Caletz ex rel. Estate of Colon v. Blackmon
| Decision Date | 06 March 2007 |
| Docket Number | No. 99 C 8146.,No. 03 C 318.,99 C 8146.,03 C 318. |
| Citation | 476 F.Supp.2d 946 |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois |
| Parties | Stephanie CALETZ, as Special Administrator of the ESTATE OF Crystal COLON, a minor, Deceased; Stephanie Caletz, Individually; Mario Caletz, Individually; Stephanie Caletz and Mario Caletz, as parents and next friends of Brandon Caletz, a minor; and Stephanie Caletz and Mario Caletz, as parents and next friends of Joel Caletz, a minor, Shane Evans and Shannon Evans, Plaintiffs, v. Jesse BLACKMON; Robert Lachowski; Transport Carriers, Inc.; and American Shipping & Packing, Inc., Defendants. |
Larry R. Rogers, Powers, Rogers & Smith, Michael D. Spinak, Spinak, Levinson, Babcock & Iversen, Chicago, IL, for Plaintiffs.
Charlotte S. Kormendy, Meckler, Bulger & Tilson, David F. Ryan, John William Patton, Jr., Patton & Ryan, LLC, Gregory G. Vacala, Rubin, Patton, et al., Melville Nickerson, Rusin, Patton, Maciorowski & Friedman, Ltd., Philip M. Abellera, Richard A. Barrett, Jr., Rudolf G. Schade, Jr., Cassiday, Schade & Gloor, Michael Evan Silverman, Mark F. Wolfe, Bollinger, Ruberry and Garvey, Lew Reuben Charles Bricker, O'Hagan, Smith & Amundsen, L.L.C., John M. O'Driscoll, Michael John Fusz, Tressler, Soderstrom, Maloney & Priess, Chicago, IL, for Defendants.
Daniel Joseph Nolan, Gerald Vernon Cleary, III, Lawrence Redmond Smith, O'Hagan, Smith & Amundsen, L.L.C., Travis Gary Maisel, Law Offices of Travis Gary Maisel, Robert P. Kile, Moore, Maisel and Strickland, Chicago, IL, for Plaintiffs/Defendants.
This matter is before the Court on defendants Jesse Blackmon ("Blackmon") and Transport Carriers, Inc.'s ("TCI") post-trial motion. Defendants filed a consolidated post-trial motion that includes: a motion for judgment as a matter of law pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 50(b); a motion for a new trial on all issues pursuant to Rule 59(a); a motion for a new trial on damages pursuant to Rule 59(a); a motion for remittitur; and a motion to amend the judgment pursuant to Rule 59(e). For the reasons set forth below, defendants' consolidated post-trial motion is denied in its entirety.
This diversity action arises out of a multi-vehicle accident that occurred on July 1, 1999 along the Chicago Skyway northbound off-ramp leading to the Dan Ryan Expressway. Mario Caletz and Stephanie Caletz, individually, and as Special Administrator of the Estate of Crystal Colon, and as parents and next friends of Brandon Caletz and Joel Caletz ("the Caletz plaintiffs"), filed a lawsuit against defendants Blackmon and TCI and defendants Robert Lachowski ("Lachowski") and American Shipping & Packing, Inc. ("ASP"). The Caletz plaintiffs alleged that they were injured and that Crystal Colon died as a result of the negligence and willful and wanton conduct of defendants Blackmon and TCI. They also alleged that they were injured and that Crystal Colon died as a result of the negligence of Lachowski and ASP.
Shane Evans and Shannon Evans ("the Evans plaintiffs") filed a separate lawsuit arising out of the same accident. Shane Evans alleged that he was injured as a result of the negligence of defendants Blackmon, TCI, Lachowski and ASP. Shannon Evans, Shane's wife, brought a loss of consortium claim. The two cases were consolidated and the matter proceeded to a jury trial that commenced on August 21, 2006.
During the trial, a number of witnesses gave varying accounts of how the accident occurred. Based on the testimony at trial, it appears that on July 1, 1999, at approximately 5:30 AM, on the Skyway's northbound off-ramp leading to the Dan Ryan Expressway, Blackmon lost control of the tractor he was driving on behalf of TCI. Blackmon's tractor was not pulling a trailer at the time of the accident. Blackmon testified that where the two-lane off-ramp merged into one lane, he was cut off by a pickup truck. He turned his wheel to the right to avoid hitting the pickup truck and struck the right guardrail. After trying to straighten out, Blackmon said he ended up on the left side of the road with his front end up against the left curb. Other witnesses testified that Blackmon lost control of the tractor, hit the right guardrail and then hit the left guardrail. Blackmon's tractor ended up perpendicular to the roadway, with his front end flush with left guardrail. Even Blackmon agreed that when he came to rest, the rear of his tractor was obstructing a portion of the lane of traffic.
When Blackmon lost control, Mario Caletz was driving behind him in a minivan. Lachowski, who was driving a furniture truck on behalf of ASP, was behind the Caletz's. Mario Caletz slowed down to avoid hitting Blackmon and pumped his breaks to let people behind him know what was happening. Lachowski applied his breaks but could not slow down in time. He struck the Caletz's and the rear left tires of Blackmon's tractor. At some point, Blackmon was ejected from his tractor onto the grass beside the Dan Ryan Expressway. Blackmon claimed he was ejected when Lachowski struck him. Other witnesses testified that Blackmon was ejected when he struck the left guardrail.
Blackmon testified that as much as 15-20 seconds passed between the time he came to rest and the time Lachowski hit his tractor and the Caletz minivan. Other witnesses, including Bryan Eliott and Mark Lichte, testified that Lachowski hit Blackmon and the Caletz's only 5 or 6 seconds after Blackmon lost control of his tractor.
The accident occurred just before dawn, while it was raining or misty. Visibility was poor and the roadway was wet and slippery. Blackmon hit the right guardrail just after coming out of a curve, where two lanes merged into one. Blackmon was an experienced professional truck driver who testified that he was familiar with the area where the accident occurred. Blackmon also testified that he did not believe that hazardous conditions existed at the time of the accident.
Just prior to the Blackmon/Lachowski/Caletz accident, Shane Evans had been in an unrelated fender bender and he had pulled over to the right shoulder of the off-ramp. The Evans vehicle was located a few car lengths down the ramp. When Blackmon lost control of his tractor, Shane Evans and the passengers in his car attempted to get out of their vehicle and jump over the right guardrail to safety. However, the impact between Lachowski, Blackmon and the Caletz's pushed all of the vehicles forward. Lachowski sideswiped the left side of Evans' vehicle as he came to a stop. Shane Evans was not able to get out of his car in time. Ultimately, Lachowski's furniture truck pinned Shane Evans between his vehicle and the right guardrail.
As a result of the multi-vehicle accident, Crystal Colon, Stephanie Caletz's nine year-old daughter, died. Brandon Caletz, Joel Caletz and Shane Evans all sustained serious personal injuries. Mario Caletz and Stephanie Caletz sustained less serious personal injuries.
After a seven-day trial, the jury returned a verdict in favor of all plaintiffs and against defendants Blackmon, TCI, Lachowski and ASP in the amount of $15,443,093.80. The jury found that Blackmon and TCI were 25 percent at fault and Lachowski and ASP were 75 percent at fault.
Blackmon and TCI ask this Court to enter judgment as a matter of law pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 50(b). They argue that even assuming there was evidence of Blackmon's negligence, that negligence merely provided a condition for the accident and was not a proximate cause of the accident. Blackmon and TCI also argue that there was no evidence that Blackmon was guilty of willful and wanton misconduct.
While Illinois provides the substantive rules for this diversity case, federal law governs our consideration of a motion for judgment as a matter of law under Rule 50(b). 3M v. Pribyl, 259 F.3d 587, 595 (7th Cir.2001); see also, Mayer v. Gary Partners and Co., Ltd., 29 F.3d 330, 335 (7th Cir.1994). When ruling on a motion for judgment as a matter of law following a jury verdict, the Court does not re-weigh the evidence presented at trial or make credibility determinations. See Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Prods., Inc., 530 U.S. 133, 150, 120 S.Ct. 2097, 147 L.Ed.2d 105 (2000); see Fed.R.Civ.P. 50(b). Instead, the Court views the evidence and makes all reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the party against whom the motion is directed. See Reeves, 530 U.S. at 150-51, 120 S.Ct. 2097; Erickson v. Wisconsin Dep't Corrections, 469 F.3d 600, 601 (7th Cir.2006). "[T]he question is not whether the jury believed the right people, but only whether it was presented with a legally sufficient amount of evidence from which it could reasonably derive its verdict." Zelinski v. Columbia 300, Inc., 335 F.3d 633, 638 (7th Cir.2003). In other words, the Court will overturn the jury's verdict only if no reasonable juror could have found in favor of the plaintiffs. See Erickson, 469 F.3d at 601. "This is obviously a difficult standard to meet." Waite v. Board of Trs. of Ill. Cmty. Coll. Dist. No. 508, 408 F.3d 339, 343 (7th Cir. 2005).
Blackmon and TCI argue that assuming Blackmon lost control of his tractor and negligently blocked a portion of the lane of traffic, that conduct merely created a condition for the accident but was not a proximate cause of the accident. Blackmon and TCI also contend that it was not reasonably foreseeable that Lachowski would drive too fast around a blind curve, particularly when he should have expected stopped cars on the Skyway off-ramp.
Under Illinois law, proximate cause has two requirements: cause in fact and legal cause. See Springfield Bank and Trust v. Galman, 188 Ill.2d 252, 256, 242 Ill.Dec. 113, 720 N.E.2d 1068, 1071 (1999); Lee v. Chicago Transit Authority, 152 Ill.2d 432,...
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