City May Be Liable When Motorcyclist Not Warned of Stalled Front-End Loader in Road
26 Jul 2007
Carl W. Leach III died of injuries he received when the motorcycle he drove crashed into a front-end loader belonging to the City of Dayton, Ohio. Claiming the City was negligent in not placing warning devices around the disabled equipment and requesting summary judgment based on that negligence, the executor of Leach's estate sued the City.
The City maintained it had immunity and moved for a directed verdict. Based on its opinion that the City's decision not to place warning devices was discretionary and subject to immunity, the Court of Common Pleas, Montgomery County denied the plaintiff's motion for summary judgment and granted the City's motion for directed verdict.
When the plaintiff took the case to the Court of Appeals, that court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded. The appellate court denied both the plaintiff's motion for summary judgment and the defendant's motion for directed verdict. The court concluded that a reasonable person might decide the City failed in its duty to keep its streets open and free from nuisance.
The Collision
On July 29, 1990, Fifth Street between Wayne Avenue and Patterson Boulevard in Dayton, Ohio was blocked off for a beach party. City crews trucked in piles of sand and spread the sand on Fifth Street to create volleyball courts. At about 7:00 p.m., crews returned to clean up the sand. They found the beach party still partially blocked the intersection of Wayne and Fifth. Wayne Avenue is a four-lane street, with two lanes for northbound traffic and two for southbound. South of the intersection of Wayne and Fifth, the right-hand lane of southbound Wayne Avenue traffic was blocked by dump trucks and other vehicles that would be used to clean up after the celebration. A City front-end loader was among the equipment parked there.
A City employee tried to start the loader at about 8:00 p.m. When the loader would not start, he notified his supervisor, who also tried to start the vehicle. When that attempt failed, the two got another loader and a battery charger from the maintenance yard. About 8:30 p.m. they returned to the intersection of Wayne and Fifth, and the supervisor again tried to start the front-end loader. The loader did not start; and at about 8:45 p.m., the supervisor requested a tow truck to move the equipment away. None of the loader's lights were on; city employees placed no warning devices around the disabled loader. The crew did not attempt to warn motorists of the loader's position in the travel lane.
That same evening, just before 10:00 p.m., Carl W. Leach III drove his motorcycle south on Wayne Avenue. He collided with the City's front-end loader and later died of his injuries.
The Rights Of The Victim
Persons using the highways have a right to assume that they are free of hidden hazards. A front-end loader without lights or warning devices, positioned in a lane of travel at night, certainly would qualify as a hidden hazard. Any person or corporation leaving a front-end loader in such a situation would be easily found legally liable for any injury or death caused by a collision with the loader. When public entities, such as cities, are involved, however, some new issues can arise.
In this case, the City argued that the decision to place warning devices was discretionary. The reason for this argument is the fact that many states have held that public entities cannot be held liable for a failure to perform a discretionary act. As a result, it is often necessary for an injured victim to fight through motions and even adverse court rulings on the issue of discretionary action.
In the abstracted case, the appellate court resolved the issue in favor of the victim who was killed as a result of the plainly negligent misconduct of the City. It should be noted, however, that the court's decision merely permits the claim to proceed to a jury trial. It will remain for the jury to determine whether the City is held liable for its conduct.
