’s invitation to waive Appellants’ argument.
II. Negligence
A. Standard of Review
[14] In reviewing a trial court’s ruling on summary judgment, this court stands in the
shoes of the trial court, applying the same standards in deciding whether to
affirm or reverse summary judgment. First Farmers Bank & Trust Co. v. Whorley,
891 N.E.2d 604, 607 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008), trans. denied. Thus, on appeal, we
must determine whether there is a genuine issue of material fact and whether
the trial court has correctly applied the law. Id. at 607-08. In doing so, we
consider all of the designated evidence in the light most favorable to the non-
moving party. Id. at 608. A fact is ‘material’ for summary judgment purposes if
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it helps to prove or disprove an essential element of the plaintiff’s cause of
action; a factual issue is ‘genuine’ if the trier of fact is required to resolve an
opposing party’s different version of the underlying facts. Ind. Farmers Mut. Ins.
Group v. Blaskie, 727 N.E.2d 13, 15 (Ind. 2000). The party appealing the grant
of summary judgment has the burden of persuading this court that the trial
court’s ruling was improper. First Farmers Bank & Trust Co., 891 N.E.2d at 607.
[15] We observe that, in the present case, the trial court did not enter findings of fact
and conclusions of law in support of its judgment. Special findings are not
required in summary judgment proceedings and are not binding on appeal.
AutoXchange.com. Inc. v. Dreyer and Reinbold, Inc., 816 N.E.2d 40, 48 (Ind. Ct.
App. 2004). However, such findings offer this court valuable insight into the
trial court’s rationale for its review and facilitate appellate review. Id.B. Failure to Supervise and Monitor
[16] In their Complaint, Appellants contend that the School breached its duty by
“failing to properly supervise and monitor their students during school hours”
in accordance with Indiana Code section 20-33-8-8. (Appellants’ App. Vol. II,
p. 16). Focusing on the School’s duty to exercise ordinary and reasonable care
in supervising Jaylan, Appellants claim that because the School was notified
that Jaylan was a runaway minor before he appeared at the front office, the
School should have taken measures preventing him from returning to the street.
[17] In an attempt to be shielded by immunity derived from the Indiana Tort Claims
Act (ITCA), the School characterizes Appellants’ claim as a failure to adopt or
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enforce a policy under Indiana Code section 34-13-3-3(8)(b). Interpreting
‘policy’ as an act within the School’s operational power, it claims that the
foundation of Appellants’ contention is effectively the School’s “failure to adopt
or enforce an attendance policy that would physically restrain Jaylan inside
[Arlington].” (Appellees’ Br. p. 15).
1. ITCA
[18] The ITCA is in derogation of the common law and we therefore construe it
narrowly against the grant of immunity. Mullin v. Municipal City of South Bend,
639 N.E.2d 278, 281 (Ind. 1994). The party seeking immunity has the burden
of establishing its conduct comes within the provisions of the ITCA. Id.“Whether a particular governmental act is immune is a question of law for the
court to decide, although the question may require extensive factual
development.” Barnes v. Antich, 700 N.E.2d 262, 265 (Ind. Ct. App. 1998),
trans. denied. The ITCA expressly states that “[a] governmental entity or an
employee acting within the scope of the employee’s employment is not liable if
a loss results from [t]he adoption and enforcement of or failure to adopt or
enforce . . . a policy[.]” I.C. § 34-13-3-3(8)(B). In the absence of a definition of
‘policy’ under the Act, the School interprets the phrase as encompassing its
statutorily derived power to formulate and implement an attendance policy
under the General School Powers Act. See I.C. §§ 20-5-1 to -6; Eukers v. State,
728 N.E.2d 219, 222 (Ind. Ct. App. 2000). Accordingly, recasting Appellants’
common law negligence claim as a challenge to the School’s failure to adopt an
attendance policy that would detain Jaylan in the school building, the School is
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immune from any liability pursuant to the ITCA’s provisions. (Appellee’s Br.
p. 15).
[19] Without having to decide whether the ITCA’s reference to a policy
encompasses the School’s broad interpretation of an attendance policy, we
cannot agree with the School that Appellants’ claim is predicated upon the
School’s failure to enforce attendance. The designated section of Appellants’
Complaint contends that “[t]he incident and death of [Jaylan] was the
proximate result of the negligence of [the School], for failing to properly
supervise and monitor their students during school hours.” (Appellants’ App.
Vol. II, pp. 15-16). At no point during these proceedings have Appellants
claimed that Jaylan should been forced to attend class or made a complaint
about his possible suspension or expulsion. Rather, they advance the argument
that as the School was aware of his truancy and his status as a runaway, the
school should have supervised him until he could be safely released to his
parents or the authorities. Accordingly, as the thrust of Appellants’ argument
focuses on Jaylan’s safety and not the School’s power to expel, suspend, or
formulate the requirements for a student’s school attendance, the School’s
immunity from liability pursuant to ITCA is not applicable.
2. Appellants’ Negligence Claim
[20] Unlike a school’s immunity for enforcement of its attendance policy, we have
long recognized that school authorities owe a “duty . . . ‘to exercise reasonable
care and supervision for the safety of the children under their control.’”
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Mangold v. Ind. Dep’t of Natural Res., 756 N.E.2d 970, 974 (Ind. 2001) (quoting
Miller v. Griesel, 308 N.E.2d 701, 706 (Ind. 1974)). Accordingly, “[p]ublic
schools in Indiana indisputably have a responsibility, albeit a basic one, towards
their students. With respect to negligence, a public [] school has only one duty
at common law—the duty to exercise ordinary and reasonable care.” LaPorte
Cmty. Sch. Corp. v. Rosales, 963 N.E.2d 520, 524 (Ind. 2012). Although this duty
may be “ordinary,” it is nonetheless sensitive to context. Moore v. Hamilton
Southeastern Sch. Dist., 2013 WL 4607228, *8 (S.D. Ind. 2013). Most obviously,
the degree of care required is amplified when its objects are children, “whose
characteristics make it likely that they may do somewhat unreasonable things,”
and over whom the school exercises partial custodial care. Miller, 308 N.E.2d
at 706 (citing Restatement (Second) of Torts § 320 (1965)). There is no bright-
line rule confining a school’s duty to events occurring on school grounds during
school hours, though the particular circumstances of a student’s injury will bear
on the factual questions of breach and causation. Mangold, 756 N.E.2d at 974-
75 (holding a school’s liability could extend to injury occurring off school
property).
[21] Since it is the safety of a student, “not a more holistic measure of their well-
being or educational fulfillment,” that lies at the heart of the common-law tort
duty owed by schools, the facts appropriate for consideration are those tending
to show the School’s negligence in face of a danger to Jaylan of which it was
aware of should have been aware. See Moore, 2013 WL 4607228, *9; DiBortolo
v. Metro. Sch. Dist. of Wash. Tp., 440 N.E.2d 506, 509 (Ind. Ct. App. 1982).
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Adolescents are more susceptible than other segments of the population to
certain dangers, including substance abuse, auto accidents, and self-harm. Even
though a school cannot be charged with an unlimited duty to guard against the
possibility of a student’s injury, that calculus may well change, however, when
the school has reason to know of a student’s heightened vulnerability. See, e.g.,
Seiwert v. Spencer-Owen Cmty. Sch. Corp., 497 F.Supp.2d 942, 955 (S.D. Ind.
2007) (holding that a breach of duty of care existed where school officials
placed two students on a bus together when they had received warnings that
one had threatened violence against the other.)
[22] The designated evidence in light most favorable to Appellants reflects that 16-
year-old Jaylan was a frequent runaway with an active DCS case file, and was
reported missing on January 29, 2016. This information was “kick[ed] out to
the school” to alert school officials because, even though Jaylan would run
away from home, he would usually still go to school. (Appellant’s App. Vol. II,
p. 43). Around 1:00 p.m. on February 3, 2016, while still a runaway and
arriving after the start of the regular school day, Jaylan signed in at the front
desk at Arlington. It appears that Jaylan left the school again later that
afternoon through an unmonitored school exit.
[23] Children have been skipping school “[s]ince at least the days of Huck Finn and
Tom Sawyer.” Kazanjian v. School Bd. of Palm Beach Co., 967 So 2d 259, 263
(Fla. 2007). Therefore, a school need not possess a crystal ball to understand
that a student who has been reported a runaway before may run away again,
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and to know that meeting its duty to protect him might require additional
attention to protective measures.
[24] Here, the School admitted Jaylan to the building and then let him roam the
halls unsupervised after signing in without contacting Murray, the police, or
DCS and with the knowledge that Jaylan could depart the premises from any
unsecured door and run away again at any time. While the designated facts
could support a conclusion that the School failed to exercise reasonable care to
supervise and monitor Jaylan given its presumed awareness of Jaylan’s
propensity to run away, reasonable minds might differ as to the particular
extent and scope of the School’s duty to ensure Jaylan’s safety under these
circumstances and, as such, the issue remains a factual one, and should
properly be presented to the trier of fact. Stephenson v. Ledbetter, 596 N.E.2d
1369, 1371-72 (Ind. 1992) (“Only where the facts are undisputed and lead to but
a single inference or conclusion may the court as a matter of law determine
whether a breach of duty has occurred.”) Accordingly, the issue before us is not
appropriate for summary judgment and we reverse the trial court.
III. Contributory Negligence
[25] Despite our conclusion that summary judgment cannot be granted on the
School’s duty to supervise and monitor Jaylan, we may nevertheless affirm the
trial court’s grant of summary judgment if we find that Jaylan was
contributorily negligent for his injuries.
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[26] When a tort claim is filed against a governmental actor, such as a public school,
the Comparative Fault Act—which provides that “any contributory fault
chargeable to the claimant diminishes proportionately the amount awarded as
compensatory damages for an injury attributable to the claimant’s contributory
fault, but does not bar recovery”—does not apply. I.C. §§§ 34-51-2-2; -5; -6. See
Towers v. Clinton Cent. Sch. Corp., 855 N.E.2d 739, 745 (Ind. Ct. App. 2006),
trans. denied. Rather, the common-law doctrine of contributory negligence
applies. Lee v. Bartholomew Consol. Sch. Corp., 75 N.E.3d 518, 523 (Ind. Ct. App.
2017). Therefore, “if a plaintiff is negligent to even a small degree and that
negligence proximately contributes to his claimed damages, contributory
negligence will operate as a complete bar to this action.” Id.[27] It is well established that a plaintiff is “contributorily negligent when his
conduct falls below the standard to which he should conform for his own
protection and safety.” Hill v. Gephart, 54 N.E.3d 402, 406 (Ind. Ct. App.
2016), clarified on reh’g, trans. denied. Because “[n]egligence depends upon the
lack of reasonable care that an ordinary person would exercise in like or similar
circumstances,” “contributory negligence is the failure of a person to exercise
for his own safety that degree of care and caution which an ordinary,
reasonable, and prudent person in a similar situation would exercise.” Id.Generally, contributory negligence is a fact for the jury. Id. However, it may
be a question of law appropriate for summary judgment “if the facts are
undisputed and only a single inference can be drawn therefrom.” Id. at 406-07.
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[28] Pointing to the designated evidence, the School contends that Jaylan was
contributorily negligent to his own murder because he was engaged “in an
illegal gun purchase on premises known for criminal activity.” (Appellees’ Br.
p. 19). As the School was unaware of Jaylan’s intentions, the School maintains
that it could not have possibly anticipated the danger Jaylan faced when he left
the building. On the other hand, Appellants point to conflicting evidence of
Jaylan’s actions after he left the School’s premises and went to the apartments
where he was killed.
[29] Jaylan’s friend told Marcus that Jaylan left the School to purchase marijuana,
not to purchase a gun. Marcus was informed by the detective investigating his
son’s murder that Jaylan had previously purchased a gun and that he went to
School to talk to a friend. Little is known about the circumstances surrounding
Jaylan’s murder. Although the police report indicated that Jaylan’s death was
caused by a firearm, the report only concluded that his death was not gang-
related.
[30] Minors often engage in unwise behavior but those choices do not automatically
make them contributorily negligent as a matter of law. See Doe v. Lafayette Sch.
Corp., 846 N.E.2d 691, 700 (Ind. Ct. App. 2006), reh’g denied. While Jaylan’s
decision to leave the School’s premises was ill-advised, in light of the conflicting
designated evidence surrounding the reason for his truancy and his murder, it
remains debatable whether Jaylan failed to exercise the same degree of care and
caution which an ordinary, reasonable sixteen-year-old would exercise in a
similar situation. Accordingly, as the record contains genuine issues of material
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fact to preclude summary judgment on the basis of contributory negligence, we
reverse the trial court’s judgment.
CONCLUSION
[31] Based on the foregoing, we reverse the trial court’s summary judgment because
genuine issues of material fact exist as to the School’s duty to supervise its
students and to preclude the entry of summary judgment on the basis of
contributory negligence.
[32] Reversed and remanded for further proceedings.
[33] Robb, J. concurs
Kirsch, J. dissents without separate opinion
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