Murdock v. Castigliola

Superior Court of Maine·Decided April 15, 2015·No. CUMcv-13-534·Unpublished

Opinion

STATE OF MAINE SUPERIOR COURT CUMBERLAND, ss CIVIL ACTION Docket No.: CV-13-534

STATE OF~

Cumbeltand. •.

)

ARTHUR MURDOCK, )

APR 16 2015

)

Plaintiff, ) RECEIVED ) ORDER GRANTING

v. ) CERTIFICATION OF THE COURT'S ) ORDER DATED JANUARY 22,2015 ANGELO CASTIGLIOLA, III et al, ) AS A FINAL JUDGEMENT ) UNDER M.R. CIV.P.54 (B)(l)

Defendants )

)

Plaintiff Arthur Murdock has moved for an order certifying the court's January 22, 2015 Order as a final judgment pursuant to Rule 54(b )(1) of the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure. For the following reasons, the Court grants Murdock's motion.

This case stems from a motor vehicle collision in which Murdock's vehicle was struck by a vehicle driven by defendant Angelo Castigliola. In its January 22 Order the court dismissed Murdock's uninsured motorist claim against Murdock's employer, the Maine Department of Public Safety, on the grounds that, as a matter of law, the State is exempt from the requirements of Maine's uninsured motorist statute. The court also dismissed Murdock's claim against defendant Martin Thorne in light of Murdock's testimony that he knew he could not and did not rely on Thorne's signaling to assume that he had a safe passage across the next lane of traffic.

Under Rule 54(b )(1 ), the Court "may direct the entry of a final judgment as to one or more but fewer than all of the claims or parties only upon an express determination that there is no just reason for delay." In deciding whether to certify a partial judgment, the Court considers several factors, including: (1) the relationship between the adjudicated and the unadjudicated claims; (2) the possibility that the need for review may be mooted by future developments; (3) the likelihood that the appellate court will face the same issues more than once; (4) the extent to which an immediate appeal might expedite or delay the trial court proceedings; (5) the nature of the legal questions presented as clear or difficult; (6) the economic effect of the appeal and any associated delay on all parties; (7) other factors such as solvency considerations and res judicata or collateral estoppel effects. Marquis v Town of Kennebunk, 2011 ME 128 ~13, 36 A.3d 861.

Most of those factors support Rule 54 (b) certification in this case.

First, none of the rulings made by the court in its January 22 order will be mooted by proceeding with the trial of the only remaining claims - Murdock's claims against Castigliola and Patrons Oxford Insurance Co. 1 If an appeal from the dismissal of the claims against Thome and the Department of Public Safety is taken now, the court sees no possibility that the same issues would be presented to the Law Court a second time. The Law Court has not ruled on the issue of whether and under what circumstances a driver who signals that another driver can make a left turn can be found negligent if there is a subsequent collision with a third vehicle. 2 Allowing an appeal will delay adjudication of the claim against Castigliola but Murdock, who is seeking to appeal, is willing to accept that delay. Counsel for Castigliola did not object to Murdock's Rule 54(b) motion. In addition, if the claims against Castigliola proceeded to trial and the Law Court subsequently reversed the dismissal of Murdock's claim against Thome, there

1 Counsel for Patrons Oxford has advised the court that Patrons Oxford is prepared to stipulate to be bound by the result against Castigliola. 2 The parties agree that a signaling driver owes a duty to yield the right of way. The issue is whether the signaling driver also owes a duty to assure that it is generally safe to proceed and that there is no danger from any other drivers. Although the court did not reach that issue, it would have to be resolved if the Law Court does not uphold this court's reasoning for dismissing the claim against Thome based on proximate cause.

would be a distinct possibility that the same evidence would be offered at the trial against Castigliola and the trial against Thorne.

Practical considerations also strongly favor an appeal. Counsel has advised the Court that the worker's compensation lien in this case is sufficiently large - compared to the limited insurance coverage available on the claims against Castigliola and Patrons Oxford - that it would not make economic sense to proceed on the claims against Castigliola and Patrons Oxford alone. The dismissal of the claims against Thorne and the Department of Public Safety therefore should be addressed by the Law Court before the parties proceed to trial to trial on the remaining claims.

The entry shall be:

The Court finds that there is no just reason for delay and directs that final judgment be entered on the January 22, 2015 order dismissing counts I and II ofthe complaint for the purpose of allowing immediate appeal.

The clerk is instructed to incorporate this order by reference.

Date: April /), 2015

Thomas D. Warren

Justice, Superior Court

vLcnn, v r vvun 1 ..:> Cumberland County 205 Newbury Street, Ground Floor Portland, ME 041 01

JAMES BOWIE ESQ

THOMPSON & BOWIE { ou o \ S~ ~ r 't£_~ 0 ~ CL"'' T PO BOX 4630

PORTLAND ME _ "::'\ !Ct..-\("'"o'"'":: 0:><-~r-d . ~"'Su'c..~ce.. Co, 04112 4630

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CHRISTOPHER DINAN ESQ

MONAGHAN LEAHY LLP

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PO BOX 7046

PORTLAND ME 04112-7046 A\'"\~Q_\o Co-s~~~\: o '~

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PHILIP MANCINI ESQ

DRUMMOND & DRUMMOND LLP Cov ~ se. ' ~ ~ \o.. :'""\ ,· ~ ONE MONUMENT WAY

PORTLAND ME 04101

CLERK OF COURTS Cumberland County 205 Newbury Street, Ground Floor Portland, ME 041 01

THOMAS K""10HLTON AAG c ou-t'\S<C \ 9cs ~~el"''dc._(\\­ OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL 6 STATE HOUSE STATION ~-\-u..\e ~ Ka....~("\ t:_ AUGUSTA ME 04333-0006

CLERK OF COURTS Cumberland County 205 Newbury Street, Ground Floor Portland, ME04101

ELIZABETH GERMANI ESQ

GERMANI MARTEMUCCI & HILL (C::lv"se\ ~f" ~r0(>A> 43 DEERING STREET ~~~~~ -rho~~~ PORTLAND ME 04101

ENTERED FEB 2 0 2015 ~-

STATE OF MAINE SUPERIOR COURT CUMBERLAND, ss CIVIL ACTION DOCKET NO. CV -13-534

11J\V- CM-f11- '0~-13-M715 ARTHUR MURDOCK,

Plaintiff

V. ORDER

STATE OF MAiNE

ANGELO CASTIGLIOLA III, Ct~. st, eta«sOib et al fEB 13 20U5 Defendants

rRECE~VfED

Before the court is a motion for summary judgment filed by defendant Angelo

Castigliola. The court has previously ruled on motions for summary judgment filed by defendants Martin Thorne and Maine Department of Public Safety in a January 22, 2015 order.

Summary Judgment As noted in the January 22, 2015 order, summary judgment should be granted ifthere is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. In considering a motion for summary judgment, the court is required to consider only the portions of the record referred to and the material facts set forth in the parties' Rule 56(h) statements. y., Johnson v. McNeil, 2002 ME 99 ~ 8, 800 A.2d 702. The facts must be considered in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Id. Thus, for purposes of summary judgment, any factual disputes must be resolved against the movant. Nevertheless, when the facts offered by a party in opposition to summary judgment would not, if offered at

trial, be sufficient to withstand a motion for judgment as a matter of law, summary judgment should be granted. Rodrigue v. Rodrigue, 1997 ME 99 ~ 8, 694 A.2d 924.

Factual Record Certain facts are undisputed. To the extent that there is any difference between the version of the facts presented by Castigliola and that presented by Murdock, the court will rely on Murdock's version of events because the record on summary judgment must be considered in the light most favorable to the party opposing summary judgment.

Castigliola was the driver of a vehicle that collided with Murdock's vehicle on Skyway Drive in Portland on January 26, 2010. At the time of the accident Murdock was a Lieutenant in the State Police driving a state police cruiser.

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