City of Jacksonville v. Franco, s. EE-488

• Decision Date: 02 August 1978
• Docket Number: EE-499,Nos. EE-488,s. EE-488
• Citation: 361 So.2d 209
• Parties: CITY OF JACKSONVILLE, a municipal corporation, and the Travelers Insurance Company, a corporation, Appellants, v. Virginia J. FRANCO, as Administratrix of the Estate of Maurice Charles Franco, Jr., Deceased and Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Company, a corporation, Appellees. SEABOARD COAST LINE RAILROAD COMPANY, Appellant, v. CITY OF JACKSONVILLE and Travelers Insurance Company, Appellees.
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals

Page 209

361 So.2d 209

CITY OF JACKSONVILLE, a municipal corporation, and the Travelers Insurance Company, a corporation, Appellants, v. Virginia J. FRANCO, as Administratrix of the Estate of Maurice Charles Franco, Jr., Deceased and Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Company, a corporation, Appellees.

SEABOARD COAST LINE RAILROAD COMPANY, Appellant, v. CITY OF JACKSONVILLE and Travelers Insurance Company, Appellees.

Nos. EE-488, EE-499.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District.

Aug. 2, 1978.

Rehearing Denied Aug. 28, 1978.

George Stelljes, Jr., of Marks, Gray, Conroy & Gibbs, Jacksonville, for City of Jacksonville.

William C. Gentry, Joseph P. Milton, Jacksonville, Hugh C. Griffin of Lord, Bissell & Brook, Chicago, Ill., E. Dale Joyner of Toole, Taylor, Moseley, Milton & Joyner, Jacksonville, for Virginia J. Franco et al.

E. Dale Joyner of Toole, Taylor, Moseley, Milton & Joyner, Jacksonville, Hugh C. Griffin of Lord, Bissell & Brook, Chicago, Ill., for Seaboard Coastline R. Co.

MELVIN, Judge.

Defendant-appellant, the City of Jacksonville, and the defendant, appellee and cross-appellant Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Company appeal from final judgments entered against them in litigation that arose out of a collision between an automobile driven by plaintiff's decedent, Maurice Charles Franco, Jr., and a Seaboard train at a crossing near the intersection of Lane Avenue and Beaver Street in the City of Jacksonville, Florida. The appellant, City of Jacksonville, seeks to reverse an indemnity judgment entered in favor of Seaboard Coast Line Railroad for a portion of plaintiff's judgment, and the appellee and cross-appellant Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Company seeks reversal of a judgment entered by the trial court, the effect of which was to refuse to grant to the railroad full indemnity from the City for the total amount of plaintiff's judgment. These cases have been consolidated for the purpose of appellate review. Plaintiff Franco's judgment is not here for review.

At all times material, the City of Jacksonville and Duval County were merged into a single governmental unit. The City of Jacksonville will be referred to as the City and Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Company will be referred to as Seaboard. Plaintiff and her decedent will be referred to as Franco.

Franco sued Seaboard alleging that it was negligent in the maintenance of the crossing and the operation of its train at the time and place of the accident. Seaboard filed a third party complaint against the City alleging that if the accident was due to any cause other than decedent's own negligence, it was caused by the City's failure to abide by its contractual obligation with Seaboard to maintain its traffic signal and traffic signal interconnection system at the Lane-Beaver intersection and alleged further that said indemnity contract obligated the City to indemnify Seaboard from All liability and damage that was a result of the accident.

Franco filed a separate cause of action against the City alleging that the City's traffic signal interconnection system at the Lane and Beaver intersection did not operate so as to allow northbound motor vehicular traffic on Lane Avenue time to clear the tracks when the railroad signals were activated, all of which forced Franco to stop on the tracks. It was established that he was faced with and trapped by a red light blocking him and the cars ahead of him on Lane Avenue from entering the Beaver Street intersection.

Beaver Street and Seaboard tracks, separated by a distance of 40 feet, run in an east-west direction and Lane Avenue runs in a north-south direction across the tracks to intersect Beaver Street.

The record reveals that by reason of an indemnity agreement entered into between the City and Seaboard, Seaboard allowed the City to connect a traffic signal interconnection system controlling the City's traffic light at the Lane Avenue-Beaver Street intersection to Seaboard's warning system so that when an approaching train would activate Seaboard's flashing red lights and bells at the crossing warning of the train's approach, the City's interconnect system would also cause the traffic light at said intersection to turn to and remain green,...