Moreau v. Burlington Northern Santa Fe

919 So. 2d 862, 2006 La. App. LEXIS 13, 2006 WL 47663
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJanuary 11, 2006
DocketNo. CA 05-675
StatusPublished

This text of 919 So. 2d 862 (Moreau v. Burlington Northern Santa Fe) 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
Moreau v. Burlington Northern Santa Fe, 919 So. 2d 862, 2006 La. App. LEXIS 13, 2006 WL 47663 (La. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

SAUNDERS, Judge.

| plaintiff, Van Moreau, was injured when he was involved in an automobile-locomotive collision on August 28, 2005. Plaintiff was traveling on Highway 190 in the Town of Rinder when he came to a stop on the railroad tracks. He claims that his view of the approaching train was obstructed and that due to this obstruction, he was unable to prevent the accident. Plaintiff filed suit against the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company, Union Pacific Railroad Company, the Town of Rinder, Allen Parish, and the State of Louisiana through the Department of Transportation and Development. Plaintiff alleged that the Town of Rinder had a duty to install proper signalization and to remove obstructions from the railroad crossing. The trial court, after examining all the documentary evidence and testimony, found that the Town of Rinder had no duty to maintain the railroad crossing. Based on this conclusion, the trial court determined that there was no genuine issue of material fact and granted summary judgment in favor of the Town of Rinder. We affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

The accident giving rise to this litigation occurred around 12:25 p.m. on August 28, 2002, when Plaintiffs truck was stuck by a train at a railroad grade crossing on Highway 190 in the Town of Rinder. Plaintiff, Van Moreau, was traveling in a northerly direction on Highway 190 when, according to Plaintiff, the car in front of him “suddenly” stopped, and he was forced to stop on the railroad tracks. When Plaintiff looked to his left, he saw a train approaching and tried to avoid the collision by backing up, but his attempt was unsuccessful. Plaintiff sustained various physical injuries including injuries to his head, neck, and spine as well as injuries to his central nervous system. He also suffers from fear, anxiety, humiliation and embarrassment as a result of the accident.

| ¡¿Plaintiff brought an action against the Town of Rinder, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company, Union Pacific Railroad Company, Allen Parish, and the State of Louisiana through the Department of Transportation and Development to recover damages for injuries sustained in the accident. In his petition, Plaintiff [864]*864alleged that the Town of Kinder was negligent in failing to install adequate signalization at the Highway 190 railroad grade crossing, and in failing to remove sight obstructions from the right-of-way, which prevented Plaintiff from seeing the approaching train.

On January 27, 2005, the Town of Kinder filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that there was a lack of factual support for duty and causation, both requisite elements of Plaintiffs claim. The trial court granted summary judgment, finding that the Town of Kinder had no duty to maintain the signalization on the highway since Plaintiff offered no evidence to show that it was “unduly hazardous such that a stop sign should have been erected before the crossing.” In addition, the trial court ruled that Plaintiff did not rebut the causation element of its claim. Plaintiff now appeals.

ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR

1) The trial court erred in weighing the evidence and relying upon evidence that was subject to conflicting interpretations.

2) The trial court erred in finding that the Town of Kinder owed no duty with respect to the signalization at the crossing.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

Appellate courts conduct a de novo review of rulings on motions for summary judgment. “It is well established that a summary judgment shall be rendered if the |spleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to material fact, and that the mover is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Alfred Palma, Inc. v. Crane Servs. Inc., 03-0614, p. 3 (La.App. 3 Cir. 11/5/03), 858 So.2d 772, 774, quoting Shelton v. Standard/700 Associates, 01-587, p. 5 (La.10/16/01), 798 So.2d 60, 64-65; La.Code Civ.P. art. 966(B).

LAW AND ANALYSIS

Assignment of Error 1:

Plaintiff argues that the trial court erred in weighing the evidence and relying upon evidence that was subject to conflicting interpretations. The trial court relied on photographs of the railroad grade crossing that were attached to Plaintiffs deposition in order to determine whether or not Plaintiffs view was, in fact, obstructed. These photographs were introduced for the limited purpose of identification of the railroad crossing. When the pictures were attached to the deposition to be introduced at trial, Plaintiffs counsel objected to the writing on the sides of the photographs purporting to describe the direction the photographer was facing. Defense counsel agreed to “cut the writing off,” leaving only the photographs of the crossing with no reference as to what the photos were depicting. The trial court relied on its own review of the photographs that were attached to Plaintiffs deposition in rejecting his testimony that his view was obstructed. There is no evidence in the record indicating when the photographs were taken, who took the photographs, or the location of the photographer when the photographs were taken. On a hearing for a Motion for Summary Judgment, Plaintiff was shown one of the photographs and was asked |4whether anything had changed with respect to the buildings shown in the photograph since the accident. Plaintiff responded, “I don’t know.”

When a trial court decides a motion for summary judgment, “the trial court cannot make credibility determinations,” nor may it “determine or even inquire into the merits of the issues raised.” Lazard v. Foti, 02-2888 (La.10/21/03), 859 So.2d 656, 663; Knowles v. McCright’s Pharmacy, Inc., 34,559 (La.App. 2 Cir. 4/4/01), 785 So.2d 101, 104. “If evidence [865]*865presented is subject to conflicting interpretations, summary judgment is not proper.” Federated Rural Elec. Ins. Corp. v. Gulf S. Cable, 2002-0852 (La.App 3 Cir. 12/11/02), 833 So.2d 544, 546; National Gypsum Co. v. Ace Wholesale, Inc., 96-215, pp. 4-5 (La.App. 5 Cir. 11/26/96), 685 So.2d 306, 308, ivrit denied, 96-3055 (La.2/7/97), 688 So.2d 502.

The photographs of the railroad grade crossing were subject to conflicting interpretations, as there was no reference with respect to the circumstances under which the photographs were taken and whether they properly reflected the viewpoint of Plaintiff at the time of the accident. We find that the trial court weighed the photographs against Plaintiffs testimony and inappropriately granted a summary judgment based upon conflicting interpretations.

Moreover, the trial court found that Plaintiff was “duty bound” to look both ways before crossing the railroad tracks under La.R.S. 32:171(E) and La. R.S. 32:175(A). Although Plaintiff may have a duty to look before crossing the railroad tracks, his negligence in not doing so will not bar him from recovering from defendants who may be held liable to him. Under Louisiana’s comparative fault scheme, enumerated in La.Civ.Code art. 2323, Plaintiffs negligence does not defeat his cause of action. His recovery will simply be reduced by the amount of fault |Rallocated to him by the trial court. Accordingly, Plaintiffs negligence is not dis-positive of the issue. We find that the trial court erred in issuing a summary judgment based on Plaintiffs negligence, as comparative negligence preempts summary judgment.

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Related

Knowles v. McCright's Pharmacy, Inc.
785 So. 2d 101 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2001)
Alfred Palma, Inc. v. Crane Services, Inc.
858 So. 2d 772 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2003)
Shelton v. Standard/700 Associates
798 So. 2d 60 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2001)
Federated Rural Elec. v. Gulf South Cable
833 So. 2d 544 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2002)
Lazard v. Foti
859 So. 2d 656 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2003)
National Gypsum Co. v. Ace Wholesale
685 So. 2d 306 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1996)

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919 So. 2d 862, 2006 La. App. LEXIS 13, 2006 WL 47663, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/moreau-v-burlington-northern-santa-fe-lactapp-2006.