95 601 NH SCT 1997

Townsend v.
Legere
NOTICE: This opinion is subject to motions for rehearing under Rule 22 as well as formal
revision before publication in the New Hampshire Reports. Readers are requested to notify
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Concord, New Hampshire 03301, of any errors in order that corrections may be made
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THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
___________________________
Hillsborough-southern judicial district
No. 95-601
JEAN M. TOWNSEND
v.
EMILE J. LEGERE d/b/a BEECHBROOK APARTMENTS
January 28, 1997
Nixon, Raiche, Manning & Branch, P.A., of Manchester (Leslie C. Nixon and David L. Nixon
on the brief, and Ms. Nixon orally), for the plaintiff.
Scotch & Zalinsky, of Manchester (Barry M. Scotch and Henry E. Forcier on the brief, and Mr.
Scotch orally), for the defendant.
HORTON, J. Following a trial in Superior Court (Arnold, J.), the jury attributed forty percent of
the fault to the plaintiff, Jean M. Townsend, for her slip-and-fall accident at an apartment
complex operated by the defendant, Emile J. Legere d/b/a Beechbrook Apartments. On appeal,
the plaintiff argues that the superior court erred in instructing the jury on comparative negligence
because there was insufficient evidence to warrant the instruction. We agree and therefore set
aside the portion of the special verdict finding comparative negligence.
On February 14, 1993, the plaintiff, a sixty-eight-year-old resident of the defendant's apartment
complex, slipped and fell on a sidewalk at the complex during a morning walk with her dog. As a
result of the accident, the plaintiff suffered a fractured ankle and subsequently required
hospitalization. Roughly one year later, the plaintiff commenced this negligence action, alleging
that the defendant failed to maintain the sidewalk in a safe condition and to guard against the
dangers associated with snow and ice. In a pretrial statement, see Super. Ct. R. 62, the defendant
asserted that the accident resulted from the plaintiff's inability to control her dog and from her
failure to exercise due care.
At trial, the plaintiff presented evidence in support of her theory of negligence, including
testimony from an expert witness that the defendant's inspection, maintenance, and treatment of
the sidewalk fell below the acceptable standards for dealing with snow and ice. In an effort to
prove the allegations of comparative fault at trial, the defendant relied on the following: (1) the
plaintiff's testimony that a light dusting of snow covered and obscured the sidewalk on the
morning of her accident; (2) the cross-examination of the plaintiff, which revealed that she
weighed approximately 110 pounds and that her dog weighed roughly seventy-five pounds on
the day of the accident; (3) testimony from the defendant's on-site employee that the plaintiff's
dog, on other occasions, had tugged and pulled at the leash during walks with the plaintiff; and
(4) a statement from the plaintiff's expert witness that slip-and-fall accidents on sidewalks can
result from factors attributable to the pedestrian, rather than the sidewalk.
Over the plaintiff's objection, the trial court instructed the jury on the issue of comparative
negligence. In addition, the trial court directed the jury to complete a special verdict form, which
required it to determine sequentially: (1) whether the defendant was legally at fault to any
degree; (2) whether the plaintiff was legally at fault to any degree; (3) the percentage of fault
attributable to each party; and (4) the full amount of the plaintiff's damages without regard to any
findings concerning comparative fault. In its verdict, the jury determined that the plaintiff was
forty percent at fault, that the defendant was sixty percent at fault, and that the plaintiff's
damages amounted to $75,000. This appeal followed.
The sole issue on appeal is whether the evidence adduced at trial was sufficient to support a jury
instruction on comparative negligence. Under our comparative fault statute, "[t]he burden of
proof as to the existence or amount of fault attributable to a party shall rest upon the party
making such allegation." RSA 507:7-d (Supp. 1996). Although "the evidence and all reasonable
inferences must be considered most favorably to the defendant" in determining the propriety of a
comparative negligence instruction, Brown v. Montgomery Ward Co., 109 N.H. 377, 380, 254
A.2d 840, 842 (1969) (decided under contributory negligence), some tangible evidence of the
plaintiff's comparative fault must be introduced before the question can be submitted to the jury.
See Brann v. Exeter Clinic, 127 N.H. 155, 158-59, 498 A.2d 334, 336-37 (1985); Roberts v.
Lisbon, 84 N.H. 266, 270, 149 A. 508, 510 (1930) (decided under contributory negligence).
Accordingly, "if reasonable [persons] on the evidence in the case could only reach a conclusion
on a particular issue by conjecture, chance, or doubtful and unsatisfactory speculation it is the
duty of the trial court to withdraw the issue from the consideration of the jury." Ackerman v.
March, 116 N.H. 64, 66, 352 A.2d 717, 719 (1976); see Brann, 127 N.H. at 159, 498 A.2d at
337. Guided by these principles, we analyze whether the facts urged by the defendant constitute
evidence of the plaintiff's comparative negligence.
Pointing to the plaintiff's testimony that a light dusting of snow obscured the sidewalk, the
defendant argues that the plaintiff had a duty to use reasonable care while stepping in areas of the
sidewalk that were not visible as a result of the snow. The defendant further contends that the
jury could infer that the plaintiff "was not walking as carefully as she should have been under the
circumstances." Although we agree that the plaintiff had a duty to exercise due care, the fatal
flaw in the defendant's argument is the absence of evidence indicating that the plaintiff breached
that duty by, for example, "not walking as carefully as she should have been under the
circumstances." See Wright v. Dunn, 134 N.H. 669, 672, 596 A.2d 729, 731 (1991) (negligence
requires proof of both duty and breach of that duty). On this point, we reject the defendant's
suggestion that the jury's prerogative to disbelieve the plaintiff's testimony regarding her exercise
of reasonable care could provide the defendant with evidence of the plaintiff's failure to exercise
such care. "Disbelief in testimony concerning particular facts does not convert that testimony
into affirmative proof of contrary facts." Bissonnette v. Cormier, 100 N.H. 197, 199, 122 A.2d
257, 258 (1956) (quotation omitted).
The defendant also argues that evidence concerning the size and behavior of the plaintiff's dog
was sufficient to warrant the jury instruction on comparative fault. Without some evidence
linking the size of the dog to the plaintiff's accident, however, we find nothing in the mere
weight differential to permit the instruction. The defendant further contends that testimony from
its on-site employee regarding the dog's behavior on other occasions supplied an adequate basis
for connecting the dog to the plaintiff's accident. We disagree. During a bench conference
concerning the plaintiff's objection to that testimony, the defendant's attorney specifically
disclaimed any representation that the dog's unruliness was "constant or invariable." On direct
examination, the employee, acknowledging that he did not observe the plaintiff's accident,
merely testified that the dog was difficult to control "from time to time." The employee further
explained that he only noticed these control problems when the dog encountered people or other
animals. On cross-examination, the employee stated that he only knew of two or three occasions
in which the dog was unruly and conceded that the dog never caused the plaintiff to fall or
otherwise lose her balance. Even considering this testimony most favorably to the defendant, we
hold that it was insufficient to support the jury instruction because it could not "reasonably and
properly lead the jury . . . to conclude that the allegation of negligence [was] sustained." Brann,
127 N.H. at 158, 498 A.2d at 336 (quotation omitted); cf. Lapierre v. Sawyer, 131 N.H. 609, 611,
557 A.2d 640, 641-42 (1989) (evidence of two or three previous instances of defendant's
unsportsmanlike manner not probative of allegation that defendant's unsportsmanlike behavior
caused plaintiff's injury).
Finally, the defendant claims that the plaintiff's expert witness supplied evidence of the plaintiff's
negligence. We find this argument unconvincing because the expert merely acknowledged, in
response to questions concerning potential causes of sidewalk falls in general, that an accident
could result from a failure attributable to the pedestrian. This unremarkable "concession"
regarding abstract possibilities could not provide the basis for a ruling against the plaintiff on the
issue of comparative fault. See Manor v. Gagnon, 92 N.H. 435, 437-38, 32 A.2d 688, 691 (1943)
(decided under contributory negligence).
After considering the facts urged by the defendant both individually and collectively, we adhere
to well-settled law in holding that the jury should not have been instructed on the issue of
comparative negligence: "If the plaintiff was negligent, the defendant was bound to prove it. In
the absence of evidence, the mere possibility, which exists in every case, that the plaintiff may
have been guilty of negligence, cannot be made the basis of a ruling against [her]." Demers v.
Becker, 91 N.H. 519, 520-21, 23 A.2d 375, 376 (1941) (decided under contributory negligence).
Because the special verdict form indicates that the jury's determination concerning the plaintiff's
damages was independent of the findings regarding comparative fault, we conclude that the
plaintiff is entitled to recover damages in the amount of $75,000. We remand to the superior
court for entry of an appropriate judgment.
Verdict set aside in part; remanded.
All concurred.

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Townsend v.

Hillsborough-southern judicial district

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