Opinion ID: 2077462
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Counts VI and VIII

Text: Counts VI and VIII allege that defendant negligently violated various rules promulgated by the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) and that these violations proximately caused the decedent's death. The appellate court reversed the circuit court's dismissal of counts VI and VIII, holding that whether violations existed and, if so, whether the violations proximately caused decedent's injuries and death are questions of fact for the jury to determine. (162 Ill. App.3d at 117.) Justice Green dissented from this portion of the appellate court's opinion, concluding that [l]ogic defies any conclusion that any of the safety rules alleged were enacted with any thought of avoiding collision of motor vehicles with stopped trains or that any violation of these rules could be a proximate cause of any such collision. (162 Ill. App.3d at 119.) We agree with the reasoning of Justice Green's dissent and hold that counts VI and VIII fail to state a cause of action. In order to recover for a defendant's violation of a statute or rule designed to protect human life or property, a plaintiff must show: (1) the violation proximately caused the injury; (2) plaintiff belonged to the class of persons whom the rule was intended to protect from injury; and (3) the kind of injury suffered by plaintiff was the kind of injury which the rule sought to prevent. Barthel v. Illinois Central Gulf R.R. Co. (1978), 74 Ill.2d 213, 219-20. The ICC rules which the complaint alleges were violated are Rule 4 of General Order 106, and Rules 204, 205, 206 and 207 (92 Ill. Adm. Code §§ 1535.204, 1535.205, 1535.206, 1535.207 (1985)). The appellate court found that Rule 4 of General Order 106 was not in force at the time of decedent's death, having been superseded in 1973 by the provisions of the Illinois Administrative Code relating to grade crossing safety. (92 Ill. Adm. Code § 1535.10, at 13,754 (1985).) Instead, the appellate court implicitly found that ICC Rule 203 applies. Plaintiffs state that Rule 4 is applicable because that rule continues to apply to crossings constructed during the time period in which the Smith Street crossing was constructed. However, for our purposes it is immaterial whether Rule 203 or Rule 4 is the applicable rule, since both address the same subject matter; the rules differ only as to certain technical requirements. All of the cited rules address the condition of railroad crossings or their approaches. With the exception of Rule 4, the appellate court opinion sets out the text of each of the cited rules. Thus we will only briefly summarize the rules' provisions. Rule 4 prescribes requirements for the construction of crossings and provides, among other things, that the materials with which the crossings are constructed shall be flush and level with the top of the rails, between the rails of each track and between tracks, and for distances of at least 16 inches beyond the outside rails. It also prescribes the width of crossings. Rule 203 contains similar provisions. Rule 204 requires that an ascending or descending grade at a crossing shall not be greater than 1% in the first 25 feet from the track, or greater than 5% thereafter, to the edge of the right-of-way. Rule 205 provides that the railroad shall keep its right-of-way adjacent to its tracks reasonably clear of brush, shrubbery and other obstructions for a certain distance from the crossing where such things would materially obscure the view of approaching trains to travelers on the highway. (Emphasis added.) Rule 206 provides that the railroad shall construct and maintain the crossing and approaches extending 24 inches outward from the outer rail of each track so that at all times they will be reasonably safe as to persons and property. Rule 207 provides that where tracks are raised through a highway grade crossing, the highway approaches must conform as nearly as practicable with the grades specified in Rules 203 and 204. Plaintiffs implicitly recognize, as they must, that the foregoing rules pertain either to the condition of the crossing itself, which decedent never reached, or to a motorist's lateral view, not his view of what lies directly in front of him. Nonetheless, plaintiffs argue that violation of the rules could have been a proximate cause for the following reasons. (1) To the extent decedent, while attempting to look for approaching trains, was distracted by weeds and shrubbery, or by the rough crossing, he was precluded from seeing the stopped train in front of him. (2) Weeds obscured the wheels of the railroad car, which decedent might otherwise have seen since the motorcycle's headlight would have illuminated the wheels, the lowest part of the railroad car. (3) The crossing was steeper than is allowed by the rules. This condition created the false illusion that the crossing was clear because a motorcycle's headlight would not shine on the railroad car but below it, and because a motorist could see streetlights under the railroad car. Defendant contends that counts VI and VIII fail to state a cause of action because the alleged violations could not have proximately caused the accident and because the rules were not intended to prevent collisions between motorists and trains stopped at crossings. See Fox v. Illinois Central R.R. Co. (1941), 308 Ill. App. 367, 374 (alleged violation of statute providing that stopped train may remain on tracks for no longer than 10 minutes failed to state cause of action; purpose of statute is to prevent traffic delays, not to prevent collisions between motorists and standing railcars); see also Havens v. Harris Township (1988), 175 Ill. App.3d 768, 771 (in case involving collision between truck and minibike on rural road, failure of defendant township to mow vegetation along roadway held irrelevant, since purpose of statute relied on by plaintiff is to prevent spread of noxious weeds harmful to public health, not to promote visibility on roadway (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1985, ch. 121, par. 9-111)). The appellate court correctly noted that the purpose of Rules 203, 204, and 206 is to insure that railroad crossings are safe for purposes of public passage and particularly that they are smooth. (162 Ill. App.3d at 117.) Yet the court then stated that [i]t cannot be said that protecting the public from being distracted by rough surfaces of crossings and not thereby observing trains at crossings, or protecting the public from obtaining a false illusion that a train is not present at a crossing due to an unusually steep grade at the crossing, are not among the purposes of these rules. (162 Ill. App.3d at 117.) To the contrary, we think it clear that these were not among the purposes of Rules 203, 204 and 206. As for Rule 205, it specifically refers to objects obstructing the view of approaching trains; thus it plainly was not intended to promote visibility of stopped trains.