Griffin v. City of Talladega, 1950243.

• Decision Date: 11 October 1996
• Docket Number: 1950243.
• Citation: 683 So.2d 408
• Parties: Virginia L. GRIFFIN, as administratrix of the Estate of Kenneth Ray Griffin, deceased v. CITY OF TALLADEGA.
• Court: Alabama Supreme Court

683 So.2d 408

Virginia L. GRIFFIN, as administratrix of the Estate of Kenneth Ray Griffin, deceased v. CITY OF TALLADEGA.

1950243.

Supreme Court of Alabama.

September 6, 1996.

Rehearing Denied October 11, 1996.

Lister H. Proctor and Wanda J. Batson of Proctor & Vaughn, Sylacauga, for Appellant.

Michael E. Henderson of Bushnell, Bowron & Henderson, Birmingham, for Appellee.

MADDOX, Justice.

AFFIRMED. NO OPINION.

See Rule 53(a)(1) and (a)(2)(E), Ala. R.App.P.

HOOPER, C.J., and ALMON, HOUSTON, and COOK, JJ., concur.

SHORES, KENNEDY, and BUTTS, JJ., dissent.

SHORES, Justice (dissenting).

I respectfully dissent, because I do not believe the summary judgment was appropriate in this wrongful death action.

The plaintiff's decendent, Kenneth Griffin, who was deaf, died as the result of injuries he sustained when his motor vehicle was struck by a train at the Tinney Street railroad crossing in Talladega. The passenger riding with Griffin at the time of the accident was also deaf.

The plaintiff did not sue the railroad. She sued the City of Talladega, alleging 1) that it had negligently maintained a defective public street and railroad grade crossing; 2) that it had done so with knowledge of the defect; and 3) that as a result of the City's negligence, the motor vehicle operated by Griffin was struck by a train and Griffin died as a result of injuries suffered in the collision.

I think the plaintiff presented genuine issues of material fact that should preclude the entry of a summary judgment: 1) whether the City, where the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind is located, has a higher duty to protect its impaired citizens and/or whether the City has undertaken a higher duty; 2) whether the City failed to maintain its roadways and streets in a safe manner, as required by Ala.Code 1975, § 11-47-190; 3) whether the City had prior knowledge of the existence of a dangerous condition; and 4) whether Kenneth Griffin died as a proximate result of negligence on the part of the City.

The City is required by § 11-7-190 to maintain its roadways and streets in a safe manner. A city has a duty to warn of a dangerous condition on or near a roadway. Hale v. City of Tuscaloosa, 449 So.2d 1243 (Ala.1984). "A railroad crossing may be a hazardous defect at or near the street, and if the City has actual or constructive notice of such a defect, it has the duty to remedy that defect." Hale at 1247. There was testimony that oncoming trains at the Tinney Street crossing are obscured by buildings and by a fence covered with vegetation. It is undisputed that there are no flashing caution lights or crossarms at the crossing to warn deaf drivers of an approaching train. Talladega's Ordinance 15-22 required the placement of a traffic stop sign on each side of every railroad grade crossing. The City failed to comply with that ordinance. Talladega has specifically...