Walker v. Union Pacific R. Co.

• Citation: 844 P.2d 335
• Decision Date: 02 October 1992
• Docket Number: No. 910218-CA,910218-CA
• Parties: Michael WALKER, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD CO., a Utah corporation, Defendant and Appellee.
• Court: Court of Appeals of Utah

Page 335

844 P.2d 335

Michael WALKER, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD CO., a Utah corporation, Defendant and Appellee.

No. 910218-CA.

Court of Appeals of Utah.

Oct. 2, 1992.

Rehearing Denied Jan. 29, 1993.

Randall Bunnell, James W. McConkie, Richard H. McKeown (argued), Parker, McKeown & McConkie, Salt Lake City, for plaintiff and appellant.

Larry A. Gantenbein (argued), Rene Orosco, Salt Lake City, for defendant and appellee.

Before BENCH, JACKSON and ORME, JJ.

ORME, Judge:

Plaintiff in a personal injury suit appeals the trial court's dismissal of his action for failure to establish a prima facie right to relief. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for further proceedings.

BACKGROUND

Given the posture of the case, we recite the facts as consistent with the evidence put on by appellant in his case-in-chief. On November 7, 1986, appellant was walking to a bus stop to catch a bus to work when a train owned by appellee Union Pacific pulled across an intersection in front of him and stopped, effectively blocking appellant's path. Appellant had recently been released from prison and became concerned that if he missed his bus and arrived late for work, he would be fired and have his probation revoked. Appellant saw no railroad employees on or near the stopped train, and he observed no indication that the train might soon continue through the intersection. Accordingly, after waiting some ten minutes for the train to move, appellant proceeded into the intersection and began to climb over a coupling between two of the stopped rail cars. At the same moment that appellant was positioned over the coupling, the train began to move without warning, and the motion of the rail cars caused appellant's feet to become caught in the coupling. Appellant was severely injured as a result and eventually had to have his right leg amputated below the knee.

Appellant brought suit against Union Pacific, claiming that his injuries resulted from the railroad's negligence. To establish that the railroad acted negligently, appellant hoped to assert at trial that Union Pacific's conduct violated a statutory duty of care conferred upon the company by Salt Lake City Ordinance § 12.100.110. Prior to trial, however, the trial court ruled that the ordinance was both preempted by state statute and void for vagueness. Accordingly, appellant was barred from asserting the railroad's alleged violations of the ordinance as evidence of its negligence.

Alternatively, appellant planned to assert that Union Pacific had violated a common law duty of care owed to appellant. In support of this theory, appellant attempted to introduce expert testimony establishing that Union Pacific had a duty to minimize the possibility of injury to pedestrians and that the railroad had breached this duty. Union Pacific moved to exclude the testimony on the ground that, based upon his deposition, the expert was not aware of any national or industry-wide standards pertaining to the conduct of trains at intersections as concerns pedestrians. The trial court granted Union Pacific's motion and excluded the testimony, deeming it unnecessary to a proper understanding of the case. At the conclusion of appellant's case-in-chief, and upon appellee's motion, the court dismissed the action for failure to establish a prima facie case. ¹

Appellant now challenges (1) the trial court's determination that Salt Lake City Ordinance § 12.100.110 is preempted and void for vagueness, (2) the court's dismissal of the case, and (3) the exclusion of the expert testimony.

I. ORDINANCE PREEMPTED BY STATE LAW

Salt Lake City Ordinance 12.100.110 states in full, with our emphasis No railroad company, railroad engineer, railroad conductor, or any other person operating or in control of the movement of any railroad train or locomotive shall cause or permit any locomotive, railroad car, train of railroad cars or any portion thereof to obstruct any intersection between a railroad and public street so as to prevent any person or vehicle from crossing the railroad tracks at such intersection for a period longer than five minutes, except in cases of unavoidable emergencies or impossibility due to the length of such train while moving at a reasonable speed, in which cases notice shall be given at each such crossing by the engineer, conductor or other employee of the railroad company of such delay by means of a hand-held sign clearly visible to the waiting motorists or pedestrians that such locomotive, railroad car, train or portion thereof will be delayed for more than five minutes at such crossings.

In the instant case, Union Pacific's train had stopped while in the process of setting out a defective rail car--a task which does not appear to fall within the ordinance's category of "unavoidable emergency," ² and which definitely does not constitute a "delay resulting from the train's length." Also, Union Pacific gave no notice that the train's delay would exceed five minutes. Appellant hoped to raise both of these apparent violations of the ordinance at trial, but was precluded from doing so by the trial court's ruling that the ordinance was preempted by state law.

A. Applicable State Law

Utah permits local governments to legislate by ordinance those subjects already covered by state legislation, provided (1) the state has not foreclosed municipal legislation of the subject, and (2) "the ordinance in no way conflicts with existing state law." Redwood Gym v. Salt Lake County Comm'n, 624 P.2d 1138, 1144 (Utah 1981). See State v. Hutchinson, 624 P.2d 1116, 1121 (Utah 1980); Allgood v. Larson, 545 P.2d 530, 533 (Utah 1976). Utah Code Ann. § 10-8-30 (1991) clearly contemplates local legislation concerning train traffic. The statute, with our emphasis, allows municipalities to "regulate the movement of traffic on the streets, sidewalks, and public places, including the movements of pedestrians as well as of vehicles, and the cars and engines of railroads." Still, as the Redwood Gym opinion makes clear, any local legislation is valid only if not in conflict with existing state law.

Utah Code Ann. § 41-6-95.5 (1988) sets forth six distinct circumstances in which a train may conduct a stop exceeding five minutes at an intersection. Those circumstances are:

(1) when necessary to comply with signals affecting the safety of the movement of trains; (2) when necessary to avoid striking any object or person on the track; (3) when the train is disabled; (4) when the train is in motion or while engaged in switching operations or as determined by local authority; (5) when there is no vehicular traffic waiting to use the crossing; or (6) when necessary to comply with a governmental safety regulation.

Utah Code Ann. § 41-6-95.5 (1988).

B. Conflict Between Statute and Ordinance

Since, in the instant case, Union Pacific was stopped while disengaging a defective rail car from a train, as required by Federal Railroad Administration Regulations, the stop was clearly permissible under section 41-6-95.5(6). However, as appellant correctly surmised, the same stop appears to have violated the language of the Salt Lake City ordinance. While the term "unavoidable emergency" as used in the ordinance most likely encompasses several The lower court's preemption determination is a legal conclusion which we review for correctness, according it no particular deference. Carter v. Utah Power & Light Co., 800 P.2d 1095, 1097 (Utah 1990). However, we concur with the trial court that the Salt Lake City ordinance purports to prohibit extended delays in situations permitted by the statute, and as such conflicts with Utah Code Ann. § 41-6-95.5. We agree that the ordinance, as sought to be applied in this case, is preempted by state law. ⁴ See Redwood Gym, 624 P.2d at 1144.

situations contemplated in the statute--i.e., when an extended stop is necessary to avoid striking an object or a person, or when a train is disabled--it is highly unlikely that the term contemplates situations such as the one at issue, in which the train was delayed while voluntarily complying with governmental regulations in a non-emergency situation. ³

II. PROPRIETY OF DISMISSAL

A defendant in an action tried without a jury may, after the plaintiff has completed the presentation of his evidence, move to dismiss the action if "upon the facts and the law the plaintiff has shown no right to relief." Utah R.Civ.P. 41(b). See Southern Title Guar. Co. v. Bethers, 761 P.2d 951, 953 (Utah App.1988). Dismissal under Rule 41(b) is only appropriate when (1) the claimant has failed to introduce sufficient evidence to establish a prima facie case, or (2) the trial court is not persuaded by that evidence. See id. at 954 (quoting Lemon v. Coates, 735 P.2d 58, 60 (Utah 1987)). In the instant case, Union Pacific's motion for involuntary dismissal was summarily granted because application of the Salt Lake City ordinance is preempted, and, the court concluded, because Union Pacific owed appellant no further duty of care since its conduct was not at odds with the state statute. ⁵ While we agree with In English v. Southern Pacific Co., 13 Utah 407, 45 P. 47 (1896), the Utah Supreme Court established that, when utilizing public crossings, railroads may owe pedestrians a duty of care that transcends any imposed by statute. In English, a pedestrian was injured when struck by a train at a crossing. The railroad argued that it was not liable for the pedestrian's injuries, since the train had complied with a state statute requiring trains to ring bells and sound whistles when approaching public thoroughfares, and that "no additional duty was imposed under any circumstances, to prevent injury." 45 P. at 49. The Utah Supreme Court rejected the railroad's argument, however, and held that the railroad had violated a common law duty it owed to pedestrians. The court stated:

the trial court's preemption analysis, its second conclusion is incorrect.

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