Eatmon v. Weeks

Because no question of fact remained as to whether the defendant driver's stroke was reasonably foreseeable, the trial court erred in denying the defendant's motion for summary judgment on the plaintiff's negligence claims arising from a vehicle collision.

Thank you for sharing!

Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided.

On the early afternoon of June 29, 2010, Princess Eatmon was driving her car in the left northbound lane of Dawson Road toward Albany when a pickup truck traveling in the opposite direction and driven by Flaval Weeks veered across the turning lane separating the road’s two northbound and two southbound lanes and hit Eatmon’s car. Eatmon sustained a broken leg and other injuries. Weeks, who suffered a head wound in the crash, could not tell a responding police officer anything about the accident, was diagnosed as having suffered a stroke on the day in question, and died a few weeks later. Eatmon brought a negligence action against Weeks’s estate, which counterclaimed for the same. After the trial court denied cross-motions for summary judgment, this Court granted both parties’ applications for interlocutory review. We reverse the trial court’s denial of summary judgment in both cases because there is no evidence showing that either Eatmon or Weeks was responsible for the accident.

To prevail at summary judgment under OCGA § 9-11-56, the moving party must demonstrate that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the undisputed facts, viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, warrant judgment as a matter of law. . . . The burden on the moving party may be discharged by pointing out by reference to the affidavits, depositions and other documents in the record that there is an absence of evidence to support the nonmoving party’s case. If the moving party discharges this burden, the nonmoving party cannot rest on its pleadings, but rather must point to specific evidence giving rise to a triable issue.

Eatmon v. Weeks

Because no question of fact remained as to whether the defendant driver's stroke was reasonably foreseeable, the trial court erred in denying the defendant's motion for summary judgment on the plaintiff's negligence claims arising from a vehicle collision.

Share with Email

Thank you for sharing!

Trending Stories

More From ALM

Subscribe to Daily Report