Title: Akin v. Missouri Pacific Railroad Co.

State: oklahoma

Issuer: Oklahoma Supreme Court

Document:

Akin v. Missouri Pacific Railroad Co.  Akin v. Missouri Pacific Railroad Co. 1998 OK 102 977 P.2d 1040 69 OBJ 3512 Case Number: 86632 Decided: 10/13/1998 Supreme Court of Oklahoma MARY JANE AKIN, Surviving spouse of JOHN D. AKIN, Deceased, Plaintiff-Appellant. v. MISSOURI PACIFIC RAILROAD CO., d/b/a UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD CO., a foreign corporation, Defendant-Appellee. ON CERTIORARI TO THE COURT OF CIVIL APPEALS, DIV. IV. ¶0 Mary Jane Akin brought in the District Court, Mayes County, James D. Goodpaster, trial judge, an action to recover damages for the wrongful death of her husband, John D. Akin, who was killed when his automobile was struck by a train owned and operated by the Missouri Pacific Railroad Co. The trial court granted defendant's pre-trial motion for "partial summary judgment" as to one of plaintiff's theories of liability, and the case was tried on plaintiff's remaining theory. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the defendant. Plaintiff's combined motion for vacation of judgment and motion for new trial was denied, and plaintiff appealed. The Court of Civil Appeals, Division No. 4, affirmed. On certiorari granted upon the plaintiff's petition, THE COURT OF CIVIL APPEALS' OPINION IS VACATED; THE TRIAL COURT'S JUDGMENT ON JURY VERDICT IS AFFIRMED. W.C. "Bill" Sellers, Sr., Sapulpa, Oklahoma, James W. Keeley, Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Randall A. Gill, Tulsa, Oklahoma, for Appellant. Tom L. Armstrong and Carey Cobb Calvert, Tom L. Armstrong & Associates, Tulsa, Oklahoma, for Appellee. OPALA, J. ¶1 The dispositive issues tendered on certiorari are (1) whether the trial court erred in granting defendant's motion for summary disposition of plaintiff's inadequate signalization theory of recovery on the grounds that it was pre-empted by federal law, and if so, (2) whether plaintiff is entitled to an opportunity to present that theory in a new trial. We answer the first question in the affirmative and the second in the negative. I ANATOMY OF LITIGATION ¶2 In the early morning hours of July 15, 1991, John D. Akin was traveling westbound in his pickup truck along Main Street/Highway 28 in Adair, Oklahoma. In front of him, traversing Main Street/Highway 28, was a railroad grade crossing (the "Adair crossing") owned and maintained by Missouri Pacific Railroad Co. ("Missouri Pacific" or "defendant"). At the time of Mr. Akin's accident, certain passive warning signs as well as crossbucks with flashing lights were present on both sides of the Adair crossing to warn motorists and others of the approach or presence of a train. No automatic gates were present. As Mr. Akin's vehicle was nearing the Adair crossing from the east, a train, owned and operated by Missouri Pacific, heading north, was approaching the Adair crossing from the south. The warning lights were flashing as he approached and entered the crossing, but Mr. Akin did not stop or slow down. As his vehicle crossed the tracks, it was struck by defendant's train. Mr. Akin was killed instantly. ¶3 His widow, Mary Jane Akin, brought a wrongful-death action against Missouri Pacific. Plaintiff alleged that the flashing lights at the crossing had a history of malfunctioning and that, as a result, the motoring public had ceased to view the flashing lights as a serious and reliable warning of the imminent approach of a train. Also alleged was that flashing lights were an inadequate warning device for this particular crossing, and that automatic gates were required in order to operate the crossing safely. ¶4 On the day of trial, Missouri Pacific filed a series of motions, including the "Motion for Partial Summary Judgment" ¶5 The Court of Civil Appeals, Division 4, held that the conditions set forth in Easterwood for the application of federal pre-emption of state tort law had not been met, and, therefore, the trial court had erred in granting summary relief on plaintiff's inadequate signalization theory. The appellate court nevertheless affirmed the judgment in favor of Missouri Pacific, holding that the overwhelming evidence of Mr. Akin's own negligence in failing to stop at the crossing rendered harmless the trial court's error in eliminating one theory by summary adjudication. Consequently, the Court of Civil Appeals held that it was not an abuse of discretion for the trial court to deny plaintiff's motion for a new trial. ¶6 We granted certiorari on plaintiff's petition and now affirm. II STANDARD OF REVIEW OF MOTION FOR SUMMARY ADJUDICATION ¶7 Summary adjudication process is a singular pretrial procedure conducted with the aid of acceptable probative substitutes. It is an inquiry into the existence of undisputed material fact issues, which may be conducted, sans forensic combat, in the course of the judicial decision-making process. Its purpose is to identify and isolate non-triable fact issues, not to defeat an opponent's right to trial by jury. Only that evidentiary material which entirely eliminates from trial some or all fact issues may afford legitimate support for nisi prius resort to summary process. ¶8 The issues on review of a motion for summary adjudication stand before this court for de novo examination ¶9 To prevail as the moving party on a motion for summary adjudication, one who defends against a claim by another must either (a) establish that there is no genuine issue of fact as to at least one essential component of the plaintiff's theory of recovery or (b) prove each essential element of an affirmative defense, showing in either case that, as a matter of law, the plaintiff has no viable cause of action. III PLAINTIFF'S THEORY OF LIABILITY BASED ON INADEQUATE SIGNALIZATION IS NOT PRE-EMPTED BY FEDERAL LAW ¶10 Pre-emption is a well-established legal principle which gives substance to the hierarchy of power established by the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution, subordinating the laws of the states to those of the federal government which were enacted pursuant to its constitutionally conferred authority. ¶11 Congress's intent to pre-empt may be conveyed in four ways: (1) by express statutory language; (2) by a pervasive regulatory scheme from which it can be inferred that Congress intended no state-law supplementation of federal regulations; (3) when an actual conflict between state and federal law makes it impossible to comply with both; and (4) where the objectives and purposes of Congress would be thwarted by state law. ¶12 Easterwood, ¶13 The Court began its opinion by examining the statutory language of FRSA to determine whether and to what extent Congress intended to pre-empt state law. First enacted in 1970, FRSA's purpose was "to promote safety in all areas of railroad operations and to reduce railroad-related accidents, and to reduce deaths and injuries to persons. . . ." "§434. National uniformity of laws, rules, regulations, orders, and standards relating to railroad safety; State regulation The Congress declares that laws, rules, regulations, orders, and standards relating to railroad safety shall be nationally uniform to the extent practicable. A State may adopt or continue in force any law, rule, regulation, order, or standard relating to railroad safety until such time as the Secretary has adopted a rule, regulation, order, or standard covering the subject matter of such State requirement. A State may adopt or continue in force an additional or more stringent law, rule, regulation, order, or standard relating to railroad safety when necessary to eliminate or reduce an essentially local safety hazard, and when not incompatible with any Federal law, rule, regulation, order or standard, and when not creating an undue burden on interstate commerce." Thus, FRSA's pre-emption provision contains within itself clauses which both pre-empt and save state action. ¶14 The Supreme Court then looked at three areas of regulation promulgated by the Secretary to determine whether any of them cover the same subject matter as state negligence law. ¶15 Sections 646.214 (b)(3) and (4) are related regulations setting forth conditions for the participation of federal funds in the installation of warning devices at railroad grade crossings. ¶16 Section (b)(4) comes into play when Section (b)(3) does not apply, i.e. when neither the specified track conditions exist nor a diagnostic team recommendation for automatic gates has been made. In such a case, Section (b)(4) requires the approval of the Federal Highway Administration of the type of warning device to be installed. ¶17 The Court concluded that for the federally funded projects covered by these two regulations, the Secretary has removed decision making authority from the state and the railroad and replaced it with a federal requirement that particular warning devices be used or federal approval be obtained. ¶18 Having held that pre-emption depends upon the applicability of these two regulations to the crossing in question, the Court then proceeded to look at the crossing at which Mr. Easterwood was killed to determine whether the preconditions for pre-emption had been met there. The Court found that although the Georgia Department of Transportation had decided to install an automatic gate at the crossing in question and certain preliminary work had been done, the project had never been carried out owing to the city's failure to approve construction of a necessary traffic island. The funds which had been allocated for the project were moved to another project and the decision to install a gate at the crossing in question was put on a list of projects to be considered in the future. The Court specifically noted that the only equipment which had actually been installed was motion-detection circuitry, which, the Court stated, did not meet the definition of warning devices contained in the regulations. ¶19 If Easterwood was ever deemed to have eliminated the uncertainties involved in the application of FRSA pre-emption, that notion was short-lived. On the contrary, Easterwood left unresolved many of the issues which arise in pre-emption situations. ¶20 The ambiguity left by Easterwood has been reflected in the decisions of several of the circuits, including the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in which Oklahoma is situated. Between 1991 and 1995, the Tenth Circuit reviewed the issue of federal pre-emption of inadequate signalization claims three times in the same case (once pre-Easterwood and twice post-Easterwood) as Hatfield v. Burlington Northern R.R. Co. proceeded through the federal court system. ¶21 The Tenth Circuit then remanded the case to the district court for a factual determination of whether the federal government had "significantly participated" in the project to improve the crossing at which Mr. Hatfield was injured and, if so, when that participation occurred. The district court found that the federal government had indeed significantly participated in the project and set the date of that participation and the pre-emption flowing from it as of the date the federal government committed up to $1,800 in assistance for preliminary engineering at the crossing. ¶22 In its third Hatfield opinion, the Tenth Circuit first reiterated its previously expressed view that "significant federal participation" could take the form of a non-cash investment of "resources" such as time and expertise, as well as the expenditure of funds, ". . . [T]he financial commitment must be such that it shows a clear federal intent to require a federally approved warning device at the crossing in question, backed up by the actual expenditure of federal resources of more than a casual or de minimis nature, and specifically directed toward the ultimate installation of the improved warning devices at that crossing." ¶23 The court then applied this interpretation of Easterwood to the following facts: (1) federal funds were committed to preliminary engineering at the crossing in question and this engineering was completed prior to the accident resulting in Hatfield's injury; (2) federal funds were not committed to actual construction of the warning devices until after the accident; and (3) the warning devices were not fully installed and operational until long after the accident took place. ¶24 Mr. Hatfield had argued that in Easterwood, pre-emption was not triggered even though the project in that case was further along than the preliminary engineering work that had been completed in his case. That being so, he argued, mere preliminary engineering work was surely not enough to trigger pre-emption. ¶25 The Tenth Circuit rejected this interpretation of Easterwood, adopting instead the view that Easterwood is a case where pre-emption was denied because no [977 P.2d 1050] expenditure at all of federal resources had ever occurred on the crossing in question,49 leaving it open to the court to decide where along the continuum the pre-emption-triggering event should be found. This the court did by holding that "FRSA pre-emption takes place when the federal government (1) commits itself, through a significant event or events, to a project to install active warning devices, and (2) expends significant federal resources on such a project."50 ¶26 Decisions from other circuits, in cases containing facts similar to those in Hatfield and in the present case, have taken a decidedly different view of Easterwood's purport. In St Louis Southwestern R.R. Co. v. Malone Freight Lines, Inc., "Rather than looking to federal approval or fund allocation as triggering pre-emption, the Supreme Court focused on the equipment installed at the crossing. Because the only equipment installed was circuitry, which was not a passive or active warning device as defined in 23 CFR §646.204(i)-(j), the Court held the claim was not pre-empted." ¶27 Cases such as Hatfield, the court said, simply mistake Easterwood's meaning and are inconsistent with the FRSA goal of promoting railroad/highway safety. The court's reasoning is impressive and worth reciting: "Before pre-emption, the public is protected by a railroad's state common-law duty of care. After installation of federally mandated warning devices, the public is protected by those devices. A plan to install devices and federal approval of a plan do not protect the public, however. The Railway's interpretation that federal approval triggers pre-emption would leave the public unprotected between the time of approval and the time the prescribed devices are installed and operating. This can be a substantial period of time. In this case, it was fifteen months. To encourage prompt installation of federally prescribed warning devices, a railroad's common-law duty of care must continue until those devices are installed." ¶28 In Thiele v. Norfolk & Western R.R. Co., "Our conclusion also conforms to common sense because otherwise the public would be unprotected by either state or federal law for the period between federal approval and actual warning device installation. Before any agreement to upgrade was concluded, [the railroad] . . . was fully subject to suit under state tort law. We see nothing anomalous in continuing to impose liability on [the railroad] . . . for the warning system [the railroad] . . . had earlier chosen until the new system actually superseded the old." ¶29 In addition to Malone and Thiele, several other cases have addressed whether pre-emption occurs where federal funds participate in a project to install warning devices, but the devices themselves have not been installed prior to an accident. These cases take the view that state tort law is not pre-empted under FRSA and Easterwood unless the warning devices have actually been installed and are operating at the time of the accident. ¶30 [977 P.2d 1052] In arriving at a decision for this case, we acknowledge that by virtue of the Supremacy Clause, we are bound by the decisions of the United States Supreme Court with respect to the federal Constitution and federal law, and we must pronounce rules of law that conform to extant Supreme Court jurisprudence. ¶31 [977 P.2d 1053] Such is the situation with which we are faced here. Our analysis of Easterwood, of FRSA, of the relevant regulations, and of the cases interpreting them leads us to hold that federal pre-emption occurs only when federally-funded warning devices, the configuration of which is determined pursuant to the criteria set forth in 23 CFR §§646.214(b)(3) or (4), are installed and become operational. The reasoning expressed by the 7 ¶32 We are not unmindful that with our adoption of the 7 IV A NEW TRIAL IS NOT WARRANTED WHERE THE EVIDENCE IS OVERWHELMING THAT THE DECEASED'S NEGLIGENCE WAS THE PROXIMATE CAUSE OF THE ACCIDENT. ¶33 Certiorari disposition of this case does not rest solely on our holding with regard to pre-emption. Because this case comes to us for corrective relief from the decision by the Court of Civil Appeals affirming the trial court's denial of plaintiff's motion for a new trial, this court must also consider the standards of certiorari review. ¶34 The statutory grounds upon which a party may seek a new trial are set forth in Title ¶35 Every trial judge's decision comes to a court of review clothed with a presumption of correctness. If supported by law and evidence, the nisi prius judgment will be affirmed even if it was based on an incorrect theory and neither party tendered below an appropriate analysis of the applicable law. ¶36 We must then consider, based on the entire record available to us in this case, whether a new trial is required so that plaintiff may present her theory that her husband's accident was the result of the defendant's breach of a duty to install automatic gates at the Adair crossing. Three evidentiary elements are essential to a prima facie case of negligence: (1) a duty owed by the defendant to protect the plaintiff from injury, (2) a failure properly to exercise or perform that duty, and (3) an injury to plaintiff proximately caused by the defendant's breach of that duty. ¶37 Generally, the proximate cause of an injury in a negligence case is for the jury to determine. ¶38 The proximate cause ¶39 Plaintiff contends the cause of Mr. Akin's accident was the absence of an automatic gate at the Adair crossing. We disagree, finding the record devoid of evidence to support the existence of an efficient causal link between the absence of an automatic gate and Mr. Akin's accident. ¶40 The duty of a motorist approaching a grade crossing is set forth in Title (a) Whenever any person driving a vehicle approaches a railroad grade crossing under any of the circumstances stated in this section, the driver of such vehicle shall stop within fifty (50) feet but not less than fifteen (15) feet from the nearest rail of such railroad, and shall not proceed until he can do so safely. The foregoing requirements shall apply when: (1) A clearly-visible electric or mechanical signal device gives warning of the immediate approach of a railroad train; (2) A crossing gate is lowered or when a human flagman gives or continues to give a signal of the approach or passage of a railroad train. . . ." We have held that the failure to conform to the requirements of this statute is negligence per se. ¶41 In Hamilton v. Allen, ¶42 In arriving at its decision in Hamilton, the court relied upon the Texas case of Snodgrass v. Ft. Worth & Denver R.R. Co., ¶43 Our review of the record in the case before us compels us to conclude, as we did in Hamilton and as did the court in [977 P.2d 1056] Snodgrass , that Mr. Akin's failure to stop at the crossing in the presence of discernible warnings was the supervening, and therefore, proximate cause of his death. In short, even if the railroad's failure to erect at the Adair crossing an automatic gate could have been shown to be a breach of its common-law duty of care, the nisi prius exclusion of that proof from trial by the trial court's summary ruling (on pre-emption) need not be treated as more than harmless error. This is so because Mr. Akin's action in entering the crossing, as conclusively established by the record, constitutes a supervening act of negligence which insulates the railroad from the legal consequences of its own lack of due care, if any. ¶44 The evidence produced at the trial informs us that Mr. Akin was familiar with the Adair crossing. He had crossed it many times, including at least once several days earlier. Although it was not yet daybreak when the accident occurred, visibility at the time was clear and the weather was dry. The train was blowing its whistle as it approached the Adair crossing and its headlight was on. Photographs and a video admitted in evidence show nothing obstructing the view to the south of a person traveling, as Mr. Akin was, in a westerly direction. There was testimony that the flashing lights of the existing grade crossing warning device could be seen by a person approaching the crossing from the east (heading west) for five or six blocks from the crossing and that they were flashing as Mr. Akin approached the crossing. No other vehicles were approaching the crossing at the time of the accident. Mr. Akin did not alter the speed of his car as he entered the crossing. The truck's side windows were tinted, but the windshield was free of tint. Mr. Akin is believed to have had his windows rolled up and the radio playing at a moderate level. ¶45 We cannot know why Mr. Akin did not see, ignored, or otherwise failed to perceive the numerous warnings of the presence of a train that morning; nor will we, in the process of deciding if a new trial should be granted, indulge in speculating whether Mr. Akin's behavior would have been different had he been confronted by an automatic gate instead of flashing lights. V SUMMARY ¶46 This case presents an issue of national importance. It calls upon us to perform an obligation under the United States Constitution to apply federal law according to our understanding of the United States Supreme Court jurisprudence in the face of inter-circuit conflict over the meaning and effect of the ruling precedent. We discharge this duty by holding that federal law does not pre-empt state tort law in the area of inadequate signalization at railroad grade crossings unless federally funded warning devices have been installed and are operating. Nevertheless, we decline to remand this cause for a new trial because, on the record before us, plaintiff cannot establish that the railroad's negligence was the proximate cause of Mr. Akin's death. ¶47 On certiorari granted upon the plaintiff's petition, the Court of Civil Appeals' opinion is vacated; the trial court's judgment on jury verdict is affirmed. ¶48 LAVENDER, SIMMS, HARGRAVE, OPALA, and WILSON, JJ., concur; ¶49 HODGES, J., concurs in part and dissents in part; ¶50 [977 P.2d 1057] SUMMERS, V.C.J., and WATT, J., concur in PARTS I, II, and III and dissent from PART IV; ¶51 KAUGER, C.J., recused. FOOT