Hansen v. Eyre

• Decision Date: 13 May 2005
• Docket Number: No. 20030731.,20030731.
• Citation: 116 P.3d 290,2005 UT 29
• Parties: Tyler HANSEN and The Workers Compensation Fund of Utah, Plaintiffs and Petitioners, v. Amanda S. EYRE and The Nature Conservancy, Defendants and Respondents.
• Court: Utah Supreme Court

Page 290

116 P.3d 290

2005 UT 29

Tyler HANSEN and The Workers Compensation Fund of Utah, Plaintiffs and Petitioners, v. Amanda S. EYRE and The Nature Conservancy, Defendants and Respondents.

No. 20030731.

Supreme Court of Utah.

May 13, 2005.

Edward T. Wells, Mel S. Martin, Salt Lake City, for plaintiffs.

Robert L. Janicki, Steven T. Densley, Michael K. Woolley, Lloyd R. Jones, Salt Lake City, for defendants.

On Certiorari to the Utah Court of Appeals

DURHAM, Chief Justice:

INTRODUCTION

¶ 1 Petitioner Tyler Hansen (Hansen) seeks review of the court of appeals' decision affirming the district court's denial of his motion for partial summary judgment. Hansen's motion asked the trial court to hold, as a matter of law, that Hansen was legally justified in riding his bicycle in a bike lane on the left-hand side of the road, pursuant to Salt Lake City Code section 12.80.070. We affirm the decision of the court of appeals and hold that Hansen was not justified in riding his bicycle on the left-hand side of the road for the reasons set forth below.

BACKGROUND

¶ 2 This case arises from a vehicle-bicycle accident that occurred on February 17, 2000. Hansen was riding his bicycle eastbound on 200 South in Salt Lake City, on the left-hand side of the road, against the flow of traffic but within a marked bicycle lane. Amanda Eyre (Eyre) was driving a van southbound on 500 East. Eyre allegedly stopped at 200 South at a red light, preparing to turn right, when Hansen reached the 500 East-200 South intersection on his bicycle. Eyre turned right into the bicycle lane and collided with Hansen, causing Hansen substantial injury. Hansen and Eyre were both acting within the scope of their employment at the time of the accident.

¶ 3 Following the accident, Hansen filed a personal injury suit against Eyre. Hansen then filed a motion for partial summary judgment, asking the district court to rule, as a matter of law, that he was legally justified in riding his bicycle in the left-hand lane. He argued that his action was justified pursuant to Salt Lake City Code section 12.80.070, which states that "[i]t is unlawful for operators of bicycles . . . [t]o ride upon the left-hand side of any street, except when they are within a marked bicycle lane or when riding upon a one-way street." Salt Lake City Code § 12.80.070(I) (2000) (amended 2003).¹

¶ 4 The Nature Conservancy (the Conservancy), Eyre's employer, subsequently joined the suit and filed a cross-motion for summary judgment, asking the court to hold that Utah Code section 41-6-87(1)² prohibits bicycle riders from traveling in the left-hand lane and that any ordinance to the contrary is an invalid exercise of local authority.

¶ 5 The district court denied Hansen's motion for partial summary judgment, stating that "it is directly against the Utah statute to travel by bicycle against the flow of vehicle traffic." While not expressly ruling on the validity of the city ordinance, the district court concluded that the jury instructions would have to be "properly tailored [to state] that plaintiff was not justified by ordinance nor state law in traveling . . . against traffic." The court also denied the Conservancy's cross-motion, reserving the question of negligence for the jury.

¶ 6 On an interlocutory appeal, the court of appeals affirmed the decision of the district court, holding that Utah Code section 41-6-87 requires bicyclists to ride with the flow of traffic. Hansen v. Eyre, 2003 UT App 274, ¶ 13, 74 P.3d 1182. The court of appeals also held that, to the extent Salt Lake City Code section 12.80.070 conflicted with state law, it was invalid. Id. at ¶ 15. This court granted Hansen's petition for certiorari.

¶ 7 In his petition, Hansen argues that the court of appeals erred by: (1) denying him due process of law by retroactively invalidating an ordinance upon which he relied; (2) holding that Salt Lake City Code section 12.80.070(I) was invalid; and (3) invalidating an ordinance without requiring Salt Lake City's joinder, in violation of Utah Code section 78-33-11.³

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 8 "On certiorari, we review the court of appeals' decision for correctness," focusing on "whether that court correctly reviewed the trial court's decision under the appropriate standard of review." State v. Dean, 2004 UT 63, ¶ 7, 95 P.3d 276. Where, as here, the facts are undisputed, a district court's decision to deny partial summary judgment "presents only questions of law," which are reviewed for correctness. Fericks v. Lucy Ann Soffe Trust, 2004 UT 85, ¶ 10, 100 P.3d 1200.

ANALYSIS

I. DUE PROCESS

¶ 9 Hansen first contends that the appellate court's decision affirming the trial court's ruling denied him due process of law. We disagree.

¶ 10 The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees that no person shall be deprived of liberty or property without due process of law. U.S. Const. amend. XIV. In order for this guarantee to be implicated, however, a petitioner must raise a claim to some viable liberty or property interest of which he is being deprived. See Am. Mfrs. Mut. Ins. Co. v. Sullivan, 526 U.S. 40, 59, 119 S.Ct. 977, 143 L.Ed.2d 130 (1999) ("Only after finding the deprivation of a protected interest do we look to see if the State's procedures comport with due process."). In this case, Hansen points to no protected liberty or property interest. He asserts, instead, that due process protections ensure fair warning of conduct that is proscribed by law, stating, "[a] person is entitled, under theories of due process, to act in reliance on the plain language of existing laws without fear that such conduct may later be made punishable by a court which subsequently determines that there is a conflict between state and local law." While this assertion is correct, Hansen misunderstands the reason for this well-established rule.

¶ 11 Due process requires fair warning of what conduct is proscribed by law because engaging in such conduct could lead to criminal prosecution, a government action that may result in the deprivation of either property (through fines) or liberty (through incarceration). Bouie v. City of Columbia, 378 U.S. 347, 349, 84 S.Ct. 1697, 12 L.Ed.2d 894 (1964). Every case Hansen cites in support of his due process argument involves imposition of criminal sanctions for conduct prohibited by law. See, e.g., People v. Frazer, 21 Cal.4th 737, 88 Cal.Rptr.2d 312, 982 P.2d 180 (1999) (defendant indicted for lewd conduct); People v. Escobar, 3 Cal.4th 740, 12 Cal.Rptr.2d 586, 837 P.2d 1100 (1992) (defendant convicted of kidnapping, rape, and assault with a deadly weapon); Keeler v. Superior Court, 2 Cal.3d 619, 87 Cal.Rptr. 481, 470 P.2d 617 (1970) (defendant charged with murder of a fetus); State v. Blowers, 717 P.2d 1321 (Utah 1986) (defendant convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol).

¶ 12 Here, Hansen has initiated a civil suit against Eyre seeking tort damages. There is no criminal proceeding that might deprive Hansen of any liberty or property interest. The court of appeals' interpretation of state law, in itself, cannot qualify as such a deprivation. A court's legal ruling in a civil proceeding cannot be categorized as a form of "punishment" in the way Hansen suggests.⁴ We therefore reject his due process claim.

II. STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION

¶ 13 We next address the second question presented in Hansen's petition for a writ of certiorari: whether the court of appeals correctly held that Salt Lake City Code section 12.80.070 was invalid because it conflicted with the Utah Traffic Rules and Regulations (Traffic Control Act), Utah Code Ann. §§ 41-6-1 to -186 (1998).

¶ 14 Utah Code section 41-6-87(1) states: "A person operating a bicycle or a moped upon a roadway at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place and under the conditions then existing shall ride as near as practicable to the right-hand edge of the roadway." Id. § 41-6-87(1). The statute then sets forth three exceptions to that general rule: (1) when the rider is "overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction," (2) when the rider is "preparing to make a left turn," and (3) when it is "reasonably necessary to avoid" obstacles.⁵ Id. § 41-6-87(1)(a)-(c). Thus, unless one of these exceptions applies, Utah law clearly directs bicyclists to ride as close to the right-hand side of the road as possible.

¶ 15 It is well established that, where a city ordinance is in conflict with a state statute, the ordinance is invalid at its inception. Salt Lake City v. Kusse, 97 Utah 113, 93 P.2d 671, 674 (1938) ("It is our view that the . . . [state statute] makes void all ordinances, otherwise lawful, which conflict with and constitute a barrier to the enforcement of the uniform state law."); see also Hatch v. Boulder Town Council, 2001 UT App 55, ¶ 16, 21 P.3d 245. "In determining whether an ordinance is in `conflict' with general laws, the test is whether the ordinance permits or licenses that which the statute forbids and prohibits, and vice versa." Kusse, 93 P.2d at 673 (internal quotation omitted).

¶ 16 The ordinance at issue in this case states that "it is unlawful for operators of bicycles . . . to ride upon the left-hand side of any street, except when they are within a marked bicycle lane or when riding upon a one-way street." Salt Lake City Code § 12.80.070(I) (emphasis added). By its plain language, this ordinance permits bicyclists to ride in any marked bicycle lane, whether the lane is located on the right side or the left side of the roadway. As discussed above, state law expressly requires bicyclists to ride on the right-hand side of the road, except under specific circumstances not applicable here. Utah Code Ann. § 41-6-87(1)(a)-(c). The law does not permit riding on the left-hand side of the road, even if the left-hand side contains a marked bicycle lane. Because the city ordinance permits what state law prohibits, the city ordinance...