Ramos-Becerra v. Ricky L. Hatfield, Hatfield Trucking & JB Hunt Transp., Inc.
| Decision Date | 03 October 2016 |
| Docket Number | Civil No. 1:14-CV-00917 |
| Parties | FRANCISCO RAMOS-BECERRA and LOUISA RAMOS, Plaintiffs v. RICKY L. HATFIELD, HATFIELD TRUCKING and JB HUNT TRANSPORT, INC. Defendants |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Middle District of Pennsylvania |
MEMORANDUM
In this civil action invoking the court's diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332, Plaintiffs bring claims for negligence, negligent hiring, and loss of consortium against Defendants as a result of injuries suffered by Francisco Ramos-Becerra in a motor vehicle accident. Presently before the court is Defendant JB Hunt Transport, Inc.'s Motion for Summary Judgment. For the reasons stated herein, the motion will be denied in its entirety.
In considering JB Hunt Transport, Inc.'s ("JB Hunt") motion for summary judgment, the court relied on the uncontested facts, or where the facts were disputed, viewed the facts and deduced all reasonable inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to Plaintiffs as the nonmoving party in accordance with the relevant standard when deciding a motion for summary judgment. See Doe v. C.A.R.S. Prot. Plus, Inc., 527 F.3d 358, 362 (3d Cir. 2008).
JB Hunt is a transportation logistics company that provides transportation services to customers throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico. JB Hunt created the Power Carrier or Power Only division which hires trucking companies that own a tractor and operating authority through the Department of Transportation to haul trailers (hereinafter referred to as "motor carriers"). (Doc. 92-2, pp. 14-30, 34, 66.) In order to build this division, JB Hunt employed recruiters to cold call motor carriers and enlist them to enter into an Outsource Carriage Agreement ("OCA"). (Id. at 67; Doc. 92-3, pp. 6-7.) Using a motor carrier's Department of Transportation number, recruiters were instructed to ascertain each motor carrier's Department of Transportation rating from a website such as SAFERsys.com, and determine whether each carrier had a specified amount of insurance coverage prior to providing the OCA to the motor carrier. (Doc. 92-2, pp. 69-70; Doc. 92-3, p. 6.) Recruiters were permitted to accept safety ratings of satisfactory or none, but could not accept a conditional or unsatisfactory rating. (Doc. 92-2, pp. 15, 69-70; Doc. 92-3, p. 9.) JB Hunt did not require recruiters to check if any of the motor carrier's drivers had a driving under the influence conviction. (Doc. 92-3, p. 6.)
If the motor carrier had the required insurance and a satisfactory or no safety rating, the recruiter would provide the motor carrier with the OCA and assist in its completion. (Id. at 8; Doc. 92-2, pp. 67.) The recruiter then provided the OCA to JB Hunt's Carrier Relations Department to finalize the process and hire the motor carrier as an independent contractor. (Doc. 92-2, pp. 16, 67-68; Doc. 92-3, pp. 8, 13.) The motor carrier was then ready to begin hauling trailers pursuant to its OCA with JB Hunt. (Doc. 92-2, pp. 67-68; Doc. 92-3, p. 8.)
Derek Jones, a JB Hunt recruiter, dealt with Defendant Ricky L. Hatfield ("Hatfield"), owner of Defendant Hatfield Trucking, and took Hatfield Trucking through this process. (Doc. 92-2, pp. 74-75.) Using a report from SAFERsys.com, Jones determined that Hatfield Trucking had an acceptable safety rating of none. (Id. at 33.) On April 11, 2013, Hatfield Trucking and JB Hunt executed an OCA and related documents. (Id. at 14-30.) At the time of the motor vehicle accident underlying this action, Hatfield Trucking and JB Hunt were operating under this executed OCA, which describes Hatfield Trucking as an independent contractor and defines JB Hunt as "a carrier duly authorized to transport or to arrange for the transportation of freight." (Id. at 19.) An accompanying Carrier Profile submitted by Hatfield Trucking lists Hatfield as the only driver. (Id. at 16.)
Hatfield has been a truck driver since approximately 2000. (Doc. 84-5, p. 5.) He was trained in "freight lines" by Old Dominion and was issued his first commercial driver's license by the state of Tennessee. (Id.) In approximately 2005, Hatfield was terminated from Old Dominion after his employer discovered that he had been convicted of grand theft auto when he was a teenager. (Id. at 5-6.) Hatfield did not previously report this conviction to Old Dominion or the state of Tennessee when he obtained his commercial driver's license. (Id. at 6.)
In August 2009, while working for Big Blue Trucking, Hatfield was arrested and charged in Utah for driving under the influence and failure to stop at the command of a law enforcement officer. (Id. at 12; Doc. 92-3, pp. 20-21.) Hatfield pled guilty to both charges, was placed on probation for eighteen months and was required to pay a fine. (Doc. 92-3, pp. 26-27.) He was terminated from Big Blue Trucking due to these convictions. (Doc. 84-5, p. 12.)
In 2011, Hatfield was employed by TCT Trucking, Inc. (Doc. 92-4, p. 9.) During his employment, Hatfield was cited in Louisiana for speeding through a construction zone. (Id. at p. 10.) He was terminated soon after this citation for failing an alcohol test requested by TCT Trucking due to reasonable suspicion that Hatfield had been drinking. (Id. at 9, 11.)
In 2012, Hatfield purchased his own truck (Doc. 84-5, p. 8), and in 2013, obtained an operating certificate from the Department of Transportation and insurance through OOIDA under the name "Hatfield Trucking." (Id. at 8-10; Doc. 92-4, p. 4.) Hatfield Trucking subsequently entered into the OCA with JB Hunt. (Doc. 92-2, pp. 14-30.) Although permitted by the OCA to haul trailers for other companies, Hatfield Trucking exclusively hauled trailers for JB Hunt beginning in April 2013. (Doc. 84-7, p. 34; Doc. 84-5, p. 11.)
From November 15, 2013 through November 18, 2013, Hatfield was driving trailers for JB Hunt from Fredericksburg, Virginia to locations in Pennsylvania and Ohio, and returning to Fredericksburg. (Doc. 92-4, pp. 25-28.) On November 18, 2013, Hatfield accepted a load and transported a trailer to Erie, Pennsylvania (Doc. 84-6, p. 6; Doc. 92-4, p. 28), and then stopped in Breezewood, Pennsylvania for the evening. (Doc. 92-4, p. 28.) He was not scheduled to transport any trailers the following day but had accepted a trailer for pick up in Fredericksburg, Virginia on November 20, 2013. (Doc. 84-6, pp. 6-7.)
Hatfield began drinking in the afternoon of November 19, 2013. (Doc. 84-5, p. 43.) At 5:03 p.m., Hatfield was driving the tractor owned by Hatfield Trucking erratically in the left lane of Interstate 81-North near mile marker 13 in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. (Doc. 1, ¶ 16; Doc. 92-4, pp. 19-20.) Plaintiff FranciscoRamos-Becerra was lawfully on the shoulder of Interstate 81-North when Hatfield swerved into the right lane, continued onto the shoulder, and struck two parked vehicles and two individuals, including Plaintiff Ramos-Becerra. (Doc. 92-4, pp. 17-21.) Hatfield fled the scene but was later arrested and charged with numerous crimes relating to the accident, including driving under the influence of alcohol after it was determined that his blood alcohol content was 0.17. (Id. at 18-20.)
Plaintiff Ramos-Becerra alleges that, as a result of the accident, he sustained catastrophic injuries requiring multiple surgeries and prolonged hospitalizations as a result of the accident, including loss of consciousness, closed fracture of the base of the skull, open right tibia and fibula fracture, multiple bilateral rib fractures, proptosis of the left eye and air within the left eyelid, fluid within the ethmoid aircells and nasal fracture, lacerations, and displaced proximal and digital right fibula fractures. (Doc. 1, ¶ 31.)
Plaintiffs initiated this action by filing a complaint in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on April 21, 2014. (Doc. 1.) In their complaint, Plaintiffs assert four causes of action under Pennsylvania law against Hatfield, Hatfield Trucking, and JB Hunt as a result of the November 19, 2013 accident. (Id.) As to JB Hunt, Plaintiffs claim that the negligence of JB Hunt and its agents or employees, Hatfield and Hatfield Trucking, caused Plaintiff Ramos-Becerra's injuries as wellas loss of companionship for Plaintiff Ramos. (Id. at ¶¶ 48-54.) Within Count III, Plaintiffs also claim that JB Hunt was negligent in contracting with Hatfield Trucking. (Id. at ¶¶ 48(w)-(x).)
On May 12, 2014, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ordered, in accordance with the parties' stipulation, that this matter be transferred to the Middle District of Pennsylvania. (Doc. 7.) All Defendants answered Plaintiffs' complaint and JB Hunt filed a cross-claim against Hatfield and Hatfield Trucking. (Docs. 15 & 26.) Following the close of fact discovery, JB Hunt filed a motion in limine or, alternatively, a request for a Daubert hearing to preclude the testimony of Plaintiffs' commercial transportation expert, Brooks Rugemer. (Doc. 68.) By memorandum and order dated August 3, 2016, the court denied JB Hunt's motion in its entirety, finding that Mr. Rugemer is qualified to testify under Rule 702. (Docs. 101 & 102.)
JB Hunt filed a motion for summary judgment, brief in support, and a statement of facts on May 6, 2016. (Docs. 84, 85, & 86.) On June 3, 2016, Plaintiffs filed a brief in opposition to JB Hunt's motion for summary judgment as well as their own statement of facts and response to JB Hunt's statement of facts. (Docs. 91 & 92.) JB Hunt subsequently filed an answer to Plaintiffs' statement of facts and a reply brief on June 17, 2016. (Docs. 94 & 95.) On June 27, 2016,Plaintiffs filed a sur reply. (Doc. 98.) Thus, JB Hunt's motion for summary judgment has been fully briefed and is ripe for disposition.
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 sets forth the standard and procedures for the grant of summary judgment. Rule 56...
To continue reading
Request your trial