Title: Thompson v. Gibson
Citation: 298 S.W.2d 97
Docket Number: A-5912
State: Texas
Issuer: Texas Supreme Court
Date: January 23, 1957

298 S.W.2d 97 (1957) Guy A. THOMPSON, Trustee, New Orleans Texas &amp; Mexico Railway Company, Petitioner, v. Jay Lee GIBSON, Respondent. No. A-5912. Supreme Court of Texas. January 23, 1957. Rehearing Denied February 27, 1957. *98 Hutcheson, Taliaferro &amp; Hutcheson, Woodul, Arterbury &amp; Wren, Carroll R. Graham and Howard S. Hoover, Houston, for petitioner. Doener, Rinehart &amp; Stuart, Oklahoma City, Oil., Fred Parks, Houston, for respondent. SMITH, Justice. This is a negligence case in which respondent, a locomotive engineer, brought suit under the Federal Employers' Liability Act, 45 U.S.C.A. § 51 et seq., against the petitioner, and two other railroad companies, seeking damages for injuries suffered as a result of failure to provide respondent with a safe place to work. It was alleged that the respondent was injured on December 5, 1950, and that at that time he was an employee of one or more of the defendant railroad companies, and that Guy A. Thompson was the Trustee for each of said companies. The cause was tried before a jury which returned a verdict in favor of the respondent. Based on the verdict, the court entered judgment in favor of the respondent and against the petitioner. The court rendered judgment *99 that respondent take nothing as against the other railroad defendants. This action is not involved. Petitioner perfected an appeal to the Court of Civil Appeals for the First Supreme Judicial District of Texas. This court, under the rule authorizing equalization of the dockets of the several Courts of Civil Appeals of Texas, transferred this cause to the Court of Civil Appeals in and for the Second Supreme Judicial District of Texas. That court has affirmed the judgment of the trial court. 290 S.W.2d 305. Respondent in his petition alleged in general terms that while discharging his duties as a railroad engineer for petitioner and at about the hour of 1:40 a. m., December 5, 1950, he was "walking from the roundhouse at Settegast Railroad Yards to his engine which had been `spotted' at a point some distance from the roundhouse, when because of the unsafe conditions of the railroad yard, it having been covered with a large amount of loose gravel made up of large and small stones, the plaintiff was caused to slip and fall," resulting in serious and permanent injuries. These general allegations were followed by allegations of specific acts of negligence on the part of the petitioner charging that respondent's fall and resulting injuries were caused by nine specific acts of negligence, and that each and all of said acts of negligence, separately and concurrently, were a proximate cause of the respondent's fall and of the injuries suffered and sustained by him. The nine acts of negligence were alleged as follows: The jury found that the petitioner was negligent: (1) in requiring the respondent to walk from the roundhouse across the yard to his engine under the circumstances and conditions existing on the night in question; (2) in failing to use gravel of uniform size about and between the tracks where the respondent was required to walk; (3) in failing to firmly pack the gravel about and between the tracks at the place in question; and (4) in failing to provide a smooth walkway or path from the roundhouse across the yards to the place where the engine was "spotted". Since this is a "no evidence" case and is an action under the Federal Employers' Liability Act, we deem it not only necessary to discuss the evidence or lack of evidence and its effect but to lay down the rules governing our decision. The safe place to work, which the petitioner was under a duty to furnish respondent, involved in this case is Settegast Yards. The evidence relative to the manner of construction of the yards is substantially *100 without dispute. The Yards were comparatively new and the evidence shows that these Yards were constructed by the use of the latest techniques and methods and the plans and specifications followed were approved by the American Railway Engineers' Association; that the Association referred to is a national organization. C. R. Dubose, a witness called by the petitioner, testified: On cross-examination the witness testified as follows: The yards had been in use about six months at the time of this accident. Respondent had, for several years, been assigned to the freight service running between DeQuincy, Louisiana, and Houston, Texas, and he had been operating into and out of Settegast Yards since the Yard had been open on an average of three times a week. Settegast is a large freight yard divided into three sections "A", "B", and "C". There are numerous tracks in the yard and these tracks run in approximately a north and south direction. The usual location for spotting trains going to DeQuincy was in "C" yard, about 900 feet west of the roundhouse. It was this distance from the roundhouse on the east to the locomotive spotted in yard "C" on the west side of the yards which respondent was required to walk. On the night in question, respondent had been to his locomotive having walked the distance of 900 feet from the roundhouse through yards "A," "B", and "C" to the point on the west side of "C" yard without mishap. Respondent returned to the roundhouse to answer a telephone call and it was on the return trip to the locomotive while passing through Yard "B" that the fall and resulting injuries occurred. In regard to the fall and the physical condition of the yards, the respondent testified as follows: On cross-examination Respondent testified with respect to his falling as follows: It will be noted from the foregoing excerpt that there is no contention made by Respondent that there was any depression or unevenness in the yard. The only cause of the fall was the rolling of rock upon which he stepped. Pat D. O'Connell, a witness called by the respondent, testified in regard to the condition of the yard as follows: He further testified that it was loose gravel, not packed down; that in his forty-five years of railroading he had been in and out of about one hundred railroad yards and this condition did not exist in the other yards. that everybody knew the condition of the yard well enough that they dreaded walking across there. Troy G. Walker, another witness called by respondent, testified: *104 John B. Hill, a former employee of the I. &amp; G. N. Railroad, and who had worked at Settegast Yards as a car inspector from the time it opened until sometime in 1951, was familiar with the area from the roundhouse to "C" yard. He testified that the yard was covered with big gravel and that, as you would walk through it, you would take a step and slip. Respondent argues that a peculiar situation exists in Settegast Yards, in that the usual situation in such yards is for the engineer to move the engine out of the roundhouse, but by contract agreement between Settegast Yards and the hostlers, the locomotive engineers who were to take the trains out of Settegast Yards were not permitted to move the trains from the roundhouse to the place where the freight train was made up. This was done by the hostlers, hence the petitioner was guilty of negligence in requiring the respondent to walk from the roundhouse across the yard to his engine where it had been spotted by the hostlers. In this connection, we point out that although respondent charged the petitioner with negligence in spotting the engine which he was to operate in an unsafe place, no issue was submitted or requested to be submitted thereon. Respondent further contends that in addition to the so-called peculiar situation or arrangement mentioned above, certain other facts render it impossible for this Court to say, as a matter of law, that petitioner provided a reasonably safe place to work. A summation of such contention is found in his answer to the application for writ error, and reads: The petitioner's points one and two challenging the judgments of the trial court and the Court of Civil Appeals on the ground: (1) that as a matter of law there was no evidence which would permit, or support, a finding of negligence against petitioner, and (2) that as a matter of law there was no evidence which would permit, or support, a finding that any alleged negligent act or omission on the part of petitioner was a proximate cause of respondent's injuries, must be sustained. Under the Federal Employers' Liability Act, petitioner has the duty to use reasonable care to provide respondent with a reasonably safe place to work. In the recent case of Port Terminal Railroad Association v. Ross, Tex., 289 S.W.2d 220, 226, this Court announced that "Until required to do so by a clear and positive declaration of the highest federal tribunal, our trial and appellate courts cannot and should not give effect to a jury finding of negligence when in its opinion the record is completely devoid of evidence in support of same." The Act requires a finding of negligence, which is supported by the evidence. While we recognize that the question of what constitutes negligence, and the sufficiency of the evidence to raise that question for the jury is to be determined by the applicable federal decisions, we adhere to the rule that this Court in determining the question of no evidence reserves the right to appraise the evidence in accordance with the concept of negligence as announced by this Court in prior cases. The trial court in its charge defined negligence and proximate cause and the definitions given were the same as have been given in this jurisdiction and approved in common law tort actions. In the case of Great Atlantic &amp; Pacific Tea Co. v. Evans, 142 Tex. 1, 175 S.W.2d 249, this Court held that negligence rests primarily upon two elements: (a) reason to anticipate injury, and (b) failure to perform the duty arising on account of that anticipation. The term "negligence" means the doing of that which a person of ordinary prudence would not have done under the same or similar circumstances, or the failure to do that which a person of ordinary prudence would have done under the same or similar circumstances. The question of no evidence of negligence is one of law to be determined by this Court. It is well settled that even though injury may result from a person's act or omission, the actor is not to be held responsible if he could not have reasonably foreseen the resultant injury, or injuries similar in character. It is unrealistic to say that the liberality of the federal decisions on questions involving the great weight and preponderance of the evidence shall govern this Court in determining a question of "no evidence". The principal question for us to determine is: What constitutes a reasonably safe place to work and was the petitioner negligent in failing to furnish the respondent a safe place to work. We disagree with respondent's contention that this question is to be determined by federal decisions alone. The question is to be determined by the evidence in the light of the trial court's charge and the decisions pertinent to the particular question involved. The proper test to be applied is the one stated by the trial court, which was in effect, that in determining liability were the facilities provided or was the place to work such as a person of ordinary prudence would have provided under the same *106 or similar circumstances, having in mind the employer's duty to furnish a safe place to work. See Chicago Great Western Railway Company v. Smith, 8 Cir., 228 F.2d 180. If the employer knows, or in the exercise of ordinary care should know, that prevalent conditions are inadequate to protect his employees from injury, then negligence, within the meaning of the Federal Employers' Liability Act, attaches. See Urie v. Thompson, 337 U.S. 163, 69 S. Ct. 1018, 93 L. Ed. 1282. These same rules of law were followed by this Court in determining the "no evidence" question involved in the case of Hopson v. Gulf Oil Corporation, 150 Tex. 1, 237 S.W.2d 352. Thus, we have federal decisions and state decisions determining "no evidence" questions by using the same settled rules of law. We also recognize the rule that a court in a Federal Employers' Liability case is required to take a liberal view of the scope of permissible inferences open to the jury. However, we draw the line if such rule means that the jury is to be permitted to draw inferences not based on fact. In holding that the record is devoid of evidence showing negligence on the part of petitioner in furnishing respondent a safe place to work, we are not unmindful of the rule that the petitioner must show that reasonable-minded men could not draw different inferences from the evidence. See Tiller v. Atlantic Coast Line R. Co., 318 U.S. 54, 63 S. Ct. 444, 87 L. Ed. 610. We hold there is no evidence to warrant a finding that petitioner was guilty of any breach of duty owed to respondent with respect to the method and manner and material used in the construction of Settegast Yards. Petitioner in building the yards in question was using plans and specifications advanced and approved by the best qualified construction engineers in America. The every basis of respondent's cause of action is the charge that his injuries and damages were sustained because of the unsafe condition of the railroad yards due to the use of loose gravel or stones in the construction of the yards, and the jury findings of negligence all pertain to the loose gravel. There is no evidence that anyone had ever made any complaint to petitioner regarding the condition of the yard and there is no evidence that petitioner had knowledge that anyone had ever fallen while working in the yard. It is true that the record shows that one witness testified that he fell while stepping on a rail, and another testified as to stumbling and falling, but we regard such evidence as not controlling since they involve different factual situations. The standard to test the question of negligence vel non is the common experience of mankind, and implies generally the want of that care and diligence which ordinarily prudent men would use to prevent injury under the circumstances of the particular case. Great Atlantic &amp; Pacific Tea Co. v. Evans, supra. The question of the existence of negligence and its degree depend upon the facts and circumstances of each case, and the inference to be drawn by the trier of the facts therefrom. We hold that the evidence wholly fails to produce any reason for petitioner to anticipate injury to an employee who could as the respondent give his individed attention to walking. The fact that the gravel was about 12 inches deep and loose and thereby rendered it inconvenient and more tiresome for the respondent to negotiate the distance from the roundhouse to the engine, does not give rise to an anticipation of injury. The duty resting upon the employer, the petitioner in this instance, was to furnish a safe place for the employee, respondent, to work, not to furnish an easy and convenient place. While the facts are not exactly similar, we think the rule announced in the recent case of Rogers v. Thompson, Mo.1955, 284 S.W.2d 467, 472, has some application here. The negligence alleged against the defendant in that case was permitting loose gravel to remain on a culvert over which plaintiff was forced to work. In holding against the contention of plaintiff, the Court said in part: There is no evidence in the present case that the method of construction used in constructing the Settegast Yards was not suitable or that there was in use by respondent or any other railroad company different method of construction of freight yards which involved less danger of injury to their employees than the methods used in the instant case. There is no evidence that any railroad company undertook to pack the gravel at the time of construction of the yard. We think from the evidence it is a fair deduction to say that all railroad yards were originally constructed by the use of loose gravel, and that the element of time was responsible for the fact that a portion of the gravel became packed. The respondent does not suggest in his pleadings that some material other than gravel should have been used. Since we have held that the record is devoid of evidence supporting the jury findings of negligence on the part of petitioner, it necessarily follows that the judgments of the trial court and the Court of Civil Appeals must be reversed and judgment entered that respondent take nothing. It is so ordered.