Nye v. BNSF Ry. Co., Case Number: 113142
| Decision Date | 19 June 2018 |
| Docket Number | Case Number: 113142 |
| Parties | Juanita NYE, personal representative of the estate of Jeffrey Nye, deceased, Appellee, v. BNSF RAILWAY COMPANY, a foreign corporation, Appellant. |
| Court | Oklahoma Supreme Court |
Douglas W. Poole, McLEOD, ALEXANDER, POWEL & APFFEL, P.C., Galveston, Texas, for Appellant.
George R. Mullican, Christopher D. Wolek, Michael P. Womack, GIBBS, ARMSTRONG, BOROCHOFF, MULLICAN & HART, P.C., Tulsa, Oklahoma, for Appellant.
David E. Keltner, pro hac vice, Marianne M. Auld, pro hac vice, KELLY, HART & HALLMAN, LLP, Fort Worth, Texas, for Appellant.
George W. Braly, William W. Speed, BRALY, BRALY, SPEED & MORRIS, PLLC, Ada Oklahoma, for Appellee.
Grant L. Davis, pro hac vice, Thomas C. Jones, pro hac vice, Timothy C. Gaarder, pro hac vice, DAVIS, BETHUNE & JONES, LLC, Kansas City, Missouri, for Appellee.
Michael M. Blue, BLUE LAW, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for Appellee.
¶1 This is a wrongful death action arising from a fatal vehicle/train collision at the County Road 1660 railroad crossing in Pontotoc County. The appellant, Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railroad Company (BNSF), appeals from the underlying judgment on a jury's verdict in favor of the appellee, Juanita Nye, in her capacity as the wife of Jeffrey Nye, the decedent, and the personal representative of her husband's estate (Nye). BNSF also appeals the post-trial order overruling its motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or, in the alternative, motion for a new trial. In substance, BNSF contends that federal law preempted Nye's claims, challenges the fairness of the trial proceedings and challenges the amount of damages awarded. Having retained the appeal, this Court now considers the propriety of the jury verdict/award and examines the trial court proceedings below.
¶2 A more detailed discussion of the disputed facts is provided in the context of the issues presented in section III, infra. On December 29, 2008, Jeffrey Nye (Driver), and his friend H.C. Rackley (Passenger), were transporting feed troughs in a trailer attached to Driver's jeep when a train, operated by BNSF, collided with Driver's jeep. Upon impact, the jeep flipped around behind the trailer and turned over. Driver and Passenger were ejected. Driver later died from his injuries. Passenger, although injured, survived.
¶3 At the time of the collision, the County Road 1660 railroad crossing was described as a "passive grade crossing"1 equipped with at least one crossbuck sign—the familiar black-and-white, X-shaped sign that reads "RAILROAD CROSSING."
¶4 On October 29, 2009, Passenger sued BNSF, the train crew and Nye for negligence. Passenger ultimately settled his claims. On October 30, 2009, Nye's mother and representative of Nye's estate, filed an answer and a wrongful death cross-claim against BNSF and the train crew for negligence, intentional conduct for maintaining inadequate warning devices at the railroad crossing, failure to clear the right-of-way of vegetation and other obstructions, and failure to sound the train's horn. Ultimately, Juanita Nye, Jeffrey Nye's wife, was substituted as plaintiff and personal representative of Nye's estate.
¶5 BNSF denied Nye's allegations and raised several defenses, including contributory negligence, negligence per se for failing to yield the right-of-way to a plainly visible approaching train at the crossing and asserted that Nye's claim of inadequate warning devices was federally preempted.
¶6 In due course, BNSF filed various pretrial motions. One of the motions argued that federal law preempted several of Nye's claims, including the contention that BNSF failed to install adequate warning signs at the railroad crossing. Nye opposed the requested relief and raised the existence of disputed material facts regarding whether federal funds actually paid for the crossing signs at this particular intersection. In addition, Nye alleged that BNSF's evidentiary materials were insufficient to demonstrate that federal funds were actually used in the erection of the warning signs at the subject crossing. The trial court found that there was an overwhelming factual dispute concerning whether the warning signs at the subject crossing were federally funded and denied BNSF's motion.
¶7 BNSF immediately filed an application to assume original jurisdiction and writ of prohibition, seeking review by this Court. BNSF and Nye re-urged their respective arguments made below. During oral presentation of the matter, BNSF admitted, however, that it did not have proof that the specific crossbucks at issue, here, were erected with federal funds. Further, in its brief, BNSF only claimed immunity from damages under Nye's warning device claim but not immunity from suit. This Court denied BNSF's requested relief, essentially leaving resolution of the disputed facts for a jury's determination.
¶8 BNSF filed a subsequent motion in limine in the trial court to prevent Nye from introducing evidence and arguments related to their alleged preempted warning device claim. The trial court denied BNSF's motion. BNSF then moved for a ruling in limine to exclude consideration of BNSF's net worth and financial wealth. The trial court granted that motion.
¶9 On December 2, 2013, the parties tried the case to a jury. Nye produced several fact witnesses and expert testimony that the train was not plainly visible from the road. Various witnesses testified that the view of the subject crossing was obstructed by overgrown vegetation, trees and brush. Neither Driver nor Passenger noticed the approaching train until Driver slowed down and drove onto the railroad crossing. It was not until Driver yelled "train," one second before impact, that Passenger became aware of the impending collision.
¶10 Through multiple fact witnesses, Nye contended that BNSF never sounded the train's horn. In furtherance of this contention, Nye produced analysis of the train's event data recorder that the horn was not blown. BNSF refuted this claim.
¶11 On December 17, 2013, the jury returned an 11-1 verdict, finding BNSF and Nye negligent and apportioned 65% fault to BNSF and 35% fault to Nye. The jury awarded $14,813,000 in damages. On April 21, 2014, the trial court entered judgment on the jury's verdict and reduced the jury's award for Nye's contributory negligence to $9,628,450 in damages and $1,103,471.19 in prejudgment interest and costs for a total award of $10,731,921.19 plus post-judgment interest. BNSF, through its own legal strategies, decided not to seek a remittitur.
¶12 Subsequently, BNSF filed a Motion for Judgment Notwithstanding the Verdict (JNOV), and Alternative Motion for New Trial on July 14, 2014. The trial court entered its order overruling BNSF's motion on July 21, 2014. BNSF then filed this appeal. Nye answered contending essentially that the jury verdict/award should be upheld. This Court retained the appeal.2
¶13 BNSF's complained errors are nothing more than a futile attempt at a re-trial by appellate brief. Its approach to the numerous questions of material fact presented below is to deem each of them conclusively established as a matter of law and therefore beyond the purview of the jury as the finder of fact. The gravamen of BNSF's appeal is two-fold: (1) whether BNSF is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, or whether instead, the trial court properly submitted the factual issues to the jury; and (2) whether, under the evidence presented, the measure of damages awarded was reasonable.
¶14 When legal actions have been tried to a jury and judgment entered therefrom, this Court is constrained to review the jury's verdict as conclusive to all disputed facts and conflicting statements if "there is any competent evidence reasonably tending to support the verdict." Barnes v. Okla. Farm Bureau Mut. Ins. Co., 2000 OK 55, ¶ 3, 11 P.3d 162, 166 ; see also, Florafax Int'l, Inc. v. GTE Mkt. Res., Inc., 1997 OK 7, ¶ 3, 933 P.2d 282, 287. In a jury-tried action:
an appellate court's duty is not to weigh the evidence and determine which side produced evidence of greater weight, i.e. it is not an appellate court's function to decide where the preponderance of the evidence lies —that job in our system of justice has been reposed in the jury. In a jury-tried case, it is the jury that acts as the exclusive arbiter of the credibility of the witnesses. Finally, the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain a judgment in an action of legal cognizance is determined by an appellate court in light of the evidence tending to support it, together with every reasonable inference deducible therefrom, rejecting all evidence adduced by the adverse party which conflicts with it.
Id. (emphasis added). Thus, "[w]here competent evidence was presented at trial to support reasonable findings as to those material fact questions relating to the claim in suit and no reversible error is otherwise shown, an appellate court must affirm a judgment based on a jury verdict...." Badillo v. Mid Century Ins. Co., 2005 OK 48, ¶ 3, 121 P.3d 1080, 1088. Stated another way—neither the trial court nor this Court will sit as thirteenth juror and substitute its opinion for that of a jury merely because the court could have decided or viewed disputed material fact questions differently. See Currens v. Hampton, 1997 OK 58, ¶ 9, 939 P.2d 1138, 1141. Those general principles control our review here.
¶15 On appeal, BNSF re-urges the challenges raised in its motion for JNOV. The appellate standard for reviewing the trial court's ruling on a motion for JNOV is identical to the standard utilized by the trial court. See First Nat'l Bank in Durant v. Honey Creek Entm't Corp., 2002 OK 11, ¶ 8, 54 P.3d 100, 103. "We consider as true all evidence favorable to the non-moving party together with all inferences that may be reasonably drawn therefrom, and we disregard all conflicting evidence favorable to the moving party." Id. A motion for JNOV...
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