Angst v. Great Northern Railway Company

• Decision Date: 21 April 1955
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 4940.
• Citation: 131 F. Supp. 156
• Parties: Christian T. ANGST, as Special Administrator of the Estate of William M. Haley, Plaintiff, v. GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY COMPANY, a corporation, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Minnesota

131 F. Supp. 156

Christian T. ANGST, as Special Administrator of the Estate of William M. Haley, Plaintiff, v. GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY COMPANY, a corporation, Defendant.

Civ. A. No. 4940.

United States District Court D. Minnesota, Fourth Division.

April 21, 1955.

W. P. Westphal, St. Paul, Minn., for defendant in support of the motion.

William A. Cole, Minneapolis, Minn., for plaintiff in opposition thereto.

NORDBYE, Chief Judge.

This is a wrongful death action under the Federal Employers' Liability Act, 45 U.S.C.A. § 51 et seq. The decedent, William M. Haley, was, at the time of his death, a conductor of a train performing certain switching duties near the Falsen gravel pit in North Dakota. The main railroad track near this pit runs northwest and southeast and passes the Falsen pit on the south. There is an auxiliary track or siding which runs parallel to the main track for some 1,900 feet before turning north toward the pit itself. There are two switches which may turn cars bound northwesterly onto this siding. These switches are 1,494.4 feet apart, and will be referred to as the east switch and the west switch. The train in charge of Haley had come from the northwest and its assignment was to pick up some outfit cars standing at the east end of the siding, a short distance off the main track. Haley instructed the train crew regarding the type of switching operations to be conducted, and then got off the train at the west switch. The train proceeded on past the east switch and then proceeded in an attempt to couple the caboose onto the east end of the outfit cars. This was to be accomplished by running the train westerly along the main track at about four to twelve miles per hour, releasing the caboose and "running away from it" and then switching the moving caboose off onto the siding. Due to the conceded negligence of brakeman Quandt, the engine itself was switched onto the siding and collided with the outfit cars. This collision was not severe; no cars were damaged, and certain occupants of the outfit cars received only minor injuries. The plaintiff herein contends that, as a direct and proximate result of this accident, Haley received injuries and was caused to exert himself in a strenuous physical activity which caused his death.

The depositions on file, which apparently include the testimony of all available eyewitnesses to the occurrence, disclose that Haley was some 1,400 feet from the scene of the collision when it occurred and that after the accident he was seen near the west switch, walking along the main track. Thereafter, he gave additional instructions to brakeman Quandt about switching that remained to be done. At this time he did not appear excited. Haley telephoned the Verendrye depot and notified the district roadmaster of the occurrence. After the arrival of the roadmaster and about twenty minutes after the accident, Haley fell to the ground, gasping for breath, and died. The deposition of Dr. Paul J. Breslich, who performed an autopsy upon the body of Haley, shows that Haley had been suffering for some time from coronary arteriosclerosis, that there was no evidence of any other disease, and that Haley could have died from a heart attack brought on by strenuous physical or emotional activity occurring shortly before his death.

Plaintiff's counsel, in opposition to this motion for summary judgment, has filed with the Court his own affidavit to the effect that Haley, although not in the immediate vicinity of the collision, was in a position to see what was going to happen and started running for the switch and waving his arms. There is an absence of any showing in the depositions or otherwise which supports counsel's statement in this regard. The complete answer to the question of the relevancy on this kind of an affidavit on a motion for summary judgment is found in Rule 56(e), Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, 28 U.S.C.A., which states that "Supporting and opposing affidavits shall be made on personal knowledge, shall set forth such facts as would be admissible in evidence, and shall show affirmatively that the affiant is competent to testify to the matters stated therein."

The only issue raised, therefore, is whether there can be recovery for the physical consequences of fright or shock which results from seeing another person placed in peril by the defendant's conduct. The preliminary question whether there can ever be recovery for injuries brought on by fright where there is no physical impact is not raised here. Defendant apparently concedes that if Haley had been put in personal danger by its conduct, then it would not matter that the threatened impact did not actually occur, if his shock was the proximate result of that personal peril. Therefore, the cases of Urie v. Thompson, 1949, 337 U.S. 163, 69 S.Ct. 1018, 93 L.Ed. 1282; Miller v. Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Ry. Co., 7 Cir., 1949, 177 F.2d 224, and Williams v. Atlantic Coast Line R. Co., 5 Cir., 1951, 190 F.2d 744, cited by plaintiff, are not in point.

It must be held at the outset that the defendant's negligence toward the occupants of the outfit cars, though conceded, does not in any respect enhance plaintiff's claim that Haley was entitled to be protected against invasion of his emotional security. It has been stated repeatedly that negligence is a term of relation, and that a plaintiff cannot recover on the basis of a breach of a duty owed to a third person, but must show a "wrong" to himself. See Palsgraf v. Long Island R. Co., 1928, 248 N. Y. 339, 162 N.E. 99, 59 A.L.R. 1253; Boyd v. City of Duluth, 1914, 126 Minn. 33, 147 N.W. 710; 2 Restatement, Torts § 281 comment c. This rule has been accepted by the federal courts both as part of the law of admiralty, see Sinram v. Pennsylvania R. Co., 2 Cir., 1932, 61 F.2d 767, and as part of the Federal Employers' Liability Act. See Chesapeake & Ohio R. Co. v. Mihas, 1929, 280 U.S. 102, 50 S.Ct. 42, 74 L.Ed. 207; Chesapeake & Ohio R. Co. v. Nixon, 1926, 271 U.S. 218, 220, 46 S.Ct. 495, 70 L.Ed. 914; Carfelo v. Delaware, L. & W. R. Co., 2 Cir., 1931, 54 F.2d 475; Norfolk & W. R. Co. v. Kratzer, 6 Cir., 1930, 37 F.2d 522. This view seems in keeping with the fundamental basis for the imposition of liability for unintended harm. If negligence consists of exposing another to an unreasonable risk, liability should not be extended to one placed in no foreseeable risk by the defendant's conduct. The defendant's liability should, it would seem, be limited by the reasons creating it, and since liability is imposed because a defendant has ignored the interests of an injured person, that liability cannot logically be extended to one whose interests the defendant has not disregarded. The primary issue is one of defendant's duty to the deceased, not that of proximate cause. The question presented, therefore, is whether the plaintiff's interest in emotional and physical security is legally protectible against the particular kind of conduct disclosed by the evidence.

Upon the uncontradicted showing made herein, it would seem that, as a matter of law, plaintiff cannot recover from the defendant for injuries caused to Haley by the shock of perceiving the collision between the engine and the outfit cars. No reasonable person could find that the brakeman, who here failed to throw the switch properly which would have kept the engine on the main track and heading toward Haley, could have foreseen that his failure to throw the switch would cause emotional distress to Haley so severe as to result in physical harm. Surely, the possibility that such could be the result of the brakeman's inaction is so remote that his failure to take such a possibility into account could not be labeled negligence as to Haley. The risk created by his conduct was that persons or property near the unintended path of the engine would be harmed. It is apparent that Haley was wholly outside that risk. Any boundary fixed to limit the responsibility of an actor for the harm he causes must be somewhat arbitrary. But a line must somewhere be drawn, and the Court is persuaded that to impose liability for emotional distress arising solely because of Haley's concern for the safety of the men in the outfit cars or the company's property would be wholly out of proportion to the culpability of the brakeman's conduct.

There are numerous authorities supporting this proposition of law. See Minkus v. Coca Cola Bottling Co., D.C. N.D.Cal.1942, 44 F.Supp. 10; Kelly v. Fretz, 1937, 19 Cal.App.2d 356, 65 P.2d 914; Cleveland, C., C. & St. L. Ry. Co. v. Stewart, 1900, 24 Ind.App. 374, 56 N. E. 917; State, for Use of Aronoff v. Baltimore Transit Co., 1951, 197 Md. 528, 80 A.2d 13, 28 A.L.R.2d 1062; Sanderson v. Northern Pac. R., 1902, 88 Minn. 162, 92 N.W. 542, 60 L.R.A. 403; Cote v. Litawa, 1950, 96 N.H. 174, 71 A.2d 792, 18 A.L.R.2d...