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Cutler v. Jim Gilman Excavating11/18/2003
Submitted on Briefs: January 30, 2003
Appellant Marvin Cutler was injured in a single vehicle accident near Anaconda, Montana. As a result, Cutler filed a complaint against Respondents Jim Gilman Excavating, Inc., Anaconda-Deer Lodge County, Joseph Guiberson and Daniel Blume in the Third Judicial District Court, Anaconda-Deer Lodge County. The case proceeded to trial, and the jury returned a verdict in favor of the Respondents. Cutler appeals. We reverse and remand for a new trial.
Although Cutler raised multiple issues on appeal, the sole issue we consider and find determinative is the following:
Did the District Court abuse its discretion when it instructed the jury on comparative negligence?
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
On July 2, 1994, Marvin Cutler was involved in a single vehicle rollover accident near Anaconda, Montana, during which he suffered a broken neck. Cutler's vehicle eventually came to rest in the median, and he exited through a window. Leslie Yother came upon the scene and spoke with Cutler. While he was speaking with Cutler, another passerby stopped near Cutler's vehicle. Yother asked the passerby to call 911.
Anaconda-Deer Lodge County (the County) dispatched law enforcement officers and an ambulance to the accident scene. Officers Joseph Guiberson and Daniel Blume were the first officers to respond to the dispatch. After surveying the accident scene, the Officers spoke with Cutler. Officer Guiberson noticed that Cutler was injured and advised him that he could sit in the patrol car and wait for an ambulance. Cutler entered the patrol car and sat in the back seat. Several minutes later an ambulance arrived and transported him to the hospital in Anaconda.
Cutler maintains that upon their arrival at the accident scene, the Officers forced him to undergo a field sobriety test. Cutler further contends that during the test he fell twice, after which he was handcuffed by the Officers and forced into their patrol car. Cutler also alleges that when the ambulance personnel arrived, they were unable to remove him from the patrol car, so he removed himself. Cutler then asserts that he fell for a third time, after which one of the Officers twisted his arms around to remove the handcuffs. Finally, Cutler maintains that the above actions of the Officers and ambulance personnel aggravated the injury he suffered to his neck.
At the time of the accident, Cutler was intoxicated. He pled guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol, in violation of §§ 61-8-401, MCA (1993), on August 30, 1994.
On May 15, 1996, Cutler filed a complaint in United States District Court. Cutler's complaint alleged that, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983, he was entitled to monetary damages from the County and from Officers Guiberson and Blume because: (1) the Officers used excessive force in dealing with him; (2) the Officers failed to provide him with appropriate medical care at the accident scene; and (3) the County had improperly trained its personnel. Cutler's complaint also advanced claims of negligence, assault, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress against the County and against the Officers as individuals.
The County and Officers Guiberson and Blume (hereinafter referred to as the Respondents) filed motions for summary judgment on Cutler's complaint. The United States District Court granted the Respondents' motions with respect to Cutler's §§ 1983 claims. The District Court then dismissed Cutler's remaining State tort claims without prejudice. Cutler appealed the United States District Court's decision regarding his §§ 1983 claims to the Ninth Circuit
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