Opinion ID: 1665649
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: CSX Transportation, Inc.

Text: In reversing the summary judgment entered in favor of CSX, the Court of Civil Appeals stated: It was undisputed that when Franklin approached the railroad crossing there were no traffic-control devices, neither barrels nor sawhorses, warning that the road was closed. However, CSX submitted affidavits establishing that CSX employees had placed traffic-control devices at the crossing at the end of the workday. The record does not indicate who may have moved the traffic-control devices. It is undisputed that the traffic-control devices were found in a parking lot roughly a block away from the crossing. . . . . . . . Reviewing the record in a light most favorable to the plaintiffs and resolving all reasonable doubts against the movant, CSX, we believe that the trial court improperly entered a summary judgment in favor of CSX because a genuine issue of material fact exists. The undisputed fact that the barricades were not in place at 10:00 p.m. gives rise to the reasonable inference that CSX did not place the barricades at all. There is also testimony indicating that the traffic-control devices were in place at the end of the workday and that the traffic control devices were later found a block away. That testimony gives rise to the reasonable inference that someone moved the traffic-control devices after CSX placed them. Viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the plaintiffs and given the reasonable inferences that can be drawn from the evidence regarding whether the traffic-control devices were in place, there exists a genuine issue of material fact, and CSX was, therefore, not entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. 938 So.2d at 954-55. CSX maintains that the opinion of the Court of Civil Appeals improperly reversed the summary judgment entered in its favor based upon speculation that some unknown person or persons had moved the safety devices from the accident site at some point after the CSX workday ended. CSX takes the position that the evidence is undisputed that the warning devices were in place at the end of the workday and that if they were missing at the time of the accident, they were missing because they had been moved by some unknown person or persons. [3] CSX first argues that in this case, where two competing, but equally reasonable, inferences can be drawn from the facts, choosing one inference over another is engaging in speculation, conjecture, and guesswork. It relies upon Turner v. Azalea Box Co., 508 So.2d 253, 254 (Ala. 1987), in which this Court held: When evidence points equally to inferences that are favorable and to inferences that are unfavorable to the moving party, the evidence lacks probative value; and the evidence may not be used to support one inference over another because such use is mere conjecture and speculation. CSX, relying upon Thompson v. Lee, 439 So.2d 113, 115 (Ala.1983), next argues that the any potential liability it has in this case cannot be predicated on the mere fact that Franklin and her passengers had an accident at the construction site. In Thompson this Court held: One can infer negligence from the injury itself only in the rare circumstance where the instrumentality causing the injury is in the defendant's exclusive possession and the injury would not have occurred absent negligence. Finally, CSX argues that it was not responsible for a third party's criminal conduct, relying upon Ex parte Wild Wild West Social Club, Inc., 806 So.2d 1235, 1240 (Ala.2001), in which this Court noted: `We have held that in order to recover against a defendant for harm caused by the criminal actions of a third party, the plaintiff must establish that the defendant knew or had reason to know of a probability of conduct by third persons that would endanger the plaintiff. Also, a subsequent cause of the plaintiff's injuries is not an intervening cause, unless it was unforeseeable.' (Quoting Thetford v. City of Clanton, 605 So.2d 835, 840 (Ala.1992) (citation omitted).) As the main opinion of the Court of Civil Appeals points out, and as Judge Murdock elaborates in his special concurrence, despite the affidavit testimony of a CSX employee that the traffic barrels were in place at the end of the workday on the day of the incident involving Franklin's vehicle, the fact that the barrels were found after the accident some distance away from the railroad crossing gives rise to a plausible inference that the barrels were not, in fact, placed at the site when the workday ended. Judge Murdock stated: It is true that an employee of CSX testified that the safety devices at issue were in place at the end of the day. What is undisputed, however, is that these devices were not in place just a few hours later. That fact arguably raises a reasonable inference, not conjecture, that the affidavit testimony of the CSX employee was incorrect. The safety devices included a sawhorse barricade, a number of orange traffic barrels, and a `ROAD CLOSED' sign. None of those devices were found lying in the roadway or off to the side of the road in the vicinity of where they were reportedly placed. Instead, there was evidence indicating that those devices were found the next morning situated in a parking lot a mile[ [4] ] away from the site of the railroad crossing. These circumstances bolster the inference referenced in the main opinion that the devices may not have been put in place by CSX in the first place. On the other hand, there is no evidence of any criminal activity associated with the absence of the warning devices and barriers at the time of the incident at issue. 938 So.2d at 956-. If indeed the affidavit testimony of the CSX employee was not correct, then inferences other than those advanced by CSX defeat CSX's arguments. In Turner v. Azalea Box Co., supra, Turner was injured when a wooden pallet broke when he stepped on it. Evidence presented in the case showed that Azalea Box Company was not the only company that had sold pallets to Turner's employer, and no evidence was presented as to which company had manufactured the pallet on which he had been injured. In that case, any determination as to which company had manufactured the pallet would have been speculative. We are not presented here with a similar situation. The fact that the safety devices were found at least a block away from the accident site (see note 4) and were not pushed aside at a point adjacent to the site or had not disappeared completely, makes the inference that they were never put in place on the day of the incident a reasonable one. Likewise, the inference that the safety devices were never placed at the accident site on the day of the incident distinguishes this case from Thompson and Ex parte Wild Wild West Social Club, Inc., supra. CSX's liability is not predicated on the mere fact that the accident happened and that safety devices were not present at the site, nor is its liability predicated on the criminal acts of a third party. At this stage in the case, several plausible and reasonable inferences can be drawn from the facts presented; therefore, a genuine issue of material fact is presented, and the case is not appropriate for disposition by summary judgment. See, e.g., Prince v. Poole, 935 So.2d 431 (Ala.2006); Wilkerson v. Johnson, 868 So.2d 417 (Ala.2003). We agree with the Court of Civil Appeals that, viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the nonmovants, Franklin and her passengers, we must conclude that a genuine issue of material fact exists and that CSX was not entitled to a summary judgment. Therefore, we affirm the judgment of the Court of Civil Appeals reversing the summary judgment entered in favor of CSX.