Upchurch v. Rotenberry

One night, Teresa Rotenberry (defendant) was driving along a Mississippi highway with Timothy Upchurch as a passenger. Teresa lost control of the vehicle and struck a tree about 160 feet off the road. Timothy died from injuries sustained in the crash, prompting his mother, Beverly Upchurch (plaintiff) to file a wrongful-death suit against Teresa. At trial, there was conflicting evidence about the circumstances surrounding the collision. On direct examination, police officer Larry Guyton testified that when he spoke to Teresa two days after the accident, she told him that she swerved to avoid an animal crossing the road. He also testified that Teresa admitted to having two beers earlier in the evening. On cross-examination, however, Guyton denied Teresa’s having mentioned any alcohol consumption. Teresa herself testified that she could not remember the incident, a statement inconsistent with an earlier signed statement in which she claimed that she swerved to avoid a large animal. Teresa’s expert, Thomas Shaeffer, testified that physical evidence like tire marks supported that Teresa lost control while making a sharp turn to avoid hitting an animal. Beverly’s witness, Kirk Rosenhan, testified that there was no evidence showing Teresa tried to regain control of the vehicle. On direct examination, he denied smelling alcohol on Teresa the night of the incident. On cross-examination, however, he said that he did smell alcohol on her breath. After hearing the evidence, the trial-court jury held in Teresa’s favor, finding that she reasonably swerved to avoid an animal and could not have avoided the tree. Beverly moved for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, asking the trial court to enter a judgment contrary to the jury’s holding on the basis that no reasonable jury could have reached the verdict reached by the jury in this case. The trial court denied the motion and entered judgment on the jury’s verdict. Beverly appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court.