Jackson v. City of Blue Springs, WD
| Decision Date | 13 June 1995 |
| Docket Number | No. WD,WD |
| Citation | 904 S.W.2d 322 |
| Parties | Tracy JACKSON, Appellant, v. CITY OF BLUE SPRINGS, et al., Respondents. 49401. |
| Court | Missouri Court of Appeals |
Michael A. Knepper, H. William McIntosh, Stites, McIntosh, Knepper & Hopkins, Kansas City, for appellant.
Lance W. LeFevre, Kansas City, for respondents.
Before FENNER, C.J., P.J., and HANNA and LAURA DENVIR STITH, JJ.
Plaintiff Tracy Jackson was seriously injured in an automobile accident at the intersection of Locust Street and Adams Dairy Road in Blue Springs, Missouri. Mr. Jackson alleges that defendants Clarence and Elizabeth Watson own the corner lot which lies adjacent to and north of Locust Street and adjacent to and east of Adams Dairy Road (hereinafter the "corner lot") in Blue Springs, Missouri and that the Watsons negligently allowed trees, shrubs and brush to grow along both roadways near the intersection, blocking the view of drivers on both Locust Street and Adams Dairy Road. He alleges that this obstruction of the view of drivers in the public roadways is what led to the accident. The trial court entered summary judgment in favor of the Watsons and Mr. Jackson appeals.
On May 30, 1986, Mr. Jackson was a passenger in an automobile operated by Mary Behnke. Their vehicle was westbound on Locust Street where it intersects with Adams Dairy Road. The Behnke vehicle stopped at a stop sign, then pulled into the intersection. Ronald Hanlan, driving a pickup truck southbound on Adams Dairy Road, struck the Behnke vehicle on the passenger side, causing serious injury to Mr. Jackson.
At the time of the accident, there were bushes, shrubs, trees and other vegetation on the corner lot which allegedly obscured the vision of drivers on both Adams Dairy Road and Locust Street. Mr. Watson, in deposition testimony, described the presence of a wild cherry tree only four feet from the edge of Adams Dairy Road near the intersection. His affidavit also acknowledged the presence of shrubs and bushes "within four feet of the east pavement" of Adams Dairy Road.
Larry Miller, the Watsons' neighbor, cut down the vegetation the day after the collision. He stated that the vegetation was overhanging the pavement on Adams Dairy Road and that a car northbound on Adams Dairy Road would actually come into contact with these bushes and shrubs.
On September 10, 1986, Ms. Behnke brought suit for her personal injuries alleging negligence against Mr. Hanlan (the driver of the other car), the City of Blue Springs, Jackson County and the Watsons (the landowners). Mr. Jackson was not a party to the Behnke action.
Ms. Behnke proceeded to trial against the Watsons and the City of Blue Springs. 1 At the close of Ms. Behnke's evidence, the Watsons moved for a directed verdict on the grounds that Ms. Behnke had failed to present evidence showing that the Watsons owned or controlled the property upon which the vegetation grew. Their motion was granted on the grounds that Ms. Behnke had not "made a case" against them.
Ms. Behnke's case proceeded to the jury against Blue Springs and a verdict was rendered generally in Ms. Behnke's favor on April 27, 1989. The case submitted against Blue Springs was that the City, as owner or occupier of the land, had maintained a dangerous condition at the corner of Locust Street and Adams Dairy Road by allowing vegetation to obstruct Ms. Behnke's vision and the view of Mr. Hanlan. Fault was assessed 5% to Ms. Behnke and 95% to Blue Springs.
Following the trial of Ms. Behnke's suit, Mr. Jackson separately filed suit against the City of Blue Springs, Ms. Behnke and the Watsons on May 29, 1991. 2 Mr. Jackson moved for partial summary judgment against Ms. Behnke and the City of Blue Springs, alleging that they were collaterally estopped to deny liability as a result of the judgment in Behnke. The trial court granted summary judgment against them on this basis on December 22, 1992. 3
Mr. Jackson then proceeded with his claims against the Watsons, 4 and the Watsons moved for summary judgment. In support, the Watsons argued that proof that they owned and controlled the corner portion of the lot, and that the City of Blue Springs did not have an easement over it, was essential to showing that they had an obligation to trim the vegetation at the intersection, citing Mispagel v. Missouri Highway & Transp. Comm'n, 785 S.W.2d 279 (Mo. banc 1990). They argued that it was shown as a matter of law that the City of Blue Springs had an easement over the portion of the corner lot abutting the intersection where the accident occurred and that, as a result, they were not responsible for maintenance of the lot and could not be held liable for Mr. Jackson's injuries. 5 The Watsons alternatively argued that Mr. Jackson was collaterally estopped from claiming that they controlled the corner lot because Mr. Jackson had been granted summary judgment against Blue Springs based on his contrary assertion that Blue Springs owned the corner lot.
Mr. Jackson countered that a question of fact exists as to whether Blue Springs had an easement at the time of the accident. If not, and if he could prove that he was injured as a result of the Watsons' negligent failure to properly maintain the vegetation located on the corner lot, then the Watsons would be liable to him under the theories of maintaining a public nuisance and negligence.
Mr. Jackson also alleged that the Watsons were negligent per se because they had violated Section 18-8 of the City Ordinances of the City of Blue Springs which states that:
[i]t shall be unlawful to ... maintain or permit to remain ... any bushes or plants, on a corner lot within twenty (20) feet of the street line, which obstructs the view, at a height of more than three (3) feet above the level of the existing adjacent street pavement or finished grade as established by the Street Department.
The Watsons countered that the Blue Springs ordinance only created a duty running from the Watsons to Blue Springs, and not to an injured third party such as Mr. Jackson.
On April 26, 1994, the trial court entered its order granting summary judgment against Mr. Jackson "[f]or reasons stated in Defendants Watsons' Motion and supported by authorities contained in their suggestions (three separate pleadings)." It expressly found "no just reason for delay" and designated its order as final and appealable under Rule 74.01(b). Mr. Jackson's motion to reconsider the summary judgment order was overruled by the trial court. This appeal followed.
Review of an order granting summary judgment is essentially de novo. ITT Commercial Fin. Corp. v. Mid-America Marine Supply Corp., 854 S.W.2d 371, 376 (Mo. banc 1993). The record is reviewed in the light most favorable to the party against whom judgment was entered, and the latter is given the benefit of all reasonable inferences from the record. Id. Unless the moving party establishes that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, summary judgment is not appropriate. Rule 74.04; ITT Commercial Fin., 854 S.W.2d at 380-82.
Mr. Jackson claims that the trial court erred as a matter of law to the extent it found (1) that collateral estoppel applied, (2) that the theories of negligence and nuisance failed to provide a basis of recovery, and (3) that it rejected his claim of negligence per se. He further argues that genuine issues of material fact remain regarding the ownership of the tract and whether an easement existed in favor of the City of Blue Springs; the Watsons' exercise of reasonable care; whether the portion of the Watsons' property on which the trees and bushes were growing is considered to be in a natural or an artificial condition, and whether the vegetation was a cause of Mr. Jackson's injuries.
Mr. Jackson asserts that he has stated valid claims against the Watsons under two theories: maintaining a public nuisance and negligence. He argues that obstructing the view of drivers as they travel on the public highway, as the Watsons allegedly did by failing to trim the trees and bushes on the corner lot, must be considered a public nuisance. In addition, Mr. Jackson asserts that the Watsons, as occupiers of the corner lot, were obligated to use reasonable care to make his passage on the abutting public streets safe and that the Watsons negligently breached this duty by allowing the vegetation on the corner lot to obstruct visibility at the intersection.
The Watsons disagree. They assert that the City of Blue Springs had an easement over and controlled the corner lot. They further assert that the trees and bushes growing on the corner lot were natural rather than artificial conditions and that the law imposed no obligation on them to trim or maintain the growth of such vegetation on their land, under either a negligence or a nuisance theory.
As both parties acknowledge, this very issue was presented to the Missouri Supreme Court in Mispagel v. Missouri Highway & Transp. Comm'n, 785 S.W.2d 279 (Mo. banc 1990). In Mispagel, the plaintiff was injured when the motorcycle he was driving was struck by a car entering the highway from a private drive. Defendants James and Dixie Puckett were fee owners of property adjoining the highway. As here, the plaintiff sued under both negligence and nuisance theories, claiming that the defendants were liable because they had improperly allowed weeds to grow on the property which obstructed the view of persons entering and using the highway.
Mispagel found that the weeds were not on property controlled by the...
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