Rivers v. Great Dane Trailers, Inc.
| Decision Date | 26 March 1993 |
| Docket Number | No. CV-92-A-578-S.,CV-92-A-578-S. |
| Parties | Lucile S. RIVERS, Executrix of the Estate of Richard Albert Rivers, deceased, Plaintiff, v. GREAT DANE TRAILERS, INC. and Ryder Truck Rental, Inc., Defendants. RYDER TRUCK RENTAL, INC., Cross-Claimant, v. GREAT DANE TRAILERS, INC., Cross-Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Middle District of Alabama |
L. Andrew Hollis, Jr., Jeffrey C. Kirby, Birmingham, AL, Rufus R. Smith, Jr., Dothan, AL, for plaintiff.
Alan C. Livingston, Dothan, AL, Oakley W. Melton, Jr., James E. Williams, Richard A. Ball, Jr., Montgomery, AL, for defendants.
This cause is now before the court on the Motion For Summary Judgment Or, In The Alternative, Motion For Partial Summary Judgment on the Issue of Punitive Damages filed by defendant Great Dane Trailers, Inc. ("Great Dane") on January 4, 1993, and the Motion For Summary Judgment filed by defendant Ryder Truck Rental, Inc., ("Ryder") also filed January 4, 1993. The Motions For Summary Judgment were argued before the court on February 18, 1993.
For the following reasons, the defendants' motions for summary judgment are due to be granted in part and denied in part.
Plaintiff Lucile Rivers is a resident citizen of Houston County, Alabama, and has been appointed Executrix, in the State of Alabama, of the Estate of Richard Albert Rivers, who was a resident citizen of the State of Alabama at the time of his death. Defendant Great Dane is a corporation incorporated under the laws of the State of Georgia, and having its principal place of business in Georgia.
Defendant Ryder is a corporation incorporated under the laws of the State of Florida, and having its principal place of business in Florida.
Jurisdiction is based upon diversity of citizenship between the plaintiff and the defendants, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332. The amount in controversy exceeds $50,000. Accordingly, the court has jurisdiction to hear this matter, and venue is proper. Because the accident occurred in Jackson County, Florida, the applicable law is that of the State of Florida.
On the afternoon of November 12, 1991, Dudley Wade Floyd, an employee of Columbia Yeast Company, was driving a tractor-trailer rig northbound on Florida State Road No. 75 (U.S. 231) en route from Orlando, Florida, to Headland, Alabama. At approximately 3:55 p.m. on that date, Mr. Floyd had brought the tractor-trailer rig to a complete stop behind two automobiles which had previously stopped in the northbound lane of State Road No. 75, approximately 1.3 miles south of Campbellton, Jackson County, Florida. The lead car had stopped in the north-bound lane in order to allow several oncoming southbound vehicles to pass before turning left into a retail establishment.
Also on November 12, 1991, Plaintiff Rivers' decedent, Richard Albert Rivers, was traveling in the northbound lane of State Road No. 75, driving a white 1982 Datsun pickup truck. Mr. Rivers' pickup truck was traveling behind Mr. Floyd's tractor-trailer rig. After the tractor-trailer rig had been lawfully stopped in the northbound lane for approximately one minute1, Mr. Rivers' vehicle crashed into the rear of the trailer portion of the rig. Mr. Rivers suffered fatal injuries in the collision.
The trailer involved in the collision was manufactured by Great Dane, and sold to Ryder Truck Rental in November 1990. Ryder leased the trailer to Columbia Yeast Company. The trailer was manufactured to include a step bumper on the rear.
The force of the impact (1) sheared the step bumper from its welded construction with the trailer frame, (2) broke the left center spring hanger between the axles of the trailer, (3) pushed the left rear axle and tires approximately six inches forward, (4) pushed the left rear mud guard and support approximately eight inches forward and three inches down from their original locations on the trailer, and (5) severely twisted the left rear frame of the trailer.
The pickup truck which was driven by plaintiff's decedent was severely twisted and damaged from the front bumper to the passenger cab. The pickup did not stop after the initial impact, but rather continued underneath the trailer until the back corner of the trailer smashed the pickup's windshield and struck Mr. Rivers's head. It was this second impact of the trailer striking Mr. Rivers's head which produced the fatal injuries.
The speed at which Mr. Rivers' vehicle was traveling at the time of the impact is disputed by the parties2. Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, in this case the plaintiff, the court assumes, for the purpose of summary judgment, that the speed at the time of impact was approximately seventeen or eighteen miles per hour.
At the time of the accident, the weather was clear and sunny, with seven miles visibility. State Road No. 75 is straight and flat for a considerable distance both north and south of the accident scene. There was nothing obstructing Mr. Rivers' vision of the stopped tractor-trailer rig.
Plaintiff brought this action against Great Dane asserting that the trailer involved in the collision was defective and that Great Dane negligently designed and manufactured the trailer. Plaintiff alleges that the trailer should have been equipped with a step bumper which would prevent underride in the event of a rear-end collision. Specifically, Plaintiff maintains that the step bumper on the rear of the trailer should have prevented the pickup truck from continuing under the trailer after impacting with the bumper. Plaintiff further asserts that the trailer was negligently manufactured because the bumper failed to meet Great Dane's own specifications.3
Plaintiff also makes a claim based upon strict liability in tort. This claim asserts that the step bumper on the rear of the vehicle was defective and created an unreasonably dangerous and unsafe condition when it was allowed to shear off and consequently failed to prevent the pickup from continuing under the trailer after impact.
Plaintiff seeks punitive damages as well as compensatory damages, on both the negligence and the strict liability claims.
Rule 56(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides that summary judgment is appropriate where "there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and ... the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." This standard can be met by the moving party, in a case in which the ultimate burden of persuasion at trial rests on him, by showing that undisputed evidence entitles him to judgment as a matter of law as to the claim on which he has the burden. Where the burden of proof is on the non-moving party, this standard can be met either by submitting affirmative evidence negating an essential element of the non-movant's claim, or by demonstrating that the non-moving party's evidence itself is insufficient to establish an essential element of his or her claim. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).
The burden then shifts to the non-moving party to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an essential element to her claims, and on which she bears the burden of proof at trial. Id. To meet this burden, the non-moving party cannot rest on the pleadings, but must by affidavit or other appropriate means, set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e).
It is the substantive law that identifies those facts which are material on motions for summary judgment. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 258, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2515, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). See also DeLong Equipment Co. v. Washington Mills Abrasive Co., 887 F.2d 1499 (11th Cir.1989). All the evidence and the inferences from the underlying facts must be viewed in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Earley v. Champion International Corp., 907 F.2d 1077, 1080 (11th Cir.1990). See also Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1356, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). The moving party bears "the exacting burden of demonstrating that there is no dispute as to any material fact in the case." Warrior Tombigbee Transp. Co. v. M/V Nan Fung, 695 F.2d 1294, 1296 (11th Cir.1983).
Thus, the court's function in deciding a motion for summary judgment is to determine whether there exist genuine, material issues of fact to be tried, and if not, whether the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. See Dominick v. Dixie National Life Insurance Company, 809 F.2d 1559 (11th Cir.1987).
Because this matter is before the court on defendants' motions for summary judgment, they must show that there is no issue of material fact and that they are entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). The burden then shifts to plaintiff, as the non-moving party, to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of facts supporting the essential elements to her claims, and on which she bears the burden of proof at trial. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). In satisfying this burden, plaintiff may not rest upon the mere allegations or denials of her pleadings, but must, by affidavits or other appropriate means, set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial. Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(e); Avirgan v. Hull, 932 F.2d 1572, 1577 (11th Cir.1991).
Plaintiff has asserted two causes of action against the defendants. Plaintiff first maintains a negligence action against both Great Dane and Ryder claiming that the trailer was negligently designed or negligently manufactured because it contained a step bumper which failed to prevent damage from underside in a rear-end collision. Plaintiff also asserts claims against both defendants based upon strict liability.4
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