Laterra Ex Rel. Commercial National Bank v. Treaster
844 P.2d 724, 17 Kan.App.2d 714, 1992 Kan. App. LEXIS 599 (1992)
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Rule of Law:
Committing suicide in a manner that creates an unusual and unavoidable risk of great harm to others, such as by carbon monoxide poisoning in a shared residence, constitutes an abnormally dangerous activity for which the decedent's estate can be held strictly liable.
Facts:
- Sheryl Steere and Steven Ray Laterra lived in separate units of the same duplex building.
- On July 11, 1989, Steere committed suicide in the garage of her unit.
- Steere's method of suicide was to run her car with the garage door closed, filling the space with carbon monoxide.
- The carbon monoxide fumes seeped from Steere's garage into Laterra's half of the duplex.
- Laterra, who was asleep in his residence, was killed by the carbon monoxide fumes.
Procedural Posture:
- Steven Michael Laterra, by and through his mother, filed a wrongful death action in a Kansas trial court against the estate of Sheryl Steere, represented by Steven D. Treaster.
- At trial, Treaster conceded that Steere's actions were the cause of Laterra's death.
- At the close of the plaintiff's case, the plaintiff's counsel moved for a directed verdict on the issue of liability.
- The trial court granted the motion, finding as a matter of law that Steere's actions constituted an abnormally dangerous activity for which her estate was strictly liable.
- The case proceeded to the jury solely on the issue of damages.
- The jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff, awarding $500,000 in compensatory damages.
- The trial court overruled Treaster's motion for a new trial.
- Treaster, as the appellant, appealed the judgment to the intermediate appellate court.
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Issue:
Does committing suicide by carbon monoxide inhalation in a garage attached to a shared duplex constitute an abnormally dangerous activity, subjecting the decedent's estate to strict liability for the resulting death of a neighbor?
Opinions:
Majority - Gernon, J.
Yes. Committing suicide via carbon monoxide inhalation in a shared duplex is an abnormally dangerous activity that subjects the estate to strict liability. The court applied the six-factor test from the Restatement (Second) of Torts § 520, concluding that Steere's activity involved a high degree of risk of great harm that could not be eliminated by reasonable care. Furthermore, the activity was not a matter of common usage, was inappropriate for its location in a residential duplex, and its value to the community (none) was vastly outweighed by its dangerous attributes. The court rejected the argument that the actor must be aware of the risk to others for strict liability to apply, noting that the Restatement's test focuses on the nature of the activity itself, not the actor's state of mind.
Analysis:
This case significantly expands the application of the strict liability doctrine for abnormally dangerous activities to a highly unusual, personal act—suicide. It establishes that the focus of the analysis is on the inherent nature and risk of the activity, not on the actor's intent or knowledge of the potential harm to others. The decision sets a precedent for holding estates liable for unintended harm caused by a decedent's suicide if the method used meets the § 520 criteria, impacting how future cases involving third-party harm from suicide are evaluated.
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