Robinson v. Missouri Pacific Railroad

16 F.3d 1083, 1994 WL 48505
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
DecidedFebruary 15, 1994
DocketNos. 92-6099, 92-6112
StatusPublished
Cited by28 cases

This text of 16 F.3d 1083 (Robinson v. Missouri Pacific Railroad) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Robinson v. Missouri Pacific Railroad, 16 F.3d 1083, 1994 WL 48505 (10th Cir. 1994).

Opinion

BRIGHT, Senior Circuit Judge.

Julia Ann Turnbull, the driver of a 1979 Chevrolet Impala, and her infant son Darwin Turnbull IV, were killed when the Chevrolet collided with a Missouri Pacific (“MoPae”) freight train at the gate- and light-protected McKennon Street crossing in Calera, Oklahoma. The respective personal representatives, Darwin Turnbull III for the mother and Lewis R. and Nancy D. Robinson for the infant (“the Turnbulls”), severally brought wrongful death actions against MoPac.

[1085]*1085Car passengers Dawn Barnett and her two young children were also killed in the accident. The surviving husband and father, Ricky Barnett, brought actions for wrongful death against MoPac. The district court consolidated the three cases, but MoPac settled the Barnett cases, leaving for trial only the cases on behalf of Julia Ann’s estate and Darwin IV’s estate.

After a five-day trial, the jury awarded Darwin IV’s estate $250,000 and Julia Ann’s estate $200,000. The jury also found MoPac 70% at fault and Julia Ann 30% at fault, thus proportionately reducing the recovery of Julia Ann’s estate to $140,000. Post-trial, Mo-Pac renewed its motion for judgment as a matter of law under Fed.R.Civ.P. 50 or, in the alternative, a new trial under Rule 59, and also moved for contribution on the settled Barnett claims1 and on the jury award stemming from Darwin TV’s death. The trial court denied MoPac’s motion for judgment as a matter of law and its motion for a new trial. Thereafter, the district court granted Mo-Pac’s motion for contribution, ordering Julia Ann’s estate to contribute 30% ($75,000) to the recovery of Darwin IV’s representatives.

The trial court entered judgments consistent with the jury verdicts and the post-trial orders. MoPac brings this appeal from the judgments, reasserting its entitlement to judgments of dismissal as a matter of law or that because of trial errors, principally, evi-dentiary matters, the trial court should have ordered a new trial.

The Turnbulls cross-appeal, asserting that the district court erred in granting MoPac’s motion for contribution on Darwin IV’s claim on grounds that the Oklahoma doctrine of parental immunity bars contribution to a joint tortfeasor for a parent’s negligence to a child.

We now affirm the judgments of the district court on MoPac’s appeal and on the cross-appeal.

I. BACKGROUND

At approximately 7:00 p.m. on the evening of October 31, 1989, Julia Ann Turnbull’s Chevrolet, travelling westbound, collided with a southbound Missouri Pacific train at the McKennon Street crossing in Calera. Julia Ann Turnbull, her son Darwin IV, and the Barnetts were killed. The wreckage showed that the car ended up approximately 2000 feet south of the crossing, having been pushed straight down the track by the train.

At trial, the plaintiffs presented the theory that the failure of the gates to lower at the proper time allowed Julia Ann Turnbull to enter the crossing despite the oncoming train. Specifically, the Turnbulls argued that the train struck the Chevrolet at a perpendicular angle, the only angle consistent with the train pushing the car straight down the tracks. To support their theory, the Turn-bulls called two Calera policemen who arrived at the scene shortly after the crash, Guy Davis who testified to a near-miss at the same crossing six days earlier, two MoPac employees, and expert witnesses Pipkin and Gouty.

Pipkin’s opinion testimony also countered the defense theory that Julia Ann had driven around the gates when he opined that the train struck the car at a perpendicular angle and that the angle of impact served to reject any drive-around-gate theory. During Pip-kin’s testimony, the Turnbulls introduced into evidence and exhibited to the jury a video animation prepared by Pipkin which illustrated Pipkin’s opinion and the Turn-bulls’ theory of the crash. Signals expert Paul Gouty, whose qualifications are disputed, testified that some part of the signal system must have failed to operate properly on the night of the crash.

MoPac contended that its train struck Julia Ann Turnbull’s car at a sharp angle while she tried to drive around the lowered gates. The sharp angle collision, according to Mo-Pac, was not inconsistent with the car’s final position because the engine and car were locked together. MoPac argued that because its crossing arms and signal unit worked properly, Julia Ann alone was negligent in causing the accident.

[1086]*1086MoPac presented the eyewitness testimony of Danny and Stacy Noltkamper, who occupied another car about two blocks away from the crossing, and testified to seeing a car (presumably Julia Ann Turnbull’s) drive around the gates and into the crossing. Donna Naramor, whose home is directly opposite the crossing, heard the train whistle sound and saw the reflection of the red flashing crossing arm lights before hearing the thud of the crash. Members of the train crew testified that although their view was limited, they saw the gates down before the train reached the crossing. MoPac also presented the testimony of MoPac circuit design engineer Jim Murphy, who testified that the signal system operated properly, and accident reconstruction expert Sylvanis Walker, who concluded that Julia Ann Turnbull drove around the lowered gates and that the train struck the car at approximately a 17 degree angle (17 degrees clockwise from the east-west line of the street).

We consider first MoPac’s appeal. As to evidentiary matters, MoPac contends the district court erroneously failed to exclude (1) a video animation of the accident introduced through expert A.O. Pipkin; (2) Guy Davis’ testimony concerning a near-miss at the same crossing; (3) testimony concerning Mo-Pac’s operating rules; and (4) expert Paul Gouty’s opinion on what caused the accident. MoPac also argues the district court erred in refusing to remove juror Gloria Counselman for cause, and in denying MoPac’s motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict.

II. EVIDENTIARY ISSUES

The admission or exclusion of evidence lies within the sound discretion of the trial court and cannot be reversed absent an abuse of discretion. Wheeler v. John Deere Co., 935 F.2d 1090, 1099 (10th Cir.1991).

A. The Video Animation

MoPac contends that the district court erred by admitting into evidence, and allowing the jury to view, the videotape prepared by Pipkin. Although the issue is a close one, we reject the claim of error in the circumstances of this case.

Pipkin created the video by first making a scale model of the accident scene. He based the model on his examination of the physical evidence, photographs of the wreckage, and observations made during visits to the crossing. Pipkin’s model included a train and car which could be moved, along with crossing gates, structures and shrubs simulating the immediate surroundings. Pipkin then had the video camera track the scene every % of a second as he moved the model vehicles by hand. In making the tape, Pip-kin moved the train at a scaled speed of 49 m.p.h., as testified to by Engineer Potts, and the car at a comparative speed of 13 m.p.h., a speed selected randomly based on Pipkin’s opinion that the ear could not have been going more than 20 m.p.h.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
16 F.3d 1083, 1994 WL 48505, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/robinson-v-missouri-pacific-railroad-ca10-1994.