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NORFOLK SOUTHERN R.R. v. THOMPSON6/28/1996
Pat Thompson, as administratrix of the estate of her husband Wayne Daniel Thompson, sued Norfolk Southern Railroad and its train engineer E.E. Haynes, alleging that negligence and/or wantonness on their part had caused the wrongful death of Wayne Thompson, who was killed when his automobile was struck by a freight train at the "Baker Lane Crossing" in Colbert County. The trial court directed a verdict for the defendants on the plaintiff's wantonness claim, but submitted her negligence claim to the jury. The jury awarded Thompson $1,000,000 in damages, and the trial judge entered a judgment on that verdict. The defendants appealed, arguing that the evidence required a finding that Mr. Thompson had negligently failed to stop, look, and listen at the railroad crossing; that he had thereby been contributorily negligent; and, therefore, that the trial judge should have granted the defendants' motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict. The defendants also argue that the trial court improperly admitted into evidence certain statements made to the plaintiff that the defendants say should have been excluded. For the following reasons, we affirm the judgment.
Mr. Thompson was killed when his vehicle was hit by a freight train at the Baker Lane Crossing in November 1990. Although the engineer testified that he blew the whistle in an effort to alert Mr. Thompson of the oncoming train, other witnesses testified that they did not remember hearing the whistle. These same witnesses said they did remember hearing the crash.
First, the defendants contend that the trial court erred in not granting their motions for a directed verdict, a judgment notwithstanding the verdict or a new trial, because, they say, the evidence offered showed that Mr. Thompson was contributorily negligent, as a matter of law. The defendants contend that the trial judge instructed the jury that someone familiar with the crossing would have a duty to stop, look, and listen. The engineer testified that Thompson did not stop; therefore, the defendants argue that he was contributorily negligent.
The trial judge instructed the jury as follows:
"The plaintiff claims that the railroad, acting through its agents and employees
and Mr. Haynes, were guilty of negligence in the operation of the train in question at the time and at the place complained of by the plaintiff, and that such negligence proximately caused the death of Wayne Daniel Thompson. And when a plaintiff files a claim like that, the defendants have a right to come in and answer the claim, and the defendants have done that in this case. And first of all, in their answer the defendants have denied all of the allegations of the plaintiff's complaint. That means they deny that they were guilty of any negligence on the occasion complained of or that anything they did caused Mr. Thompson's death. And they have also filed in their answer what is known as an affirmative defense, and that is the defense of contributory negligence. And that is, that the defendants claim that Wayne Daniel Thompson himself was guilty of negligence on the occasion complained of at that time and at that place and that his negligence proximately caused or contributed to his death; and that therefore, the plaintiff cannot recover in this case. Now that is the claim that has been made by the plaintiff and the answer that has been filed by the defendants.
"And in the course of this Charge I'm going to instruct you with respect to definitions of legal terms and also read you some statutes.
"First of all, though, I charge you that the burden is upon the plaintiff to reasonably satisfy you by the evidence of the truthfulness of the matters and th
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