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Boggs v. Lay3/8/2005
ing problem that residents had complained to the police about for many years. Residents had complained that the trucks were noisy and would block driveways along the street. Mr. Stumpe acknowledged that ADM knew of the residents' complaints. At the time of trial, there had been ongoing discussions for over ten years between ADM and the Mexico Department of Public Safety regarding the problem of trucks stacking up on the street and blocking driveways. Mr. Stumpe acknowledged that ADM was aware its facility was in a residential neighborhood with pedestrians, cyclists, and children. He also admitted that having trucks parked on the street was not "the most ideal situation," and that it could create a dangerous situation.
In the fall of 1992, nearly three years before Chris's injury, ADM bought a vacant piece of property directly adjacent to its facility. This property is commonly referred to as the "Mo-Con" lot. As Mr. Stumpe testified, one reason ADM purchased the Mo-Con lot was to ease the traffic congestion on Holt Street by using the lot as a parking lot where arriving truck drivers could queue up and wait until it was their turn to enter the scales. ADM also purchased the lot for storing equipment and for large maintenance activities.
When ADM first purchased the Mo-Con lot, it was in a state of disrepair and in no condition to be used as a parking lot for the trucks. The lot was muddy and overgrown with weeds and brush. ADM began clearing and repairing the lot in the summer of 1993, with the idea of having the lot ready for truck parking for harvest time in the fall. ADM used the parking lot for a few weeks during the fall of 1993, and then ruts began to develop and drainage problems appeared that necessitated a ditch being dug in 1994. In 1995, ADM began a project to install new processing equipment in its bean-prep building. ADM used the northwest corner of the Mo-Con lot to store the equipment for its project. Mr. Stumpe testified ADM tried to keep the lot open during the project, but would close the lot when newly delivered equipment was being unloaded, or when cranes were being used to move equipment on the lot. The Mo-Con lot is a large area, and can accommodate up to 60 trucks.
On the day Chris was injured, September 15, 1995, three Hinkle Brothers' trucks were headed to ADM to deliver soybeans. Darrin Hinkle was driving the first truck, followed by Randy Nolke and Dean Hinkle, respectively. Darrin Hinkle testified that he knew the Mo-Con lot was there, but when he drove past the lot he saw that the gate was closed, and so proceeded further down Holt Street towards the ADM facility. When Darrin Hinkle approached the end of Holt Street he saw an outbound truck on ADM's scale, and the scale light was red. He stopped on Holt Street to wait for the red scale light to change to green. The driver of the second truck, Randy Nolke, stopped behind Darrin Hinkle's truck, just in front of a "No Parking" sign. He put his emergency brake on and waited for the green light so that he could move forward once Darrin Hinkle drove onto the scale. The back part of Nolke's truck was in front of the driveway to Chris's house. As Nolke's truck came to a stop, the third driver, Dean Hinkle, eased in behind Nolke's truck. There was approximately fifteen feet between the back of Nolke's truck and the front of Dean Hinkle's truck. Although Dean Hinkle pulled up far enough to clear the driveway behind his truck, he too also partially blocked Chris's driveway. Whether the Mo-Con lot was open on this date was disputed at trial. All the defendant truck drivers testified that the gate to the lot was shut.
In the meantime, Chris had arrived home from school and had folded the newspapers he was
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