Hodgdon v. State

500 A.2d 621, 1985 Me. LEXIS 815
CourtSupreme Judicial Court of Maine
DecidedSeptember 3, 1985
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 500 A.2d 621 (Hodgdon v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Judicial Court of Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hodgdon v. State, 500 A.2d 621, 1985 Me. LEXIS 815 (Me. 1985).

Opinion

VIOLETTE, Justice.

The State of Maine (State) appeals from a decision by the Superior Court, Lincoln County, denying its motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOY) after a jury trial that resulted in judgment for Hodgdon against the State. The State con[622]*622tends that its motion for JNOV should have been granted because it is immune from suit under the Maine Tort Claims Act unless an exception is expressly provided by statute, and that no such exception exists in this case. Hodgdon also appeals, alleging that the trial court erred in allowing the jury to decide whether the Town of Dresden was obligated to repair the road and in instructing the jury that it had to find negligence by the Town before liability could be imposed. We agree with the State that it is immune from suit in this case. Because we find that the Town was not obligated by law to repair either highway relevant to this case, we conclude that any error by the trial court was harmless. We vacate the judgment entered against the State and deny Hodgdon’s appeal.

I.

On the morning of Friday, June 80, 1978, Kenneth Hodgdon was operating a motorcycle eastbound on Route 197, a rural highway in Dresden. When he reached the intersection of Routes 197 and 127, he collided with a Chevrolet Blazer driven by Eileen Alvarado. Alvarado was proceeding in the opposite direction on Route 197 with the intent of continuing southerly on Route 127. When she reached the intersection, she failed to yield to Hodgdon’s motorcycle, crossed the centerline and collided with Hodgdon, killing him instantly. This intersection was Y-shaped. See Attachment A. At the point of the intersection of the two routes, Route 197 curved in a generally north and west arc. A knoll and growth of brush on the north side of this curve obstructed the view of motorists approaching each other from opposite directions.

In 1939 the State Department of Transportation (DOT), with no help from or consultation with the Town, changed the intersection of Routes 197 and 127 from a traditional T-shaped intersection to its present shape. It is unquestioned that at the time of the accident, Route 197 was a state highway and Route 127 was an improved state aid highway. The Town stated that although it knew of the defect, the State only made one suggestion that the Town use its state aid funds to fix the road. The Town also stated that, following the accident, the DOT corrected the defect without consulting the Town and the correction involved only changes to Highway 197. This problem with the intersection was also known to the State as many citizen complaints had been received by the DOT.

On May 22, 1980, Hodgdon’s widow filed this wrongful death action against Alvarado (the other driver), the Town of Dresden, Lincoln County, and the State of Maine. Hodgdon settled her claim against Alvarado and the actions against Alvarado and Lincoln County were eventually dismissed. Hodgdon’s complaint alleges that the intersection and its approaches “were in a defective condition as a result of the negligent design, construction, maintenance, and traffic control.” Her cause of action against the State is based on 23 M.R.S.A. § 3655 (1977) alone or in conjunction with 23 M.R.S.A. § 1451 (1977).

On June 20, 1980, the State filed a motion to dismiss, asserting its immunity from this suit because none of Hodgdon’s allegations fell within the exceptions to immunity set forth in the Maine Tort Claims Act, 14 M.R.S.A. §§ 8101-8118 (1977). The court denied the motion on January 30, 1981, suggesting that the record should be further developed. On October 7, 1982, the State moved for summary judgment on the ground that discovery had not revealed any exception to the State’s immunity that would give Hodgdon a right of action against the State. The motion was denied based on the doctrine of “law of the case”. The State continued to raise the issue of immunity by motions throughout the proceedings, including a motion for a directed verdict made at the close of all the evidence, and after the verdict by a motion for JNOV, but all the motions were denied.

A trial was held in Superior Court, Lincoln County, on July 9-19, 1984. The jury found Alvarado, the driver of the other vehicle, 40% liable and the State 60% liable. [623]*623No liability was assessed against the Town of Dresden because the jury found that the Town was not “obligated to repair the highway” and was not “guilty of negligence”. Damages were found to be two hundred two thousand five hundred dollars ($202,-500). On August 1,1984, the court entered judgment against the State for its share of the liability, one hundred twenty one thousand five hundred dollars ($121,500), plus thirty thousand two hundred fifty three dollars and fifty cents ($33,250.50) interest. Costs of three thousand four hundred twenty seven dollars and fifty cents ($3,427.50) were certified on September 26, 1984.

II.

The State argues that the trial court erred in denying its motion for JNOV because the State is immune from liability in this action under the Maine Tort Claims Act, 14 M.R.S.A. §§ 8101-8118 (1977). The standard of review in determining whether the trial court erred in denying the motion for JNOV based on insufficiency of the evidence is whether the jury verdict can be sustained on any reasonable view of the evidence giving the party in whose favor the jury verdict was granted every justifiable inference. See Zamore v. Whitten, 395 A.2d 435, 439 (Me.1978); Rand v. BG Pride Realty, 350 A.2d 565, 566 (Me.1970). In this case, we find that the trial court erred as a matter of law in failing to grant the motion for JNOV. Hodgdon cites no authority, nor has our research revealed any, under which the State can be held liable in this action. Section 8103(1) of the Act provides that “except as otherwise provided by statute, all governmental entities shall be immune from suit on any and all tort claims seeking recovery of damages.” Subsection 2 of section § 8103 cites examples of governmental immunity, including in relevant part:

J. Any defect, lack of repair or lack of sufficient railing in any highway, town way, sidewalk, parking area, causeway, bridge, airport runway or taxiway, including appertenances necessary for control of such ways including but not limited to street signs, traffic lights, parking meters and guardrails, except as provided in section 8104, subsection 4 and in Title 23, section 3655.

Thus, all governmental entities, which includes the State and municipalities, have complete immunity from suits on all tort claims unless they fall within the limited exceptions provided in the Act.

Section 8104(4) of 14 M.R.S.A.1 does not apply in this case since it is limited to construction, street cleaning or repair operations. Hodgdon makes no allegation that any of these-activities is involved in this case.

Section 3655 of Title 232 specifically applies only to counties and towns. [624]*624These express statutory exceptions to the general rule of governmental immunity must be narrowly construed. Goodine v. State, 468 A.2d 1002, 1004 (Me.1983); Clockedile v. State Department of Transportation,

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Bluebook (online)
500 A.2d 621, 1985 Me. LEXIS 815, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hodgdon-v-state-me-1985.