Garrett Freightlines, Inc. v. Bannock Paving Co., Inc.

• Court: Idaho Supreme Court
• Writing for the Court: BAKES; SHEPARD
• Citation: Garrett Freightlines, Inc. v. Bannock Paving Co., Inc., 112 Idaho 722, 735 P.2d 1033 (Idaho 1987)
• Decision Date: 08 April 1987
• Docket Number: No. 16008,16008
• Parties: GARRETT FREIGHTLINES, INC.; Truck Insurance Exchange; and Lloyds Underwriters at London, Plaintiff-respondents, Cross appellants, v. BANNOCK PAVING COMPANY, INC., Defendant-appellant, Cross respondent, and State of Idaho, Defendant.

Page 1033

735 P.2d 1033

112 Idaho 722

GARRETT FREIGHTLINES, INC.; Truck Insurance Exchange; and Lloyds Underwriters at London, Plaintiff-respondents, Cross appellants, v. BANNOCK PAVING COMPANY, INC., Defendant-appellant, Cross respondent and State of Idaho, Defendant.

No. 16008.

Supreme Court of Idaho.

April 8, 1987.

Robert D. Lewis, of Cantrill, Skinner, Sullivan & King, Boise, for defendant-appellant, cross respondent.

Bobbi K. Dominick, of Elam, Burke & Boyd, Boise, for plaintiffs-respondents, cross appellants.

BAKES, Justice.

Bannock Paving Company (Bannock) appeals from a judgment entered after a jury trial in an action brought by Garrett Freightlines (Garrett), seeking contribution from Bannock and the State of Idaho for amounts paid in settlement of claims arising from a multi-vehicle accident at a road construction site on Interstate 84 near Mountain Home, Idaho. The jury returned a verdict apportioning fault to Bannock, 30%; to the state, 40%; and to Garrett Freightlines, 30%. Bannock appeals, contending that there is insufficient evidence to support the verdict or, in the alternative, that, as a public works contractor, it is immune to liability resulting from the accident at the road construction site. Garrett also appeals, contending that the trial court erred in denying Garrett's request for an increase in the jury's verdict, and for prejudgment interest on the damages awarded by the jury. We reverse and remand for a new trial.

On July 14, 1980, a Garrett Freightlines truck, driven by James Russell, collided with a series of vehicles stopped at a highway construction site on Interstate 84 west of Mountain Home. The stopped cars were waiting to be escorted through the construction site by a pilot car. A pickup was the last car in a line of vehicles stopped by the flagman in the right westbound lane of I-84, and the Garrett truck struck the pickup at a speed between 45 and 55 m.p.h. without appreciably slowing down or attempting to swerve to avoid collision. The force of the impact was transferred throughout the entire line of stopped vehicles which consisted of first, the pickup, second a Greyhound-type bus, and then three or four other cars. Over 50 people were injured, including four deaths--the driver of the Garrett truck and three people in the pickup.

The construction project on I-84 was a sealcoat/resurfacing operation. The project was designed by the Idaho Department of Transportation and, as originally designed, called for a controlled flow of traffic through the construction site without stopping traffic and without the use of pilot cars. The construction project was awarded, after bidding, to Bannock.

Following the award, Bannock requested the Department of Transportation to modify the traffic control plan. The state agreed to a modification and redesigned the traffic control plan to provide for stopping traffic and the use of pilot cars to shuttle traffic through the construction area. The modification was needed, according to Bannock, because trucks hauling materials to the site had to cross and/or enter the lane of traffic to reach road segments of the project. It was also necessary to control the dust and dirt which would impair visibility and also to control the dangers of flying rock. The modified traffic control plan included the addition of two sets of signs previously not included in the traffic control plan: two "Prepare to Stop" signs, and two "Flagman Ahead" signs.

Bannock was responsible, as part of its construction contract, to install and maintain all the traffic control signs included in the plan as finally modified and approved by the state. Before the construction began, the state reviewed the actual sign placement to assure that it complied with the traffic control plan and approved such placement. All aspects of the construction project, including implementation of the traffic control plan, were carried out by Bannock with state supervision.

Garrett's complaint against Bannock and the State of Idaho sought contribution for damages which it had paid as the result of claims paid to injured parties by Garrett and its insurers for damages resulting from the negligence of Garrett's driver in causing the accident. The complaint for contribution filed by Garrett and Exchange alleged that they had paid $387,378.36 in settlement of claims arising from the accident. The complaint alleged that Bannock and the state were negligent in the performance of the construction project and specifically in failing to properly manage and supervise traffic flow around the construction project. The state moved for summary judgment on February 20, 1985, contending that it was immune to liability pursuant to I.C. § 6-904(8). Bannock filed a motion for summary judgment on February 27, 1985, alleging that as a public works contractor it enjoyed a common law immunity to liability arising from the public works construction project on the Interstate. Both motions for summary judgment were denied.

An amended complaint was filed which added a new party plaintiff, Lloyds, and raised the amount of damages claimed to $747,608.58. The case proceeded to trial, and the state's defense was based upon I.C. § 6-904(8), or so called "design immunity." Bannock offered as its defenses both common law immunity held by a public works contractor who performs according to plans and specifications supplied by the public agency, and the defense that its conduct was not a proximate cause of the accident. Both the state and Bannock moved for directed verdicts following the presentation of plaintiff's case and at the conclusion of their own case. The motions were denied by the court, and the case was allowed to go to the jury which found that Garrett and its driver were 30% at fault, the state 40% at fault, and Bannock 30% at fault. Following the verdict both the state and Bannock moved for a new trial or, in the alternative, for j.n.o.v. Garrett, Exchange and Lloyds moved for an award of prejudgment interest. All those motions were denied, and Bannock and the state appealed. The state subsequently settled its appeal with Garrett and the insurance companies; thus, Bannock remains the only appellant in the present case. Garrett, Exchange and Lloyds cross appealed.

I

Bannock contends on appeal that the evidence adduced at trial cannot, as a matter of law, support the jury's assessment of negligence, causation and concomitant liability. Bannock contends that there is no evidence upon which a reasonable jury could find either that its conduct was a proximate cause of the accident, or that its negligence was equal to that of Garrett's driver. Garrett, on the other hand, contends that there is sufficient evidence of both negligence and proximate cause to support the jury's verdict.

Garrett's allegations of negligence against Bannock center on failure to maintain two of the signs in the warning sign package, and its failure to properly supervise and provide adequate flagmen for traffic control during the course of the project. Apart from these specific allegations concerning Bannock, Garrett alleges negligence in failure of the signing package's design to adequately warn motorists of a hazard created by Bannock on the Interstate. Garrett contends that the signing package created confusion and thus was a contributing cause of the accident in question. However, since the case against the Idaho Department of Transportation has been settled by Garrett, it is essential to separate the allegations which assert a claim against Bannock, as distinguished from allegations which assert a claim against the Department of Transportation. It is established law in this state that a highway public works contractor, such as Bannock, may only be held liable for its own negligence, if any, in implementing and executing the public works contract. Green v. Bannock Paving Co., 111 Idaho 3, 720 P.2d 186 (1986); Elce v. State, 110 Idaho 361, 716 P.2d 505 (1986); Black v. Peter Kiewit Sons' Co., 94 Idaho 755, 497 P.2d 1056 (1972).

"This general rule is applicable in Idaho, where this Court has held that if a contractor performs his work according to plans and specifications, no liability may be imposed upon him for any damage resulting from such construction." Black v. Peter Kiewit Sons' Co., 94 Idaho at 757, 497 P.2d at 1058.

The evidence in the record reflects that, apart from the allegations and proof of failure to maintain the warning signs, and the failure to properly supervise the flagmen, Garrett's other allegations that the traffic control plan failed to adequately warn motorists or that it created confusion, and its allegations that the entire flagging operation was inadequately planned and staffed, deal entirely with the design of the traffic control plan which was the state's responsibility, not Bannock's. Bannock's responsibility extended only to implementing the state's plan. Elce v. State, supra. The modified traffic control plan, although suggested by Bannock, was designed and approved by the Idaho Department of Transportation. The modified plan specified the number of signs and flagmen to be used during the course of the sealcoat operation. Garrett's allegations of a poorly designed flagging operation, or inadequate number of flagmen, is merely a component of its inadequate design argument which, if true, was the responsibility of the State of Idaho, not Bannock. The state made the decision with regard to the number of flagmen and the placement of the flagmen. It was the agents of the Department of Transportation who determined that only one flagman was necessary at the pilot car holding area. Under our decisions in Black, Elce and Green, the only evidence which lends itself to the question of negligence on the part of Bannock in the present case is the allegation that it failed to properly maintain two of the thirteen signs contained in the traffic control plan approved by the state, and that it failed to...