Mahnke v. Washington Metro. Area Transit Auth.

• Decision Date: 20 October 2011
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 10–0021 (BAH).
• Parties: Amanda MAHNKE, Plaintiff, v. WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN AREA TRANSIT AUTHORITY, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Columbia

821 F.Supp.2d 125

86 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 1162

Amanda MAHNKE, Plaintiff,

v.WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN AREA TRANSIT AUTHORITY, Defendant.

Civil Action No. 10–0021 (BAH).

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

Oct. 20, 2011.

Patrick M. Regan, Paul J. Cornoni, Regan Zambri & Long, PLLC, Washington, DC, for Plaintiff.

Kathleen Ann Carey, Nicholas Stephen Nunzio, Jr., Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Office of General Counsel, Washington, DC, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

BERYL A. HOWELL, District Judge.

On September 3, 2009, plaintiff Amanda Mahnke suffered serious injuries when she was hit by a Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (hereinafter “WMATA”) bus in Washington, D.C. The plaintiff filed a Complaint against WMATA, alleging, inter alia, that the bus driver, a WMATA employee, negligently operated the bus. Pending before the Court is WMATA's motion for summary judgment on grounds that the plaintiff was contributorily negligent and that precludes a judgment in her favor. The plaintiff denies that she was contributorily negligent, and has filed a motion in limine to prevent the defendant from raising a contributory negligence defense at trial, which is scheduled to commence on October 31, 2011. In addition to these motions, the parties have also filed eleven additional motions in limine to preclude the admission of certain evidence at trial. For the reasons discussed below, the defendant's motion for summary judgment and the plaintiff's motion in limine to preclude the defendant from raising a contributory negligence defense are denied. The parties' additional motions in limine, as well as their objections to proposed exhibits, are addressed seriatim below.

I. BACKGROUND

On September 3, 2009, plaintiff Amanda Mahnke was standing at the southeast corner of the intersection of Connecticut Avenue and Florida Avenue in Northwest, Washington, D.C. waiting to cross the street. Pl.'s Opp'n Mot. Summ. J., Statement of Material Facts In Dispute (“Statement of Material Facts”), ECF No. 30, ¶¶ 1, 3. Standing to the plaintiff's left was Gabriela Salazar, another pedestrian who was also waiting to cross the street. Id. at ¶ 3. When the pedestrian “walk” signal became illuminated, both Ms. Salazar and the plaintiff proceeded to cross the street. Def.'s Mot. Summ. J, ECF No. 27, Ex. 3, Salazar Dep. Tr. (“Salazar Dep.”) 13, lines 4–14, Mar. 15, 2011. After stepping into the intersection, Ms. Salazar noticed that a WMATA bus was approaching on her left, and immediately stepped back on the curb. Id. at lines 5–14. The plaintiff, however, did not notice the approaching bus, and was struck after she stepped into the crosswalk. See Def.'s Mot. Summ. J., ECF No. 27, Ex. 1, David Stopper Report dated Feb. 8, 2011 (“Stopper Report”), at 2. As a result of the accident, the plaintiff alleges that she suffered numerous injuries, including a fractured skull, epidural hematoma, broken clavicle, fractured ribs, collapsed lung, pelvis fracture, and traumatic brain injuries. Compl. ¶ 13.

Prior to the accident, the WMATA bus that collided with the plaintiff was heading east on Florida Avenue towards Connecticut Avenue. Statement of Material Facts ¶ 4. The posted speed limit for that section of Florida Avenue was 25 miles per hour. Id. at ¶ 5. The parties dispute the speed of the metro bus prior to the accident. The plaintiff's expert claims that the bus was traveling as fast as 30 miles per hour, while the defendant's expert contends that the bus was traveling at a speed of approximately 26 miles per hour. Def.'s Reply Opp'n Mot. Summ. J. (“Def.'s Reply”), ECF No. 32, at 4. A witness stated that the bus was going 15 miles per hour. Id. Another witness described the WMATA bus as “just a streak” prior to the accident. Pl.'s Opp'n Mot. Summ. J., ECF No. 30, Ex. B, Det. Michael Miller Report (“Miller Report”), at 00054.

As the WMATA bus neared the intersection of Florida Avenue and Connecticut Avenue, the bus's driver, Carla Proctor, saw the traffic signal change from green to yellow. Id. at 00052. According to a D.C. Metropolitan Police Department accident reconstruction report, Ms. Proctor admits that she accelerated in an effort to clear the intersection, which spans across eight traffic lanes, before the traffic light turned red. Id. The defendant claims that the bus had entered the intersection while the light was still yellow, and concedes that the light turned red before the bus exited the intersection. Statement of Material Facts ¶ 8–9. The plaintiff contends that the traffic light turned red before the bus fully entered the intersection. Id.

According to a video of the accident captured by a District of Columbia Department of Transportation traffic camera, the front of the bus was halfway through the intersection, meaning it had crossed four lanes of traffic, when the plaintiff entered the crosswalk. Pl.'s Mot. Limine, Ex. A, Dep't of Transportation Video Footage of Sept. 3, 2009 Collision, frame 42:08:27. The parties dispute what the video shows about the plaintiff's actions immediately prior to the accident: WMATA contends the video establishes that the plaintiff did not look for any oncoming traffic before entering the crosswalk, Def.'s Mem. Supp. Mot. Summ. J., ECF No. 27, at 7, while the plaintiff argues that she did. Pl.'s Opp'n Mot. Summ. J., ECF No. 30, at 14. The plaintiff herself cannot remember the details of the accident prior to being struck. Def.'s Mot. Summ. J., ECF No. 27, Amanda Mahnke Dep. Tr. (“Mahnke Dep.”) 27, lines 8–12, Sept. 7, 2010.

On January 7, 2010, the plaintiff filed a Complaint against WMATA,¹ alleging that the defendant's bus driver, Ms. Proctor, was negligent in her operation of the WMATA bus that hit the plaintiff.² Compl. ¶¶ 17–29. The plaintiff seeks $10,000,000 in compensatory damages for the injuries she sustained as a result of the accident. Id. at 10.

On August 5, 2011, following approximately thirteen months of discovery, WMATA moved for summary judgment, arguing that the plaintiff is barred from recovery because she was contributorily negligent for her injuries.³ Def.'s Mem. Supp. Mot. Summ. J., ECF No. 27, at 14. On August 12, 2011, before filing an opposition to the defendant's motion for summary judgment, the plaintiff filed a motion in limine, asserting that the WMATA bus driver's violation of applicable traffic regulations renders the defendant negligent per se, and the defendant should therefore be precluded from raising a contributory negligence defense.⁴ Pl.'s Mem. Supp. Mot. Limine to Strike Defense of Contributory Negligence (“Pl.'s Mot. Limine”), ECF No. 28, at 19.

On October 4, 2011, the plaintiff filed four additional motions in limine. Pl.'s Omnibus Mot. Limine, ECF No. 37. Two days later, on October 6, 2011, the parties filed their Joint Pre–Trial Statement in which they raised objections to certain exhibits proposed by the opposite party. Joint Pre–Trial Statement, ECF No. 38. On October 6, 2011, WMATA also filed seven motions in limine. Def.'s Omnibus Mot. Limine, ECF No. 39. The Court held a pretrial conference on October 17, 2011, at which it heard argument on the pending motions, and allowed the parties to file supplemental briefs regarding the defendant's motions in limine to exclude the evidence of the defendant's internal investigation and termination proceedings against Carla Proctor, the driver of the WMATA bus involved in the accident.⁵

As explained below, the defendant's motion for summary judgment is denied because numerous material facts remain disputed. Specifically, the parties dispute whether the plaintiff checked for oncoming traffic before crossing the street, whether the plaintiff would have been able to see the WMATA bus if she had looked for oncoming traffic, and whether the WMATA bus driver had the last clear chance to avoid the accident. Additionally, the plaintiff's motion in limine to preclude a contributory negligence defense is denied because the determination of whether the defendant was negligent per se rests on factual determinations that are properly reserved for the jury, and a defendant's violations of traffic regulations do not bar a contributory negligence defense. The parties' additional motions in limine, as well as their objections to proposed exhibits, are addressed below.

II. WMATA'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

The defendant moves for summary judgment on grounds that undisputed facts conclusively demonstrate that the plaintiff was contributorily negligent, which bars her from recovery in this case. As explained below, facts essential to a finding of the plaintiff's contributory negligence remain in dispute. The defendant's motion for summary judgment is therefore denied.

A. Standard of Review

Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56, the Court will grant a motion for summary judgment “if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law” based upon the pleadings, depositions, and affidavits and other factual materials in the record. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a), (c); Talavera v. Shah, 638 F.3d 303, 308 (D.C.Cir.2011); Tao v. Freeh, 27 F.3d 635, 638 (D.C.Cir.1994). The Court “need consider only the cited materials, but it may consider other materials in the record.” FED. R. CIV. P. 56(c)(3). “The evidence is to be viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party and the court must draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the nonmoving party.” Talavera, 638 F.3d at 308 (citing Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986)); Tao, 27 F.3d at 638. However, “[t]he mere existence of a scintilla of evidence in support of the plaintiff's position will be insufficient; there must be evidence on which the jury could reasonably find for the plaintiff.” Talavera, 638 F.3d at 308 (citing Anderson, 477 U.S. at 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505). The burden is on the moving party...