City of Atlanta v. Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority

• Decision Date: 18 February 1993
• Docket Number: No. S92G1163,S92G1163
• Citation: City of Atlanta v. Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, 425 S.E.2d 862, 262 Ga. 743 (Ga. 1993)
• Parties: CITY OF ATLANTA v. METROPOLITAN ATLANTA RAPID TRANSIT AUTHORITY, et al.
• Court: Georgia Supreme Court

Page 862

425 S.E.2d 862

262 Ga. 743

CITY OF ATLANTA v. METROPOLITAN ATLANTA RAPID TRANSIT AUTHORITY, et al.

No. S92G1163.

Supreme Court of Georgia.

Feb. 18, 1993.

Michael V. Coleman, Atlanta City Atty., Joe M. Harris, Jr., Sarah Ingram Mills, Assoc. City Atty., Atlanta, for City of Atlanta.

Nicholas C. Moraitakis and Martha D. Turner, Gorby, Reeves, Moraitakis & Whiteman, Atlanta, for Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority.

Michael E. Fisher, Marta Law Dept., Atlanta.

Walter E. Sumner, Theresa F. Gilstrap, Atlanta, for amicus curiae appellant.

CLARKE, Chief Justice.

A MARTA bus collided with a vehicle driven by Patricia Bauer while they were driving on DeKalb Avenue in the City of Atlanta (City). Bauer died as a result of this collision, and her estate sued MARTA and the driver of the MARTA bus on a negligence theory. Bauer's estate also sued the City of Atlanta in nuisance for maintaining a dangerous traffic signal which, the estate alleged, was a contributing proximate cause of the collision. MARTA and the bus driver filed a cross-claim for contribution against the City, alleging that it had created and maintained a nuisance which contributed to the collision.

Subsequently, MARTA settled with Bauer's estate, and the estate dismissed the complaint. The case proceeded to a jury trial on the contribution cross-claim. The jury returned a verdict in favor of MARTA and the bus driver, finding that the traffic signal in question was a nuisance and "a proximate concurring cause" of the collision. The Court of Appeals affirmed. City of Atlanta v. MARTA, et al., 204 Ga.App. 387, 419 S.E.2d 330 (1992). We granted certiorari to determine whether the traffic signal in question created a nuisance for which the City was liable. We conclude that, under the limited circumstances of this case, the traffic signal, as a matter of law, did not constitute a nuisance, and therefore reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeals.

The portion of DeKalb Avenue on which the collision occurred consists of three lanes. The middle lane is reversible, bounded by double, dashed, yellow lines, and is regulated by an overhead traffic device which, at the time of the collision, varyingly displayed red, green or yellow signals, depending on the traffic flow at different times of day. The bus driver testified at trial that he was in this reversible lane, attempting to pass a vehicle on his right, when he saw Bauer driving directly toward him in the reversible lane. In an attempt to avoid a head-on collision, he steered into the lane to his left. In a defensive action, Bauer moved into the same lane, and their vehicles collided. Bauer died minutes later. At the time of the collision, the signal regulating the middle lane was flashing a yellow "X" in both directions. The bus driver testified at trial that he thought it permissible to drive in the middle lane to pass another vehicle when the overhead traffic signal was flashing a yellow "X."

Additional evidence at trial showed that other collisions had occurred in the reversible lane on DeKalb Avenue during the times it was regulated by a flashing yellow "X" signal. There was also evidence which showed that the accident rate for DeKalb Avenue was not significantly different for times when the reversible lane signal was flashing a yellow "X" and when it was not, and was, in fact, somewhat lower than the national average of collisions for similar roadways.

The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways, adopted by the City and the Georgia Department of Transportation, indicates a lane governed by a flashing yellow "X" should be used for left turns. Further, the Georgia Driver's Manual, published by the Georgia Department of Public Safety, states that a "steady" yellow "X" used as a lane control signal means the driver must stay clear of the lane, while a "flashing" yellow "X" lane control signal means that a left turn is permitted in that lane.

It is undisputed that the City installed, maintained and regulated the traffic signal in question. The record also shows that the traffic signal at issue and reversible lane configuration on DeKalb Avenue are in conformity with the Uniform Manual of Traffic Control Devices. There is no contention that the traffic signal was functioning improperly at the time of the collision.

MARTA argues that the jury was authorized to find that the flashing yellow "X" traffic signal was a continuously dangerous condition which amounted to a nuisance, and therefore was a proximate contributing cause of the collision. To support its position MARTA points to the opinion of its expert, a traffic engineer, who testified at trial that a flashing, yellow "X" signal is confusing to drivers. The Court of Appeals agreed with MARTA's argument,...