Martin v. BNSF Ry. Co.

• Decision Date: 23 June 2015
• Docket Number: No. DA 14–0100.,DA 14–0100.
• Citation: 352 P.3d 598,379 Mont. 423,2015 MT 167
• Parties: Timothy C. MARTIN, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. BNSF RAILWAY COMPANY, a Delaware corporation, Defendant and Appellee.
• Court: Montana Supreme Court

379 Mont. 423

352 P.3d 598

2015 MT 167

Timothy C. MARTIN, Plaintiff and Appellant

v.BNSF RAILWAY COMPANY, a Delaware corporation, Defendant and Appellee.

No. DA 14–0100.

Supreme Court of Montana.

Submitted on Briefs Dec. 17, 2014.

Decided June 23, 2015.

For Appellant: Mark P. Dupont, Dupont Law Firm; Bigfork, Montana.

For Appellee: Jeff Hedger, Benjamin O. Rechtfertig, Hedger Friend, P.L.L.C.; Billings, Montana.

Opinion

Justice JAMES JEREMIAH SHEA delivered the Opinion of the Court.

¶ 1 Timothy C. Martin appeals from the order of the Thirteenth Judicial District Court, Yellowstone County, denying his motion for judgment as a matter of law,¹ and his motion for a new trial. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for a new trial consistent with this opinion.

¶ 2 The issues on appeal are as follows:

1. Whether the District Court erred by allowing Martin's Locomotive Inspection Act claim to be considered by the jury.

2. Whether the District Court abused its discretion by excluding evidence of heated platforms at BNSF's Whitefish and Essex depots.

3. Whether the District Court abused its discretion by admitting into evidence the specific amount of income Martin made from his non-railroad employment.

PROCEDURAL AND FACTUAL BACKGROUND

¶ 3 Martin began working as a switchman/brakeman for BNSF on July 12, 2004. A few months later, Martin was promoted to conductor after completing the required training and exam. In December 2008, Martin was permanently assigned to work on the conductors' extra board in Whitefish. The extra board is a list of conductors who fill in on an as-needed basis for absent workers. Conductors on the extra board are guaranteed a daily rate of pay for remaining on the extra board and are paid a higher rate for actual trips made. On January 1, 2009, the guaranteed daily rate for conductors on the Whitefish extra board was $199.86; the trip rate was $364.98.

¶ 4 On January 1, 2009, Martin was called into work at 1:05 a.m. at BNSF's Whitefish yard to work a priority z-train to Havre. At the yard, Martin met up with his co-worker, locomotive engineer Randy Anderson. After completing the required pre-trip paperwork, Martin and Anderson walked across the platform from the crew shanty to the train. Anderson boarded the locomotive before Martin. Before stepping onto the locomotive, Martin observed a small amount of ice and snow on the locomotive steps. As Martin climbed the steps of the locomotive, his foot slipped. Martin asserts that as he fell back towards the platform, his left foot came down on a berm of snow which had accumulated between the platform and the locomotive steps, causing his knee to twist and resulting in a tear of his left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Martin's injury required surgery and physical therapy and prevented performance of his duties as a conductor between January 19, 2009, and June 15, 2009.

¶ 5 Before working for BNSF, Martin worked in law enforcement. Martin's law enforcement experience included working as a sheriff's deputy in Roosevelt County and in undercover drug investigations in Yellowstone County. Martin has a master's degree in criminal justice administration. From 2006 until 2010, Martin performed law enforcement related consulting work for the Chippewa–Cree Tribe.

¶ 6 Martin filed suit against BNSF on December 8, 2011, under the Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA), 45 U.S.C. § 51 et seq., alleging negligence. The jury returned a verdict in favor of BNSF on negligence and strict liability claims for violations of the Locomotive Inspection Act (LIA), 49 U.S.C. § 20701. On November 20, 2013, Martin filed a motion for judgment as a matter of law under M.R. Civ. P. 50, and, in the alternative, a motion for a new trial pursuant to M.R. Civ. P. 59. On January 31, 2014, the District Court filed an order denying Martin's motion.

¶ 7 Martin appeals the judgment of the District Court.

STANDARDS OF REVIEW

¶ 8 We review de novo a district court's grant or denial of a motion for judgment as a matter of law. When reviewing the grant or denial of a motion for judgment as a matter of law, we apply the same standards as the district court. Weber v. BNSF Ry. Co., 2011 MT 223, ¶ 16, 362 Mont. 53, 261 P.3d 984. Judgment as a matter of law is properly granted only when there is a complete absence of any evidence which would justify submitting an issue to a jury. All such evidence, and any legitimate inferences that might be drawn from the evidence, must be considered in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion. Weber, ¶ 16 (citing Johnson v. Costco Wholesale, 2007 MT 43, ¶ 13, 336 Mont. 105, 152 P.3d 727 ).

¶ 9 The standard of review for discretionary trial court rulings is abuse of discretion. This standard may be applied to post-trial motions, such as motions for a new trial made pursuant to M.R. Civ. P. 59. In re Johnson, 2011 MT 255, ¶ 12, 362 Mont. 236, 262 P.3d 1105.

¶ 10 “This Court reviews evidentiary rulings for an abuse of discretion. A trial court has broad discretion to determine whether evidence is relevant and admissible. Absent a showing of an abuse of discretion, the trial court's determination will not be overturned.” Mickelson v. Mont. Rail Link, Inc., 2000 MT 111, ¶ 35, 299 Mont. 348, 999 P.2d 985. A district court commits an abuse of discretion when it acts arbitrarily without conscientious judgment or exceeds the bounds of reason. If we determine that a district court abused its discretion, we must next determine whether the abuse of discretion constitutes reversible error. No reversible error occurs unless a substantial right of the appellant is affected, nor does reversible error occur unless the evidence in question was of such character as to have affected the outcome of the trial. United Tool Rental, Inc. v. Riverside Contr., Inc., 2011 MT 213, ¶ 10, 361 Mont. 493, 260 P.3d 156.

DISCUSSION

¶ 11 1. Whether the District Court erred by allowing Martin's Locomotive Inspection Act claim to be considered by the jury.

¶ 12 The FELA “renders railroads liable for employees' injuries or deaths ‘resulting in whole or in part from [carrier] negligence.’ ” CSX Transp., Inc. v. McBride, ––– U.S. ––––, 131 S.Ct. 2630, 2634, 180 L.Ed.2d 637 (2011) (quoting 45 U.S.C. § 51 ). Coupled with the FELA are numerous safety acts, including the LIA (previously the Boiler Inspection Act), and the Safety Appliance Act. Urie v. Thompson, 337 U.S. 163, 189–90, 69 S.Ct. 1018, 1034, 93 L.Ed. 1282 (1949). The safety acts do not operate as a separate cause of action themselves, but “supplement[ ] the Federal Employers' Liability Act by imposing on interstate railroads ‘an absolute and continuing duty’ to provide safe equipment.”Urie, 337 U.S. at 188, 69 S.Ct. at 1034 (citing Lilly v. Grand Trunk W. R.R. Co., 317 U.S. 481, 485, 63 S.Ct. 347, 351, 87 L.Ed. 411 (1943) ). Thus, injured railroad employees may seek recovery under the FELA for violations of these safety acts. Weber, ¶ 20 (citing Dallas v. Burlington N., Inc., 212 Mont. 514, 520, 689 P.2d 273, 276 (1984) ). A railroad may breach its duty under the LIA not only by violating the statute itself, 49 U.S.C. § 20701(1), but also by failing to comply with pertinent Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) regulations. McGinn v. Burlington N. R.R. Co., 102 F.3d 295, 299 (7th Cir.1996). An FRA defect may constitute a violation of the LIA, thus giving rise to strict liability under the LIA.

¶ 13 To prevail on an LIA claim, a railroad employee must demonstrate both that the LIA has been violated and that the violation caused the employee's injuries. Weber, ¶ 22. The employee's burden of proof differs in a FELA case when the claim is premised on a violation of the LIA or an applicable regulation. The FELA requires a showing of negligence, whereas the LIA requires proof of a statutory or regulatory violation. Weber, ¶ 22.

When a plaintiff alleges that a railroad has violated a federal safety statute, the Supreme Court has ‘extended the reach of the principle of negligence per se to cover injuries suffered by employees as a result of their employers' statutory violations, even if the injuries sustained were not of a type that the relevant statute sought to prevent.’

Weber, ¶ 22 (citing Consol. Rail Corp. v. Gottshall, 512 U.S. 532, 543, 114 S.Ct. 2396, 2404, 129 L.Ed.2d 427 (1994) ). If the employee establishes a violation of the LIA, the negligence requirement of the FELA claim is established as a matter of law. Weber, ¶ 22.

¶ 14 “The LIA should be ‘liberally construed’ in light of its primary purpose to protect employees and require the use of safe equipment.” Weber, ¶ 21 (citing Lilly, 317 U.S. at 486, 63 S.Ct. at 351 ). The LIA states in pertinent part that “[a] railroad carrier may use or allow to be used a locomotive or tender on its railroad line only when the locomotive or tender and its parts and appurtenances ... are in proper condition and safe to operate without unnecessary danger of personal injury.” 49 U.S.C. § 20701(1). The applicable safety regulation at issue in this case requires that “[f]loors of cabs, passageways, and compartments shall be kept free from oil, water, waste or any obstruction that creates a slipping, tripping or fire hazard.” 49 C.F.R. § 229.119(c).

¶ 15 Martin argues that because he proved the presence of ice and snow on the steps of the BNSF locomotive, which he argues is a slipping hazard and a violation of 49 C.F.R. § 229.119(c), BNSF is liable under the LIA as a matter of law. BNSF argues that whether ice and snow was a violation of 49 C.F.R. § 229.119(c) was a proper question for the jury, citing Gregory v. Mo. Pac. R.R., 32 F.3d 160 (5th Cir.1994). In Gregory, there was conflicting testimony regarding the presence and amount of oil on a locomotive floor. The Fifth Circuit held that whether or not the oil constituted a slipping hazard was a question of fact, and therefore a question for the jury. Gregory, 32 F.3d at 162–63.

¶ 16 It is axiomatic that if, in fact, Martin slipped on the ice and snow on...