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Young v. Warren9/19/1989
In this civil action the plaintiff appeals from a final judgment entered by the trial court, pursuant to a jury verdict, denying any recovery on a wrongful death action.
The evidence introduced at trial showed that defendant shot and killed Lewis Reid Young ("Young") on 12 May 1986. The death occurred as a result of a 20-gauge shotgun blast fired at close range into the deceased's back. On 14 October 1986, the defendant pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter.
Prior to the shooting, in the early morning hours of 12 May 1986, Young, who had been dating defendant's daughter for several months, went to the home of defendant's daughter who lived with her two children within sight of the defendant's residence. Upon arriving at the defendant's daughter's home, Young threw a large piece of wood through the glass in the front door. He then entered the home by reaching through the broken window and unlocking the door. Once inside the house Young argued with the defendant's daughter and "jerked" her arm. At that point, the defendant arrived with his loaded shotgun, having been awakened by a telephone call from a neighbor, his ex-wife, who had told him "something bad is going on" at his daughter's house. When the defendant arrived at his daughter's house, he heard screaming and saw Young standing inside the door. The defendant then testified:
A. I told him like, 'Come on out. This doesn't make any sense,' and he kind of came forward, you know, kind of had his hands up like that. (Indicating) I backed away from the door and I told him to get on out. 'This can be taken care of tomorrow,' or something to that effect.
Q. You told him to get the hell out, didn't you?
A. Well, okay; something like that.
Q. Okay. And then what happened?
A. Then he walked out the door and I just backed up like he came out the door and he walked over about six feet. There is a cement porch there, and he stepped right there, and I was behind him anywhere from a foot to eighteen inches, maybe even two foot, and he stopped. And in my opinion, he started to turn around. . . .
Q. What did he do?
A. He stopped and started to lower his hands and started to turn around.
Q. What did you do?
A. I prodded him with the gun and told him to get on out, and that's when it went off.
The trial judge submitted two issues to the jury, the second issue being submitted over the objection of the plaintiff:
1. Did Lewis Reid Young, deceased, die as a result of the negligent acts of the defendant, William S. Warren?
Answer: Yes.
2. Did the defendant, William S. Warren, act in the lawful defense of his daughter, Autumn Stanley, and her children, his grandchildren?
Answer: Yes.
Pursuant to the jury's answers to the issues submitted by the judge, the trial court ordered "that the plaintiff, Lewis Rankin Young, Jr., have and recover nothing of the defendant, William S. Warren, and that the costs be taxed against the plaintiff."
The determinative issue is whether the trial court erred in submitting the defense of family issue to the jury.
I
We first determine whether a defendant in a civil action may assert defense of family to justify assault on a third party. While self-defense and defense of family are seen more often in the context of criminal law, these defenses are nonetheless appropriate in civil actions. See Harris v. Hodges, 57 N.C. App. 360, 291 S.E.2d 346, disc. rev. denied, 306 N.C. 384, 294 S.E.2d 208
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