Prince George's County v. Ervey

Weant, J., delivered the opinion of the Court. The appellee, Daniel Ervey, filed suit against the appellant, Prince George’s' County, Maryland, to recover damages to his motorcycle resulting from an accident which ³⁷³ occurred on or about March 28, 1977. The suit, which was heard before the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County on July 20, 1979, resulted in a finding in favor of the appellee and a judgment against the appellant in the amount of $2,100.00, with interest from date and costs. A final judgment was entered July 26, 1979 and a timely notice of appeal filed August 9, 1979.

The accident occurred on Muirkirk Road in Prince George’s County while the appellee was driving eastbound on that road towards the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. Immediately after the appellee’s motorcycle passed a sign indicating the end of county maintenance by Prince George’s County and entered that portion of Muirkirk Road located east of said sign and maintained by the federal government through the National Park Service, it struck a hole and a piece of macadam causing the appellee to lose control and have the accident complained of. The National Park Police of the federal government reported to the scene of the accident and prepared the traffic accident report. 1 It is agreed that the ensuing damage to the motorcycle was in the amount of $2,100.00. It was further agreed that Prince George’s County had received a complaint in February, 1976 of the poor condition of the road east of the end of county maintenance sign, and that the county within days of its receipt had notified the National Park Service of the complaint.

In response thereto the National Park Service informed the county that a resurfacing of that part of Muirkirk Road east of the end of county maintenance sign would begin in the next several months. From the time of the original complaint about the condition of the road through the time of the accident complained of, the county heard nothing more about the poor condition of Muirkirk Road. The part of the road maintained by Prince George’s County was in good shape and according to stipulation did not contribute to the accident. At the hearing on this matter the appellee was the only ³⁷⁴ witness.

He testified that his speed at the time of the accident was about thirty-five miles an hour, and that the low beam light which he was using allowed him to see approximately fifty feet ahead. He also indicated that there were patches of fog, but that he "could see good.” On appeal the appellant challenges the court’s finding "that the county had a duty to warn somebody of this road condition,” and that the appellee was not negligent "so that his negligence was a cause and it would bar him from recovery in this case.” In so doing the appellant raises the following questions: I. Does a county in the State of Maryland have a duty to warn travellers of rough conditions on federally controlled and maintained highways?

II

Assuming such a duty [does] exist, did the county breach that duty?

III

Assuming that there was a duty and a breach thereof, does the evidence establish that the breach was the proximate cause of the plaintiffs injury?

IV

Does the undisputed evidence produced at the trial by the plaintiff establish that plaintiff/appellee was contributorily negligent in his use of the roadways to bar any recovery against the appellant/county? I. The parties hereto have stipulated that Muirkirk Road east of the end of county maintenance sign was built by the federal government in the 1950’s as part of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway project, and that since its construction it has been maintained by the federal government through the National Park Service. The part complained of has never been maintained by Prince George’s County, nor has it ever been made part of the Prince George’s County roads system for the purpose of maintenance. It was further stipulated that only that part of the Muirkirk Road west of the county maintenance sign was ³⁷⁵ maintained by Prince George’s County.

There were no warning signs posted by Prince George’s County indicating the poor condition of the road east of the end of maintenance sign, although there was a large orange sign posted just beyond the county maintenance sign which indicated "something about Baltimore Washington Parkway under construction.” This was apparently erected by the federal government. It is conceded by the appellant that it has a duty to repair and maintain roads under its control, and that this duty may be discharged by the use of warning signs. However, it argues that "one cannot imply a duty to repair and maintain roadways over which the County has no control, and hence the question of adequacy of warnings does not arise unless the physical defect causing the injury is within the County’s duty to repair.” The appellee, on the other hand, contends that the duty to warn spreads into that part of Muirkirk Road which is located in the county but which is under the jurisdiction of the federal government for repair and maintenance, although we have been cited to no cases which so hold. As a