Canadian National/Ill. Cent. R. Co. v. Hall

• Citation: 953 So.2d 1084
• Decision Date: 12 April 2007
• Docket Number: No. 2005-CA-00206-SCT.,2005-CA-00206-SCT.
• Parties: CANADIAN NATIONAL/ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY, A Corporation v. James Wesley HALL.
• Court: United States State Supreme Court of Mississippi

953 So.2d 1084

CANADIAN NATIONAL/ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY, A Corporation v. James Wesley HALL.

No. 2005-CA-00206-SCT.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

April 12, 2007.

Charles Henry Russell, III, Charles T. Ozier, Jackson, attorneys for appellant.

Robert M. Frey, Jackson, Christopher Allen Keith, attorneys for appellee.

EN BANC.

DICKINSON, Justice, for the Court.

¶ 1. This is a claim brought by an injured railroad employee pursuant to the Federal Employer's Liability Act ("FELA"), 45 U.S.C. § 51 (1939). A Hinds County jury found the railroad liable for damages in the amount of $1,501,907.97, and the railroad timely perfected an appeal.

BACKGROUND FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS

¶ 2. On August 2, 2000, James Wesley Hall was working for his employer, Canadian National/Illinois Central Railroad Company ("Illinois Central"), as part of a four-man railroad switching crew, sorting out railroad cars as they arrived in the Jackson Yard ("the Yard"). Hall had been doing this job for 39 years. Although Illinois Central had safety rule T-740 in effect, which stated that employees must not mount moving locomotives except when necessary, Hall and his co-workers testified that sorting the cars required them to mount (that is, step or jump onto) moving equipment regularly. On this day, the Yard was muddy as a result of periodic rain. Hall testified that this mud was greasy and slippery due to its mixture with rotting feed and oil which regularly leaked from the passing trains. The slippery mud was neither covered with ballast, nor did the Illinois Central provide any facilities for the employees to wash the mixture off their boots. Hall testified that he and other employees complained about the slippery conditions of the Yard, but Illinois Central did nothing to alleviate the condition.

¶ 3. In addition to rule T-740, Illinois Central had a general safety rule in effect which directed employees to use their discretion in determining whether or not an activity was safe. The rule further instructed employees to take the time to work safely on the job. Illinois Central issued Hall and other crew members handheld radio devices, which could be used to contact one another or notify an engineer that a crew member was going to mount the moving locomotive, but this was not required. Although there was some testimony that other employees used the radio devices to stop or slow a locomotive in order to get on, it is undisputed that on this occasion Hall did not radio the engineer to stop or slow the locomotive so that he could step aboard.

¶ 4. Although Hall had successfully mounted a moving locomotive thousands of times a year during his 39-year career, on this occasion his foot slipped off the moving locomotive, causing him to fall and sustain serious leg injuries.¹

¶ 5. Hall filed suit pursuant to FELA, claiming that Illinois Central failed to provide him with a reasonably safe work environment. At the close of trial, the jury returned a verdict in favor of Hall in the amount of $1,501,907.97, with no reduction for contributory negligence on the part of Hall. After being denied relief through post-trial motions, Illinois Central appealed.

ANALYSIS

¶ 6. Illinois Central raises seven issues on appeal, which we have consolidated into five. Because Illinois Central seeks reversal of a jury verdict, we must review all factual issues in the light most favorable to and supportive of the verdict. See Henson v. Roberts, 679 So.2d 1041, 1045 (Miss.1996) (citing Wells Fargo Armored Serv. Corp. v. Turner, 543 So.2d 154, 157 (Miss.1989)).

I. POST-TRIAL MOTIONS

¶ 7. The first issue is whether the trial court erred in denying Illinois Central's post-trial motions. At the close of Hall's case-in-chief, Illinois Central moved for a directed verdict, arguing that Hall failed to prove his prima facie case of liability under FELA. The motion was denied by the trial court. Following the entry of judgment upon the jury verdict, Illinois Central filled a motion for a judgment not withstanding the verdict, or in the alternative for a new trial or remittitur. This motion was also denied by the trial court. On appeal, Illinois Central argues that the trial court erred in denying its post-trial motions, which we shall separately review.

A.

¶ 8. At the close of Hall's case-in-chief, Illinois Central moved for a directed verdict arguing that Hall failed to meet his burden of proof under FELA. Illinois Central argued that Hall's four allegations of negligence² against Illinois Central were not supported by the evidence. The trial court granted the directed verdict on Hall's claim of inadequate locomotive maintenance and inspection, but denied the motion as to the other claims.

¶ 9. Motions for a directed verdict are provided by the rules of civil procedure to allow one party to challenge the legal sufficiency of the other party's case. Miss. R. Civ. P. 50(a). A motion for a directed verdict is considered by the court before the verdict is rendered or final judgment is entered. White v. Stewman, 932 So.2d 27, 32 (Miss.2006). This Court conducts a de novo review of a trial court's grant or denial of a motion for a directed verdict. Entergy Miss. Inc. v. Bolden, 854 So.2d 1051, 1055 (Miss.2003). Because the evidence must be considered in the light most favorable to the non-movant, Hall is entitled to the benefit of all favorable inferences that may be reasonably drawn from the evidence presented. Id. If there is "substantial evidence in support of the verdict, that is, evidence of such quality and weight that reasonable and fair minded jurors in the exercise of impartial judgment might have reached different conclusions, affirmance is required." Cmty. Bank v. Courtney, 884 So.2d 767, 772 (Miss.2004). Therefore, in order to determine whether the motion for a directed verdict was properly denied, we must address whether Hall put on sufficient evidence during his case-in-chief to create a question of fact with which reasonable jurors could disagree.

¶ 10. Hall brought his claim against Illinois Central under FELA. FELA provides in pertinent part that:

every common carrier by railroad while engaging in [interstate] commerce . . . shall be liable for damages to any person suffering injury while he is employed by such carrier in such commerce . . . resulting in whole or in part from the negligence of any of the officers, agents, or employees of such carrier, or by reason of any defect or insufficiency, due to its negligence, in its cars, engines, appliances, machinery, track, roadbed, works, boats, wharves or other equipment.

45 U.S.C. § 51. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has stated that "[t]o prevail under the Act, a plaintiff must prove that (1) the defendant is a common carrier by railroad engaged in interstate commerce; (2) he was employed by the defendant with duties advancing such commerce; (3) his injuries were sustained while he was so employed; and (4) his injuries resulted from the defendant's negligence." Smith v. Med. & Surgical Clinic Ass'n, 118 F.3d 416, 419 (5th Cir. 1997).

¶ 11. At issue in this case is whether Hall's injuries resulted from Illinois Central's negligence or, more specifically, whether Hall proved that Illinois Central's negligence was the cause of his injuries.

¶ 12. Illinois Central argues that in order to recover under FELA, Hall must prove the traditional common law elements of a negligence cause of action, i.e. duty, breach, causation and damages. Illinois Central further argues that its duty to Hall under FELA was "to use reasonable care and prudence so that the work place and the appliances furnished are reasonably suitable and safe for the purpose and in the circumstances in which they are to be used."

¶ 13. The United States Supreme Court has established that FELA supplants an employer's common law duty with a "far more drastic duty of paying damages for injury or death at work due in whole or in part to the employer's negligence." Rogers v. Missouri Pac. R.R. Co., 352 U.S. 500, 507-08, 77 S.Ct. 443, 449, 1 L.Ed.2d 493, 500 (1957). Under the statute, the plaintiff's burden of proving causation is significantly relaxed compared to the burden in an ordinary negligence action. Consolidated Rail Corp. v. Gottshall, 512 U.S. 532, 543, 114 S.Ct. 2396, 2404, 129 L.Ed.2d 427 (1994). The question is "whether negligence of the employer played any part, however small, in the injury or death which is the subject of the suit." Rogers, 352 U.S. at 508, 77 S.Ct. 443.

¶ 14. In this case, the jury considered Hall's claim that Illinois Central failed to provide a reasonably safe work environment by (1) allowing employees to mount moving equipment; (2) allowing Hall to mount moving equipment when it had been raining; and (3) allowing the Yard to accumulate mud and oil on its walkways.³ In support of its motion for a directed verdict, Illinois Central argued that Hall failed to prove his work environment was not reasonably safe, as required under FELA. However, giving Hall the benefit of all favorable inferences that may be reasonably drawn from the evidence, and considering the relaxed burden of proving causation, we find that the trial court did not err in denying Illinois Central's motion for a directed verdict.

¶ 15. Hall's evidence sufficiently created a question of fact as to whether Illinois Central failed to provide a reasonably safe work environment. Hall testified that on the day of his injury, he was acting in accordance with his training and in compliance with Illinois Central's safety rules, which required him to mount moving locomotives. Furthermore, William "Bubba" Kearn, ("Kearn") Hall's co-worker, testified that it was part of his job at Illinois Central to mount moving locomotives. As to Hall's first claim of negligence, concerning Illinois Central's practice of allowing employees to mount moving equipment, Hall's expert, Dennis Berquist ("Berquist"), testified that Illinois Central...