Opinion ID: 1385454
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Denial of Summary Judgment on Negligent Maintenance Count

Text: The state further asserts that the trial court erred in denying it summary judgment on the issue of its negligence in the maintenance of Phillips Field Road. Johnson argued that the asphalt pavement immediately adjacent to the running rails had eroded, and that as a result her bicycle tire may have caught on the tracks. In addition, she asserted that the asphalt pavement was not level in height with the running rails. On appeal, both parties argue from evidence that came before the court after its ruling on the motion. That evidence is not considered here; the correctness of the ruling must be judged on the basis of evidence before the court at the time of the ruling. 10 C. Wright & A. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure § 2716, at 435-36 (1973). See 6 Moore, Federal Practice ¶ 56.27[1] (1980). Below, the state argued there was no showing that the granulated pavement next to the running rail contributed to her [Johnson's] accident. In evidence at that time were certain photographs depicting the granulated pavement. An eyewitness who was fifty to one hundred yards away from Johnson testified that Johnson's front wheel caught something (rather than testifying it caught between the asphalt and the first rail). Affidavits of eleven people who had accidents similar to Johnson's were before the court. Those affidavits established that something about the crossing was deflecting the front tires of bicycles. On a motion for summary judgment all proofs must be viewed in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, Gablick v. Wolfe, 469 P.2d 391, 396 (Alaska 1970); and all inferences of fact must be drawn in favor of that non-moving party. Alaska Rent-A-Car, Inc. v. Ford Motor Co., 526 P.2d 1136, 1139 (Alaska 1974). Applying this standard, we conclude that there was sufficient evidence before the court to indicate that a maintenance defect may have contributed to Johnson's accident. There was a genuine issue of fact regarding the adequacy of the maintenance of Phillips Field Road where the spur track crosses it, and thus the trial court properly denied the state's summary judgment motion regarding the negligent maintenance count.