Cambre v. National Railroad Passenger Corp.

705 So. 2d 237, 97 La.App. 5 Cir. 473, 1997 La. App. LEXIS 2905, 1997 WL 757528
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 10, 1997
DocketNo. 97-CA-473
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 705 So. 2d 237 (Cambre v. National Railroad Passenger Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cambre v. National Railroad Passenger Corp., 705 So. 2d 237, 97 La.App. 5 Cir. 473, 1997 La. App. LEXIS 2905, 1997 WL 757528 (La. Ct. App. 1997).

Opinion

liWICKER, Judge.

Plaintiffs appeal the granting of a partial summary judgment in their wrongful death suit resulting from an automobile-train collision. We reverse the partial summary judgment and remand for further proceedings.

Richard Cambre was killed on August 28, 1993 when his automobile was struck by a sixty-mile-an-hour train at a railroad crossing on Little Farms Avenue in Jefferson Parish. Cambre’s parents filed suit against National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Illinois Central Railroad Company, and the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (“DOTD”).

DOTD filed a motion for partial summary judgment, asserting plaintiffs’ demand against it should be dismissed because (1) the accident occurred on a parish road, which DOTD asserts it had no duty to maintain or mark, and (2) federal law preempts plaintiffs’ claims under state law.

The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of DOTD on the ground that the [238]*238roadway was a parish road. Because the motion for summary judgment had been granted the court pretermitted the issue of federal preemption. Plaintiffs filed a motion to reconsider the summary judgment or for a new trial, which was denied. Plaintiffs have appealed.

On appeal plaintiffs contend the trial court erred in granting summary judgment as to DOTD based on the issue of ownership of the roadway. They argue that ownership of |2the roadway was immaterial to DOTD’s liability because DOTD had assumed the duty to upgrade the Little Farms Avenue railroad crossing in its entirety.

In response, DOTD contends the State is not responsible for accidents which occur on roadways within the control of the parish which are not part of the state highway system. Specifically, although a portion of the road known as Little Farms Avenue is designated as a state highway, that designation ends north of the railroad right-of-way and does not extend to the point where the accident occurred. DOTD also argues that state tort law is preempted by federal law because federal funds were used to pay for a study of the upgrade of the railroad crossing at that site.

We find the trial court erred in granting the partial summary judgment because DOTD has failed to show it was entitled to judgment as a matter of law, based on certain facts which are disputed.

La. R.S. 32:235(B) requires that “[l]oeal municipal and parish authorities in their respective jurisdictions ... place and maintain such traffic control devices upon highways under their jurisdiction as they may deem necessary_” Under this statute, the parish is responsible for traffic controls on parish roadways. However, on the face of the record here it appears that DOTD had assumed liability for traffic controls on the railroad crossing in this case. In ruling that parish ownership of the roadway was the deciding factor, the court ignored the rulings in recent cases cited by plaintiffs.

In Rick v. State, Dept. of Transp. and Dev., 93-1776 (La.1/14/94), 630 So.2d 1271, the Louisiana Supreme Court held that where DOTD assumes a duty to upgrade a railroad crossing it is unnecessary to decide whether DOTD had an affirmative duty to upgrade or maintain the crossing in question. • In that case DOTD selected the crossing for improvement two years prior to the accident. The project was scheduled to include active warning devices, automatic signal lights and automatic gates, plus rubber mats to smooth the rough surface. The project was never begun, however, because the railroad did not approve the upgrade until approximately two months after the accident. Nevertheless, the | .-¡court held that liability attached because “[o]nee a duty is assumed, negligent breach of that duty may create liability.” 630 So.2d at 1275. ,

Similarly, in Archon v. Union Pacific R.R., 94-2728 (La.6/30/95), 657 So.2d 987, our supreme court held that DOTD had a duty to install active warning devices at the railroad crossing. The court relied on a series of agreements between the Department of Highways (predecessor to DOTD) and the railroad company, together with DOTD’s acknowledgment that flashing lights were required at the location. The court ruled that DOTD had breached this duty by its failure to install these devices timely and that the breach was a cause-in-fact of Archon’s death. 657 So.2d at 990.

The Archon court acknowledged that the police jury or other parish governing authority ordinarily would be responsible for placing and maintaining all traffic signs and controls on parish roads. Id. Over the course of time, however, DOTD had entered into several agreements with the railroad to improve and upgrades crossings and safety signals. In view of these agreements the court concluded:

By entering into these agreements with the Railroad, DOTD assumed a contractual duty to warm the motoring public of hazards at the Van-Ply crossing. Although the Parish agreed to-maintain-any warning mechanisms after their installation, DOTD had the initial responsibility to furnish and install them. The duty to furnish and install an active warning sign or device is obviously different and distinct from the [239]*239duty to maintain such devices or signs after their installation.

657 So.2d at 992.

In addition, the Archon court noted that discovery and admission of the relevant agreements was not barred by the exclusionary rule of 23 U.S.C. § 409 because the court had relied on documents which were not associated with any federal upgrade program.1

14“Since DOTD’s duty was not grounded in the federal highway-aid program, the admissibility or inadmissibility of documents relating to an upgrade project under that program is irrelevant to our ultimate conclusion that DOTD assumed a duty under certain earlier, independent contractual agreements.” Archon v. Union Pacific R.R., supra, at 997.

The supreme court granted rehearing in Archon, but affirmed its prior ruling and made an additional ruling on the extent of the duty assumed by DOTD. Archon v. Union Pacific R.R., 94-2728, 94-2743 (La.7/2/96), 675 So.2d 1055.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Long v. STATE EX REL. DOTD
916 So. 2d 87 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2005)
Long v. State ex rel. Department of Transportation & Development
916 So. 2d 87 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2005)
Long v. STATE, DEPT. OF TRANSP. AND DEV.
743 So. 2d 743 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1999)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
705 So. 2d 237, 97 La.App. 5 Cir. 473, 1997 La. App. LEXIS 2905, 1997 WL 757528, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cambre-v-national-railroad-passenger-corp-lactapp-1997.