Felts v. Seaboard Coast Line Railroad

55 F.R.D. 497, 1971 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11778
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Virginia
DecidedSeptember 3, 1971
DocketCiv. A. No. 384-69-R
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 55 F.R.D. 497 (Felts v. Seaboard Coast Line Railroad) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Felts v. Seaboard Coast Line Railroad, 55 F.R.D. 497, 1971 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11778 (E.D. Va. 1971).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

KELLAM, District Judge.

Ryland S. Felts instituted this action against Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Company (Seaboard) to recover damages for injuries alleged to have been sustained. He asserts that, while an employee of The Pullman Company (Pull-man Company) he was performing services for Seaboard and was also an employee of Seaboard. He grounds his recovery under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA). After filing the original complaint, he amended it to include Pullman Company as a defendant. Pullman Company’s motion to dismiss it as a defendant was subsequently sustained, on the grounds that its employees were covered by State Workmen’s Compensation Acts and not by FELA. That is, it is not a common carrier by railroad within the meaning of the Act. However, Felts continued his assertion that he was an employee of both the Pull-man Company and Seaboard at the time of the incident in issue.

The issue was tried to the jury which returned a verdict in favor of plaintiff for $20,000.00. Seaboard moved the Court to enter judgment in its favor n. o. v., or in the alternative to set aside the verdict and grant it a new trial on all issues, or, as the second alternative, to grant it a remittitur. Seaboard’s grounds for its motion boil down to—

(a) The sufficiency of the evidence to establish that Felts was an employee of Seaboard;
(b) Errors in the charge of the Court;
(c) Errors in the exclusion of evidence offered by Seaboard; and
(d) Excessiveness of the verdict.

I

We commence with the rule that issues of fact should be left to the determination of the jury, and a court should not undertake to substitute its opinion or findings therefor. Likewise, a jury’s determination of the credibility of the witnesses and the weight which they see fit to give to their testimony is binding on the Court. However, the jury is not permitted to speculate or conjecture, or to render a verdict based on sympathy. If there is no credible evidence in the record upon which to base a verdict, the Court has a duty to act. Otherwise, the rule would have to be that the findings of the jury would be final and not subject to question. The rule to be followed by the trial court is set out in Brady v. Southern Railway Company, 320 U.S. 476, 64 S.Ct. 232, 88 L.Ed. 239 (1943). There, the verdict of the jury was set aside and judgment entered for defendant. In affirming the judgment n. o. v. the Court at page 479, 64 S.Ct. at page 234 said; [499]*499S.Ct. 231, 73 L.Ed. 473] ; Baltimore & Ohio R. R. Co. v. Groeger, 266 U.S. 521, 524 [45 S.Ct. 169, 170, 69 L.Ed. 419], Cf. Gunning v. Cooley, 281 U.S. 90, 94 [50 S.Ct. 231, 233, 74 L.Ed. 720]; Commissioners [of Marion County] v. Clark, 94 U.S. 278, 284 [24 L.Ed. 59]. When the evidence is such that without weighing the credibility of the witnesses there can be but one reasonable conclusion as to the verdict, the court should determine the proceeding by non-suit, directed verdict or otherwise in accordance with the applicable practice without submission to the jury, or by judgment notwithstanding the verdict. By such direction of the trial the result is saved from the mischance of speculation over legally unfounded claims. Galloway v. United States, 319 U.S. 372 [63 S.Ct. 1077, 87 L.Ed. 1458]; Pence v. United States, 316 U.S. 332, [62 S.Ct. 1080, 86 L.Ed. 1510]; Baltimore & Ohio R. Co. v. Groeger, 266 U.S. 521 [45 S. Ct. 169, 69 L.Ed. 419], note 1; Anderson [Adm’x] v. Smith, 226 U.S. 439 [33 S.Ct. 176, 57 L.Ed. 289]; Coughran v. Bigelow, 164 U.S. 301, 307 [17 S.Ct. 117, 119, 41 L.Ed. 442] ; Gunning v. Cooley, 281 U.S. 90, 93 [50 S.Ct. 231, 232, 79 L.Ed. 720], note; Seaboard Air Line [Ry.] v. Padgett, 236 U.S. 668, 673 [35 S.Ct. 481, 482, 59 L.Ed. 777]; Parks v. Ross, 11 How. 362, 373 [13 L.Ed. 730]. See IX Wig-more on Evidence (3d ed., 1940), §§ 2494 et seq.

[498]*498The weight of the evidence under the Employers’ Liability Act must be more than a scintilla before the case may be properly left to the discretion of the trier of fact--in this case, the jury. Western & Atlantic R. R. Co. v. Hughes, supra [278 U.S. 496, 49

[499]*499The rule in this circuit is set forth in Club Ramon, Inc. v. United States, 296 F.2d 837 (4th Cir. 1961). At page 840, the Court said:

It is, of course, the duty of the trial judge to leave issues of fact to the determination of the jury but he is not obliged to submit issues as to whose outcome no reasonable doubt can be entertained. “And where the evidence is ‘so overwhelmingly on one side as to leave no room to doubt what the fact is, the court should give a peremptory instruction to the jury.’ * * * The rule is settled for the federal courts, and for many of the state courts, that whenever in the trial of a civil case the evidence is clearly such that if a verdict were rendered for one of the parties the other would be entitled to a new trial, it is the duty of the judge to direct the jury to find according to the views of the court. Such a practice, this court has said, not only saves time and expense, but ‘gives scientific certainty to the law in its application to the facts and promotes the ends of justice.’ * * * The scintilla rule has been definitely and repeatedly rejected so far as the federal courts are concerned. * * * ” Pennsylvania R. Co. v. Chamberlain, 288 U.S. 333, 343, 53 S.Ct. 391, 395, 77 L.Ed. 819. And see Wachovia Bank and Trust Co. v. United States (4 Cir. 1961) 288 F.2d 750, 757; Wright v. Grain Dealers Nat. Mut. Fire Ins. Co., (4 Cir. 1950) 186 F.2d 956, 958.

The Court again spoke on the issue, and directed entry of verdict n. o. v. in Business Development Corporation of North Carolina v. United States, 428 F. 2d 451 (4th Cir. 1970), where the Court said:

A direction should be granted where there is “no substantial evidence to support” the verdict asked of the jury. Hawkins v. Sims, 137 F.2d 66, 67 (4 Cir. 1943).

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Bluebook (online)
55 F.R.D. 497, 1971 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11778, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/felts-v-seaboard-coast-line-railroad-vaed-1971.