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Kraus v. Hy-Vee11/9/2004
Opinion Vote: AFFIRMED IN PART; REVERSED IN PART; REMANDED.
Lowenstein and Holliger, JJ. concur.
Opinion:
This appeal stems from an automobile collision at an intersection in Columbia, Missouri. The survivors of a woman killed in that collision have asserted claims against multiple parties for wrongful death and professional negligence. They contend that the state highway and transportation commission, the owner of a nearby grocery store, the company that built the grocery store, and the company that conducted a traffic impact study of the intersection are liable for failing to install electric traffic lights at the intersection and for failing to properly re-stripe the road at the intersection. The survivors also contend that the company that conducted the traffic impact study is liable for professional negligence in producing a faulty study that the other defendants relied upon in deciding not to install electric traffic lights.
Broadly speaking, this appeal involves two questions. First, have the survivors alleged facts sufficient to show that the state waived its sovereign immunity? And second, have the survivors' alleged facts sufficient to show that the remaining defendants had a duty as a matter of law, such that they could be liable for negligence in this case?
We conclude that the survivors have alleged sufficient facts to show that the state waived its sovereign immunity under the so-called "dangerous condition exception." We further conclude that the survivors have alleged facts sufficient to show that the company that conducted the traffic impact study had a duty in this case. However, the survivors have not alleged facts sufficient to show that the grocery store owner or the company that constructed the store have any potential liability.
I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
Ms. Mildred Kraus died on August 24, 2001, when the car that she was driving along Broadfield Drive in Columbia collided with another car at the intersection of Broadway Street. Hy-Vee Weitz Construction, L.C. (Hy-Vee Weitz) had recently built a new grocery store for Hy-Vee, Inc. (Hy-Vee) at the intersection. Before the collision, Transystems Corporation (Transystems) had prepared a traffic impact study to determine whether an upgraded traffic control device should be installed at the intersection in place of the existing stop sign in Ms. Kraus' lane of travel. At the time of the collision, the device had not been installed.
After Ms. Kraus died, her survivors brought an action against the state of Missouri, the Missouri Department of Transportation (MODOT), Hy-Vee, Hy-Vee Weitz, and Transystems. Count one of the petition alleged that all of the defendants were liable for the wrongful death of Ms. Kraus. Count two alleged that defendant Transystems was liable for professional negligence in carrying out the traffic impact study. The petition specifically alleged that Hy-Vee, Hy-Vee Weitz, and the State had "conducted studies to determine whether a traffic light was needed to control the intersection" and that these defendants "knew or should have known that the intersection, due to the volume of traffic, was dangerous in that it had no electric traffic signals for the control of traffic, due to the high volume of traffic generated by the opening of a Hy-Vee Store." The petition further alleged that these defendants "negligently decided not to install or require the installation of an electric traffic control device."
In the professional negligence count, the petition alleged that Transystems "owed to Plaintiffs a duty to exercise a reasonable standard of care, whereby [Transystems] knew or should have known that
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