Opinion ID: 1478174
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Clayton Reid's Motion for Summary Judgment

Text: [¶ 16] Priscilla Reid argues that Clayton Reid owed a duty of care to his brother. This duty stemmed from his knowledge that there was an open dumpster that posed a hazardous condition, and from his backing up while James Reid was positioned between the vehicle and the dumpster. The facts presented show that James Reid directed Clayton Reid from outside the truck on the passenger side, and therefore, controlled the vehicle's placement. James Reid motioned to Clayton Reid to stop. He stopped the truck. Clayton Reid then turned off the engine. As he exited his vehicle, he heard two thumps. He proceeded to the rear of the truck, where he observed that the tailgate was down and his brother was lying in the bottom of the dumpster. [¶ 17] A driver of a vehicle owes a duty to use due or ordinary care under the attendant circumstances, Nadeau v. Fogg, 145 Me. 10, 14, 70 A.2d 730, 732 (1950), and a duty to park in a legal and safe space, Tenney v. Taylor, 392 A.2d 1092, 1093 (Me.1978). We held in Mastriano that absent a special relationship, the law imposes no duty to act affirmatively to protect someone from danger unless the dangerous situation was created by the defendant. 2001 ME 134, ¶ 17, 779 A.2d at 955. Clayton and James Reid's relationship as brothers does not constitute a special relationship, and Priscilla Reid has not asserted any facts which show that Clayton Reid created the dangerous situation, operated his vehicle in an unsafe manner, or failed to park in a safe and legal place. Though Clayton Reid did have a duty to use ordinary care while driving, it was not until he had turned off the truck engine and exited the vehicle that he heard two thumps, which presumably were the tailgate falling open and James Reid falling into the dumpster. [¶ 18] We have recognized that the mere fact of the happening of an accident is not evidence of negligence. Rice v. Sebasticook Valley Hosp., 487 A.2d 639, 641 (Me.1985). In addition, in Green v. Cessna Aircraft Co., we affirmed a grant of summary judgment for the defendants where the trial court found that plaintiff's experts' opinions amount to nothing more than speculation as to the causation of an airplane crash at issue in the case, and the record was devoid of any facts to support the experts' assumptions. 673 A.2d 216, 218 (Me.1996). [¶ 19] In the present case, there were no eyewitnesses to James Reid's tragic fall. Priscilla Reid has failed to present us with a prima facie case, supported by her statement of material facts, as to how James's fall occurred and how Clayton Reid violated any duty in a manner that caused James's fall. See Reliance Nat'l Indem., 2005 ME 29, ¶ 9, 868 A.2d at 224-25. James Reid could have placed himself in a precarious position behind the truck, he could have accidentally let down the tailgate, Clayton Reid could have backed up too close, or the tailgate could have fallen down by itself, knocking James Reid into the dumpster. Similar to Green, whether the facts presented show that any duty was violated when James Reid's accident occurred is no better than speculation. The facts do not establish a prima facie case for liability, and therefore, we affirm summary judgment in favor of Clayton Reid.