Stevenson v. Wright

• Decision Date: 22 June 2007
• Docket Number: No. S-06-320.,S-06-320.
• Citation: 733 N.W.2d 559,273 Neb. 789
• Parties: William STEVENSON, appellant and cross-appellee, v. Michael WRIGHT, appellee and cross-appellant.
• Court: Nebraska Supreme Court

733 N.W.2d 559

273 Neb. 789

William STEVENSON, appellant and cross-appellee, v. Michael WRIGHT, appellee and cross-appellant.

No. S-06-320.

Supreme Court of Nebraska.

June 22, 2007.

Jeffry D. Patterson, of Bartle & Geier Law Firm, Lincoln, for appellant.

Cathy S. Trent, Lincoln and Melanie J. Whittamore-Mantzios, of Wolfe, Snowden, Hurd, Luers & Ahl, L.L.P., for appellee.

HEAVICAN, C.J., WRIGHT, CONNOLLY, GERRARD, STEPHAN, McCORMACK, and MILLER-LERMAN, JJ.

GERRARD, J.

William Stevenson and Michael Wright were involved in a traffic accident in Lincoln, Nebraska, and Wright was found guilty of operating his vehicle in a careless, reckless, or negligent manner, in violation of Lincoln Mun.Code § 10.14.290 (1990). Stevenson then brought a civil action against Wright for the damage to Stevenson's vehicle. The issues presented in this appeal are whether Wright's conviction for the traffic infraction of operating his vehicle in a careless, reckless, or negligent manner (1) is admissible against him in the civil action as evidence of negligence or (2) collaterally estops him from denying negligence or alleging Stevenson's negligence.

BACKGROUND

After the accident, Wright was ticketed for operating his vehicle in a careless, reckless, or negligent manner. Wright pleaded not guilty, and the matter went to trial in the county court.

At trial, Stevenson testified that on November 29, 2003, he was driving his Chevrolet Suburban west on Vine Street toward his residence, which was on the north side of Vine Street between East Avon and Colony Lanes. Vine Street, at the time of the accident, had three lanes at that location: one traffic lane in each direction and a middle turn lane. Stevenson testified that he signaled a right turn and was in the right lane, turning into his driveway, when his vehicle was struck on the right side by another vehicle that approached from behind. Stevenson's son, who was waiting in a parking lot across the street for his father to pull into the driveway, testified that he witnessed the accident, and he corroborated his father's testimony.

Wright, the driver of the other vehicle, testified that he was driving west on Vine Street behind Stevenson when Stevenson's vehicle went into the middle turn lane. Wright said he did not see a turn signal. Wright testified that Stevenson made a right turn from the middle lane and that Wright was unable to stop, resulting in a collision in the right lane. Essentially, Wright's theory was that in order for Stevenson's Chevrolet Suburban to make a 90-degree right turn into his driveway, Stevenson had been required to take his vehicle into the center lane and make a wide right turn, causing the collision.

The county court found Wright guilty of operating his vehicle in a careless, reckless, or negligent manner in violation of § 10.14.290 and fined him $60 plus court costs. Later, Stevenson brought a civil action against Wright in the county court for the damages allegedly caused to Stevenson's vehicle by Wright's negligence. Wright denied that he was negligent, alleged as an affirmative defense that Stevenson's own negligence was the cause of the accident, and specifically alleged the ways in which he claimed Stevenson was negligent. Stevenson filed a motion for summary judgment based on the traffic infraction conviction.

The county court found that the issue of Wright's negligence as the proximate cause of Stevenson's damages was finally resolved in the traffic infraction proceeding. The county court concluded that Wright was collaterally estopped from asserting that Stevenson's negligence was the cause of the collision. Because Wright had admitted that the amount of Stevenson's damages was $2,708.70, the county court entered summary judgment in that amount, plus court costs and postjudgment interest.

On appeal, the district court partly reversed the judgment of the county court. The district court found that although evidence of the traffic infraction conviction was admissible, the issues in that proceeding were not identical to those in the civil action, because the issues of contributory negligence and allocation of liability were not presented in the traffic infraction proceeding. The district court also noted that although Stevenson testified in the traffic infraction proceeding, he was not a party to that proceeding. The district court concluded that collateral estoppel was inapplicable and affirmed the county court's order with respect to the admissibility of the conviction, but reversed the order with respect to the summary judgment.

ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR

Stevenson assigns that the district court erred in (1) concluding that collateral estoppel was not applicable because Stevenson was not a party to the traffic court prosecution, (2) concluding that contributory negligence and comparison of negligence were issues to be resolved in the county court civil action, and (3) failing to conclude that the factual findings of the traffic court necessarily result in a finding that Stevenson was not negligent or a cause of the collision with Wright. On cross-appeal, Wright contends that the district court erred in affirming the county court's decision to receive into evidence, for purposes of the summary judgment motion, evidence of Wright's traffic infraction conviction.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

Summary judgment is proper when the pleadings and evidence admitted at the hearing disclose that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact or as to the ultimate inferences that may be drawn from those facts and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.¹ In reviewing a summary judgment, an appellate court views the evidence in a light most favorable to the party against whom judgment is granted and gives such party the benefit of all reasonable inferences deducible from the evidence.²

ANALYSIS

ADMISSIBILITY OF CONVICTION FOR TRAFFIC INFRACTION AS EVIDENCE OF NEGLIGENCE

We begin with the issue presented by Wright's cross-appeal — the admissibility of Wright's conviction as evidence of negligence. Wright relies on Neb.Rev. Stat. § 60-693 (Reissue 2004), which provides that "[n]o evidence of the conviction of any person for any violation of any provision of the Nebraska Rules of the Road³ shall be admissible in any court in any civil action." Had Wright been convicted of violating a Nebraska state traffic regulation, § 60-693 would be dispositive of this issue. But Wright was convicted of violating a Lincoln city ordinance. Strictly speaking, § 60-693 does not apply to a conviction for violating a municipal ordinance. But the rule stated in § 60-693 is representative of the general rule followed by the overwhelming majority of jurisdictions to have considered the admissibility of a traffic conviction in a subsequent civil proceeding. The general rule is that traffic convictions are not admissible in later civil proceedings as evidence of the facts that serve as a basis for the conviction.⁴ As explained by the Illinois Supreme Court:

Ultimately, the danger of unfair prejudice from a traffic conviction outweighs its probative value. . . . A conviction conveys a deceptive sense of certainty to the jury in a civil case that is difficult to challenge. "[J]uries may have difficulty grasping the distinction between a prior judgment offered as evidence and one that is conclusive, giving the judgment binding effect even if this is contrary to substantive law." ... The jury in a civil action may substitute the opinion of the police officer who issued the ticket or the opinion of the traffic judge for its own . . . . Traffic court may therefore become "the cornerstone of a significant civil action filed after the conclusion of the criminal proceedings."⁵

Generally, evidence of a final judgment, entered after a trial or upon a plea of guilty, adjudging a person guilty of a crime punishable by death or imprisonment in excess of 1 year, is admissible to prove any fact essential to sustain the judgment.⁶ But traffic infractions, including violation of the municipal ordinance under which Wright was convicted, are not punishable by imprisonment in excess of 1 year.⁷ And this rule is based on the valid distinction between a conviction for a more serious offense and for a relatively minor matter such as a traffic infraction.⁸ "Especially in traffic violations, expediency and convenience, rather than guilt, often control the defendant's `trial technique.'"⁹

Stevenson points out, correctly, that unlike a conviction based on a plea or payment of a fine, Wright's conviction was based on a trial in the county court. But it is unrealistic and impractical to examine a prior conviction to determine whether the defendant vigorously defended himself, and to do so would amount to penalizing individuals who exercised their right to defend against the charges against them. Wright should not be penalized for having an attorney to defend him.¹⁰ And we note that this case does not involve a plea of guilty and, thus, does not implicate the use, in a subsequent action, of a plea of guilty entered by the defendant in a criminal action as an admission that the defendant committed the acts charged.¹¹

Fundamentally, there is no principled reason for us to distinguish a traffic infraction conviction under state law from one under a municipal ordinance. While municipal ordinances regulating traffic are not technically part of the Nebraska Rules of the Road, such ordinances exist only because they are authorized by those rules.¹² And the admissibility of a conviction should not depend on the charging authority's decision whether to prosecute an alleged offender under state law or a functionally equivalent local ordinance. In this case, Wright was convicted of violating § 10.14.290, which provides:

It shall be unlawful for any person to drive, use, operate, park, cause to be parked, or stop any vehicle (a) in a careless manner, or (b) in a reckless manner, or (c) in a...