Southern Pacific Transportation Co. v. Luna

707 S.W.2d 113, 1985 Tex. App. LEXIS 12736
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedDecember 19, 1985
DocketNo. 13-84-214-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 707 S.W.2d 113 (Southern Pacific Transportation Co. v. Luna) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Southern Pacific Transportation Co. v. Luna, 707 S.W.2d 113, 1985 Tex. App. LEXIS 12736 (Tex. Ct. App. 1985).

Opinion

OPINION

BENAVIDES, Justice.

This is a suit for damages for injuries sustained in a railroad crossing collision. Appellees, Carlos R. Luna, Sr., and Janie Rivera Luna, individually and as representatives of the estate of Christopher James Luna and as parents and next friends of Becky Ann Luna, Carlos R. Luna, Jr. and Laura Ann Luna, filed suit against appellant Southern Pacific Transportation Company (sometimes referred to herein as “the Railroad Company,” the “railroad” or “appellant company”) and its engineer J.H. Lee alleging negligence and gross negligence.

Trial was to the jury which, in answer to specific issues, found:

(1) that the railway company was negligent in failing to issue speed restrictions for the crossing where the collision occurred prior to installation of the proposed automatic signals and that such negligence was a proximate cause of the collision;
(2) that Southern Pacific was negligent in the manner in which its train crew operated the train with respect to the failure to reduce the train’s speed by application of the train’s brakes or throttle and that such negligence was a proximate cause of the collision; and
(3) that the failure of the railway company to have automatic signal lights in operation was negligence and a proximate cause of the collision.

The jury found that Carlos R. Luna, Sr., and Southern Pacific were each 50 per cent negligent, but the jury also found that the conduct of Southern Pacific constituted reckless, wanton and grossly negligent conduct.

Based on the jury verdict, the trial judge entered the following judgment:

(1) that Carlos Luna, Sr., recover $25,-366.00;
(2) that Janie Luna recover $251,468.50;
(3) that Becky Ann Luna recover $66,-000.00;
(4) that Carlos Luna, Jr., recover $5,000.00 and
(5) that Laura Ann Luna recover $2,500.00.

Each of these amounts was entered against appellant Southern Pacific and J.H. Lee, jointly and severally.

[116]*116Against Southern Pacific alone, the trial judge assessed the following:

(1) that Janie Luna recover $634,155.00;
(2) that Becky Ann Luna recover $283,-950.00;
(3) that Carlos Luna, Jr., recover $18,-930.00; and
(4) that Laura Ann Luna recover $9,465.00.

After the above judgment was entered, the trial court granted a motion to sever the causes of action of Laura Ann Luna and granted her motion for partial new trial. As to the other parties, the original judgment was left undisturbed.

This accident occurred on November 28, 1981, when the car in which appellees were traveling was struck by a Southern Pacific train. The accident occurred in East Bernard, Texas, where Ray Street crosses the Southern Pacific tracks. Appellee Carlos Luna, Sr., was driving his 1978 Mercury Bobcat automobile south on Ray; the train was westbound. The Ray Street crossing was unprotected by automatic warning devices at the time of the accident; however, the crossing had been previously selected for protection by planned installation of automatic crossing guards.

In their first and second points of error, appellants complain of the jury’s affirmative answer to the following special issue:

SPECIAL ISSUE NO. 5
Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that the railway company, acting through its agents, servants and employees, was negligent in failing to issue speed restrictions for the crossing in question prior to the installation of the automatic signals?
Answer “yes” or “no.”
Answer: Yes
Appellants allege:
(1) there is no evidence to support the jury’s answer;
(2) as a matter of law, the railway company has no legal duty to issue speed restrictions;
(3) as a matter of law, the failure to issue speed restrictions was not a proximate cause of the collision;
(4) there is insufficient evidence to support the jury’s answer; and
(5) the jury’s answer is against the great weight and preponderance of the evidence.

In Texas, there is no state statute limiting the speed of trains at crossings. Rather, the statutory duty of the railroad is to sound a whistle and bell, TEX.REV. CIV.STAT.ANN. art. 6371 (Vernon Supp. 1984), equip the locomotive with a headlight, TEX.REV.CIV.STAT.ANN. art. 6372 (Vernon 1926), and erect a sign at the crossing, TEX.REV.CIV.ANN. art. 6370 (Vernon 1926). See Missouri Pacific Railroad Co. v. Shaw, 620 S.W.2d 161, 163 (Tex.Civ.App.—Corpus Christi 1981, writ ref’d n.r.e.). The railroad also has a common law duty to use extraordinary means to warn travelers at extra-hazardous crossings. Osuna v. Southern Pacific Railroad Co., 641 S.W.2d 229, 230 (Tex.1982). The Luna family seeks to impose an additional common law duty on the railroad to issue speed restrictions to its crews. The Lunas argue that there was a recognized need to install signals because of the amount of both train and vehicular traffic, and that, because other cities along the track had imposed speed restrictions, the railroad should have done so on its own accord for East Bernard. In Abalos v. Oil Development Co. of Texas, 544 S.W.2d 627, 631 (Tex.1976), the court wrote, “any plaintiff must prove the existence and violation of a legal duty owed to him by the defendant to establish tort liability.” Southern Pacific argues there is no legal duty to impose speed restrictions. In Otis Engineering Corp. v. Clark, 668 S.W.2d 307 (Tex.1983), the Court wrote:

[FJactors which should be considered in determining whether the law should impose a duty are the risk, foreseeability, and likelihood of injury weighed against the social utility of the actor’s conduct, the magnitude of the burden of guarding [117]*117against the injury and consequences of placing that burden on the employer.

668 S.W.2d at 309.

The Supreme Court then set out the proper test for determining whether a defendant is negligent.

“Two questions are presented. First, does the law impose any duty upon Otis under the evidence as developed? Secondly, does such evidence give rise to any genuine issues of material fact?”

Id. at 308.

The first question, whether there is a duty, is a matter of law for the court. As stated by the Court, “what we must decide is if changing social standards and increasing complexities of human relationships in today’s society justify imposing a duty upon an employer to act reason-ably_” (emphasis added.) Id. at 310. See also Id.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
707 S.W.2d 113, 1985 Tex. App. LEXIS 12736, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/southern-pacific-transportation-co-v-luna-texapp-1985.