CSX Transp., Inc. v. Haischer

• Citation: 824 A.2d 966,151 Md. App. 147
• Decision Date: 30 April 2003
• Docket Number: No. 1716,1716
• Parties: CSX TRANSPORTATION, INC. v. Francis L. HAISCHER.
• Court: Court of Special Appeals of Maryland

824 A.2d 966

151 Md. App. 147

CSX TRANSPORTATION, INC. v. Francis L. HAISCHER.

No. 1716, Sept. Term, 2001.

Court of Special Appeals of Maryland.

April 30, 2003.

Reconsideration Denied June 25, 2003.

Douglas Murray (Stephen B. Caplis, on brief), Baltimore, for appellant.

David S. Schnitzer (Bondurant & Appleton, P.C., on brief), Portsmouth, VA, for appellee.

Argued before MURPHY, C.J., DEBORAH S. EYLER, SHARER, JJ.

SHARER, J.

Following a jury trial in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, a verdict was returned in favor of Francis L. Haischer, appellee, against his employer, CSX Transportation, Inc. ("CSXT"), appellant. In this appeal, CSXT presents the following questions for review:

I. Was the evidence presented insufficient as a matter of law to prove a violation of the Boiler Inspection Act, 49 U.S.C. § 20701?

A. Was there legally sufficient evidence that the locomotive parts and appurtenances were not in proper condition?

B. Was there legally sufficient evidence that the locomotive, its parts and appurtenances, were unsafe to operate without unnecessary danger of personal injury?

II. Did the trial court err by failing to permit CSXT to introduce evidence regarding the annuity payments Haischer is receiving from the Railroad Retirement Board?

More specifically, with respect to the first issue, CSXT suggests (1) that the trial judge erred by not granting its motion for judgment and (2) that the evidence, as to its liability, was insufficient to support the jury verdict. With respect to its second issue, CSXT suggests that the trial court erred by not permitting it to introduce collateral source evidence.

We shall answer the first question in the negative. As to the second, however, we agree with CSXT and shall reverse and remand for a new trial on damages.

FACTUAL and PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Haischer brought this action in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City pursuant to the Federal Employers' Liability Act¹ ("FELA") and the Boiler Inspection Act² ("BIA"), seeking damages for a personal injury suffered in the course of his employment as a locomotive engineer for CSXT. He dismissed his FELA claim prior to trial and elected to proceed only on the BIA claim. Haischer was injured on March 1, 2000, while working a regular shift as a locomotive engineer. As he was ascending the stairs from the nose of the locomotive to the cab, he struck his left shoulder on the bottom edge of the cover of the Head Train Device ("HTD") that had fallen open. The door of the HTD cabinet, which was hinged at the bottom and hence opened downward, should have been secured in a closed position by screws along the top edge. However, the screws had inexplicably come loose, causing the cabinet door to fall open sometime during Haischer's duty hours.

Following the incident, on March 20, 2000, Haischer sought treatment from an orthopaedic surgeon, who diagnosed an acute exacerbation of a preexisting calcium deposit. Surgery disclosed a rotator cuff tear in his left shoulder. After March 1, 2000, Haischer did not return to work at CSXT, nor did he secure employment elsewhere.

Haischer's complaint alleged that he was entitled to compensation because his injury resulted from his employer's violation of the Boiler Inspection Act, 49 U.S.C. § 20701, which provides:

A railroad carrier may use or allow to be used a locomotive or tender on its railroad line only when the locomotive or tender and its parts and appurtenances—

(1) are in proper condition and safe to operate without unnecessary danger of personal injury;

(2) have been inspected as required under this chapter ... and regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Transportation under this chapter ...; and

(3) can withstand every test prescribed by the Secretary under this chapter....

A jury trial commenced on September 6, 2001, and continued for five days. At the close of Haischer's case, CSXT moved for judgment, contending that the evidence was insufficient to support a finding of a violation of the BIA. CSXT renewed the motion at the close of all the evidence. The trial court reserved ruling on both motions until after the jury verdict (thus, the latter motion effectively became a motion for JNOV). On September 12, 2001, the jury returned a verdict for Haischer, and awarded damages in the total of $203,898.

Thereafter, on October 3, 2001, the trial court issued a memorandum and order denying both CSXT motions, stating:

While this Court questions whether Congress intended for the BIA to impose strict liability on railroad carriers for every malfunction on any piece of equipment appended to a locomotive, this Court has been cited to no legislative history supporting that interpretation.

Case law supports a liberal, expansive construction of the BIA in favor of railroad workers. In Lilly v. Grand Trunk Western R. Co., 317 U.S. 481, 63 S.Ct. 347, 87 L.Ed. 411 (1943), the U.S. Supreme Court stated, "Negligence is not the basis for liability under the Act. Instead, it `imposes upon the carrier an absolute and continuing duty to maintain the locomotive, and all parts and appurtenances thereof, in proper condition, and safe to operate ... without unnecessary peril to life or limb.'" Id. at 485, 63 S.Ct. 347 (citing Southern Ry. Co. v. Lunsford, 297 U.S. 398, 401, 56 S.Ct. 504, 80 L.Ed. 740 (1936)). Whether or not the locomotive is unsafe to operate is an issue for the fact finder. Topping v. CSX Transportation, Inc., 1 F.3d 260, 261 (1993). Railroad carriers are strictly liable for resultant injuries, if it is determined that unsafe conditions exist. Id. In the present case, a jury has determined that CSXT has violated the BIA by failing to maintain the locomotive in proper condition, safe to operate.

Based on the lack of legislative history and the status of case precedent, CXST's [sic] motions for judgment are denied. Judgment will be entered for [Haischer] in the amount of $203,898.00.

DISCUSSION

I. Was the evidence presented insufficient as a matter of law to prove a violation of the Boiler Inspection Act, 49 U.S.C. § 20701?

As we have noted, there is inherent in CSXT's issues the argument that the evidence adduced by Haischer was insufficient to establish a violation of the BIA, and that the trial court erred by not granting either of its motions. Because the same test is applied to our consideration of both of those contentions, we shall discuss them as one.

Essentially, CSXT contends that the evidence presented in Haischer's case was not legally sufficient to prove a violation of the BIA, and failed to generate a jury question that the locomotive, its parts and appurtenances, (1) were not in proper condition; and (2) were unsafe to operate without unnecessary danger of personal injury.

The appropriate standard of review was set out in University of Baltimore v. Iz, 123 Md.App. 135, 716 A.2d 1107 (1998), cert. denied, Iz v. University of Baltimore, 351 Md. 663, 719 A.2d 1262 (1998):

When we review a trial court's denial of a party's motion for judgment in a jury trial, we conduct the same analysis as the trial court. We consider all of the evidence, including the inferences reasonably and logically drawn therefrom, in a light most favorable to the non-moving party. If there is any evidence, no matter how slight, that is legally sufficient to generate a jury question, we may affirm the trial court's denial of the motion. On the other hand, where the evidence is not such as to generate a jury question, i.e., permits but one conclusion, the question is one of law and the motion must be granted. Likewise, when we review [the] denial of a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, we use the same standard as a motion for judgment made during trial. Thus, we assume the truth of all credible evidence and all inferences of fact reasonably deducible from the evidence that supports the non-moving party's position.

Id. at 149, 716 A.2d 1107 (internal quotation marks and citations omitted).

The elements of the entitlement to recovery under the BIA are proof by a preponderance of the evidence that the locomotive was (1) not in proper condition; and (2) was not safe to operate without unnecessary danger of personal injury. 49 U.S.C. § 20701. A review of the evidence presented by Haischer is appropriate.

At trial, only two witnesses were called to describe the condition of the locomotive, and the incident that resulted in Haischer's injury—Haischer himself and Rudy Carroll, the conductor working with him at the time.

Both testified that the pathway between the locomotive and the cab where the HTD cabinet is located is narrow and poorly lighted. Neither observed the HTD cabinet door to be open when they began their shift. Both explained that the HTD cabinet door is supposed to be secured in a closed position with screws and that neither removed the screws and, if the screws had been properly tightened and secured, even brushing against the cabinet door would not have caused it to come open. Finally, both testified that the HTD cabinet door did come open at some time during the shift and Haischer struck his left shoulder on the lower edge of the open door as he ascended the narrow stairway above which it was located.

The cornerstone of liability under the BIA was laid down by the United States Supreme Court in Lilly v. Grand Trunk W. R.R. Co., 317 U.S. 481, 63 S.Ct. 347, 87 L.Ed. 411 (1943). Lilly had fallen from atop a locomotive tender when a hook that he was pulling gave way, causing him to slip on the icy surface. Among the findings of the jury was the lack of mechanical defect that caused the accumulation of ice. In reversing the grant of JNOV, the Court said:

Negligence is not the basis for liability under the Act. Instead it "imposes upon the carrier an absolute and continuing duty to maintain the locomotive, and all parts and appurtenances thereof, in proper condition, and safe to operate in active service without unnecessary period to life or limb."

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