Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority v. Reading

HOLLANDER, Judge. This appeal arises from a negligence suit instituted in the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County by Natalie Noel Reading, appellee, against the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (“WMATA”), appellant. Appellee, who is mentally disabled, sought to recover for injuries sustained when she exited a WMATA bus and was struck by a motor vehicle operated by Denise Doyle. 1 In August 1993, the case proceeded to trial on the issue of liability only. After the presentation of all the evidence, the trial court granted Ms. Doyle’s motion for judgment with respect to WMATA’s cross-claim, but denied WMATA’s motion for judgment.

Thereafter, the jury returned a verdict finding that WMATA was negligent and that appellee was not contributorily negligent. On December 15, 1993, the parties agreed to a damage award in the amount of $175,000, subject to appellant’s right to appeal the judgment regarding liability and to file a motion for remittitur on legal grounds. On May 25, 1995, the court denied appellant’s motion for remittitur. Appellant now presents several issues for our review: 1.

Did the trial court err in failing to grant WMATA’s motion for judgment on the following grounds: a. As a matter of law, WMATA’s duty to Ms. Reading ended when she safely exited the bus onto the curb. b. As a matter of law, WMATA’s actions through its bus operator were not a proximate cause of Ms. Reading’s injuries. ⁹⁴ c. As a matter of law, Ms. Reading was contributorily negligent. 2.

Did the trial court err in allowing Ms. Reading’s mother, a lay witness, to testify that Ms. Reading functioned at a third grade level? 3. Did the trial court err in instructing the jury that, in considering whether Ms. Reading was contributorily negligent, the applicable standard of care is that of a reasonable person with a similar mental disability faced with similar circumstances? 4. Did the trial court err in failing to grant WMATA’s post trial [sic] motion for remittitur on the grounds that Section 80 of the WMATA Compact limits WMATA’s liability to an amount no greater than that recoverable under Maryland law against an instrumentality of the State of Maryland? For the reasons discussed below, we shall reverse, because we agree with appellant that, as a matter of law, WMATA was not negligent.

Accordingly, we decline to address the remaining issues. Factual Summary 2 At the time of the accident on January 13, 1988, Ms. Reading was twenty-five years old. Appellee’s mother, whose name is also Natalie Reading, testified that, as a result of a traumatic birth, appellee suffers from “minimal brain damage,” walks with an abnormal gait, and functions “at a third grade level.” Appellee’s mother also explained that routine is very important to appellee and she becomes “upset” when it is disrupted. According to appellee’s mother, most people who meet appellee would not initially notice her mental disability.

In this regard, she testified: Well, she could not function as say the normal 16, 20, 25 year old person, because after you see [her] for a while or even talk with her and so forth, a lot of people wouldn’t ⁹⁵ realize there is a problem right away, but if you talk with her or are around her a while then you know that there is special problems. There is some things she can cope with and some things she doesn’t. (Italics added). Appellee received special education at various facilities from the age of six until the age of twenty-one.

At the Duckworth School, appellee received lessons in reading, writing, using money, and making purchases. Additionally, in 1979, Duck-worth obtained employment for her as a day care aide at Childway Daycare Center (“Childway”). Because of her disability, appellee qualified for a WMATA handicapped photographic identification card (“I.D.”), which lists her name and social security number, and entitles her to half price bus fare. Prior to her placement, Duckworth instructors taught appellee how to ride public buses in order to travel to and from Childway.

Appellee learned to display her special I.D. card when boarding the bus, to pay the fare, and to sit in the front of the bus. Additionally, appellee was instructed always to walk in front of the bus, to look both ways before crossing, and to obey cross walk signals after exiting the bus. Appellee’s mother confirmed that her daughter knew “how to interpret” crosswalk signs, to recognize crosswalks, and to watch for traffic. WMATA did not participate in appellee’s training.

Appellee’s mother testified that, on the day of the accident, her daughter was “definitely” able to travel by herself on the bus. Indeed, by the early 198Q’s, with her parent’s consent, Ms. Reading began riding WMATA buses to and from Child-way, without supervision. Since the start of appellee’s job placement, she routinely traveled on two buses. First,- at the corner of Dartmouth Avenue and Calvert Road, appellee took WMATA’s number 86 bus, which traveled southbound on U.S. Route One, a four lane road with a turn lane in the middle.

She ordinarily exited the bus at a designated stop located at the College Park Shopping Center, approximately one block ⁹⁶ south of Knox Road. From the bus stop, appellee would walk north along Route One to the intersection of Knox Road, which was governed by a traffic light. Then, in order to reach Childway, she would cross Route One to transfer to WMATA’s number 82 bus, which travels northbound. On January 13, 1988, Richard Underwood, a WMATA employee, drove WMATA’s number 86 bus, in place of the regular bus driver.

At trial, Underwood testified that Ms. Reading boarded the bus at the corner of Dartmouth Avenue and Calvert Road, showed him her handicapped I.D., paid the reduced fare, and took a seat in the front of the bus. As part of his employee training, Underwood stated that he had received instruction in ensuring that handicapped passengers “get on safely and alight safely and watching out for their welfare.” He also noticed that Ms. Reading walked in an unusual manner, with a leg that dragged a little bit, but he assumed only that she was physically disabled; he was unaware, of any mental disabilities. Underwood further explained that, after appellee boarded the bus, he drove southbound on Route One, in the direction of Knox Road. He also testified that, as the bus approached the intersection of Route One and Knox Road, he saw the 82 bus across the street, traveling in the northbound direction, and heard appellee remark, “my bus, my bus.” For that reason, Underwood stated that, with his headlights, he signaled the number 82 bus to wait and he stopped his bus just prior to the intersection of Route One and Knox Road, in the curb lane of southbound traffic, to allow, appellee to exit.

This was not a regular bus stop, however. Nevertheless, according to Underwood, he pulled the bus over at an angle and “put the last step o[f] the bus in the doorway right over the curb,” along the sidewalk. Underwood also testified that the place he stopped had a “normal sidewalk” and was physically indistinguishable from a regular WMATA bus stop, aside from the absence of a bus stop sign or a rain shelter. He added that WMATA policy directs bus drivers generally to use bus stops, but that bus operators may ⁹⁷ pick up or discharge passengers at an unmarked location if done safely.

Underwood also said that Ms. Reading would have missed the number 82 bus if he had stopped at the usual bus stop; he explained that, “[i]f I had brought her up to the next bus stop, ... she would have had two blocks to walk back ... [and] the other driver would have said, it’s too long, I got to go.” Moreover, if Ms. Reading had missed the other bus, Underwood said she would have had to wait fifteen to twenty minutes for the next bus to arrive. Additionally, Underwood testified that “before [appellee] even got [to] the door, ... I said I’ll put you off right over here at this corner. Walk behind the bus.

I already signaled him. He knows you are coming.... ” Underwood stated that after Ms. Reading exited the bus, she began to cross the street. As the traffic light in his direction was green, he shouted, “no.” He also honked at Ms. Reading, who was on Route One directly in front of the bus. Thereafter, appellee was struck by Ms. Doyle’s car.

Christine Hanson, a passenger on the number 86 bus, also testified. She stated that, before the bus reached the intersection of Knox Road and Route One, she heard appellee “shou[t] that she wanted to catch the bus that was coming down the other side of the street.... [and] said something like oh, oh, there goes the 82.” Ms. Hanson further said that, immediately thereafter, appellee “jumped out of her seat and ran for the door, and the bus driver opened the door and let her out, and then she ran in front of the bus into the traffic” traveling southbound on Route One. She did not remember whether Underwood gave appellee any instructions when appellee exited the bus. Ms. Reading also testified in her own behalf. 3 She stated that she was very good at looking both ways and reading ⁹⁸ traffic signs when she crossed streets on her way to work.

She further stated that, before the accident occurred, she never experienced problems travelling by bus. Appellee recounted that, on the date of the accident, she boarded the number 86 bus at her regular bus stop and sat behind the driver. She did not remember seeing the 82 bus coming in the other direction or shouting, but she remembered that after the 86 bus stopped at the intersection of Knox Road and Route One, Underwood told her to “walk behind the bus” before she got off the bus. Nevertheless, Ms. Reading stated that she disregarded Underwood’s instructions and walked in front of the bus, because at Duckworth, “I always got taught to go in the front, never go behind a bus, because it can roll right on top of you.” Appellee then stated that, after waiting approximately one second, she saw that the light facing the bus was red and she began to cross Route One in front of the bus.

As she began to walk slowly across the street, she looked straight ahead and did not see oncoming traffic. Nor did she remember whether the pedestrian cross walk signs read “Walk” or “Don’t Walk.” Two other witnesses who were driving southbound on Route One, in the same direction as the WMATA vehicle, corroborated the testimony that the light facing southbound traffic had turned green and that traffic had started to flow on Route One before Ms. Reading ran in front of the bus. Moreover, Ms. Doyle stated that, at the time of the accident, she was also travelling southbound on Route One, in the same direction as the bus, at twenty-five miles per hour. She observed that the WMATA bus, which was pulled next to the curb in the right lane of Route One, had a green light.

Then, when she attempted to pass the bus, she struck appellee, who ran in front of her path. Corporal David Harris of the Prince George’s County Police Department testified that the crosswalk signals were working properly on January 13, 1988 and that they would have read ⁹⁹ “Don’t Walk” if the traffic light was green for vehicles on Route One. Standard of Review On various grounds, appellant contends that the court erred in failing to grant WMATA’s motion for judgment. In reviewing the trial court’s decision to deny appellant’s motion for judgment, we “shall consider all evidence and inferences in the light most favorable to the party against whom the motion is made.” Md.Rule 2—519(b) (1995).

See also Oaks v. Connors, 339 Md. 24 , 29 n. 4, 660 A.2d 423 (1995); Hawes v. Carberry, 103 Md.App. 214, 217 , 653 A.2d 479 (1995). Moreover, the court’s determination should be upheld “[i]f there is any evidence, no matter how slight, legally sufficient to generate a jury question.” James v. General Motors Corp., 74 Md.App. 479, 484 , 538 A.2d 782 , cert. denied, 313 Md. 7 , 542 A.2d 844 (1988). What the Court said in Mass Transit Admin. v. Miller, 271 Md. 256 , 315 A.2d 772 (1974) is instructive: ‘[OJrdinary [negligence] is a question of fact to be determined by the jury; that before it can be determined as a matter of law that one has not been guilty of negligence, the truth of all the credible evidence tending to sustain the claim of negligence must be assumed and all favorable inferences of fact fairly deducible therefrom tending to establish negligence drawn;’ Id., 271 Md. at 259 , 315 A.2d 772 (quoting Curley v. General Valet Service, 270 Md. 248, 264 , 311 A.2d 231 (1973)). Therefore, we must affirm the court’s decision to submit the issue of appellee’s negligence to the jury if we find that the evidence, and all of the inferences derived from it when viewed in the light most favorable to appellee, is sufficient to support a verdict of negligence.

The Contentions of the Parties Appellee contends that the issue of WMATA’s negligence was a question for the jury, because “[t]here were circumstances surrounding the discharge which create a substantial ¹⁰⁰ jury question ... on whether it was safe for WMATA to allow Ms. Reading to alight in the middle of ... [Route One], at no bus stop in deviation from her well-practiced route, with confusing instructions, and with the expectation that she was proceeding directly to the 82 station.” Appellee asserts that WMATA was negligent because: (1) Reading alighted at a location that was not a regular bus stop; (2) while her status as a passenger continued, Reading was crossing a street to transfer to another WMATA bus; (3) Underwood instructed her to walk in back of the bus to cross the street; and (4) Reading is mentally disabled. In essence, it is the aggregation of WMATA’s conduct, coupled with Reading’s mental disability, that constitutes appellee’s claim of negligence. In contrast, appellant claims, inter alia, that when Ms. Reading reached the sidewalk in safety, she lost her status as a passenger. Therefore, WMATA argues that, at that point, its driver owed no further duty to her.

WMATA also asserts that its driver lacked knowledge of Ms. Reading’s mental disability and, therefore, it had no special duty to her based on her disability. In our view, the facts would not establish primary negligence in the case of an adult passenger of ordinary intelligence. Even if negligence were established, the facts would compel a finding of contributory negligence with respect to a passenger who did not have a mental disability. The question, then, is whether Ms. Reading’s mental disability, in combination with WMATA’s conduct, constitutes negligence on the part of WMATA.

In other words, we must decide if Ms. Reading’s mental disability necessarily alters WMATA’s liability. We conclude that, based on the facts of this case, WMATA was not negligent. Discussion It is well established that a common carrier, such as WMATA, is obligated to use the highest degree of care that is consistent with its mode of transport to ensure the safety of its passengers. Leatherwood Motor Coach Tours Corp. v. ¹⁰¹ Nathan, 84 Md.App. 370, 375 , 579 A.2d 797 (1990), cert. denied, 321 Md. 639 , 584 A.2d 68 (1991); Mass Transit Admin, v. Miller, 271 Md. 256, 259 , 315 A.2d 772 (1974).

Thus, a common carrier “owes its passengers a duty to deliver them to their destination as expeditiously as possible, consistent with safety.” Mass Transit Admin., 271 Md. at 259 , 315 A.2d 772 . Moreover, a common carrier’s duty to exercise the highest degree of care is not limited to the journey itself. Instead, the heightened duty also requires carriers to provide a safe means of boarding and exiting the conveyance. Leatherwood, 84 Md.App. at 376 , 579 A.2d 797 ; 14 Am.Jur.2d Carriers, § 982.

Nonetheless, a common carrier is not a guarantor of the safety of its passengers. Leatherwood Motor Coach, 84 Md.App. at 375 , 579 A.2d 797 . Rather, “ ‘the degree of care which is exacted of ... carriers is subject to reasonable limitation. It is not the utmost and highest, absolutely, but the highest which is consistent with the nature of their business, and there must be due regard to its necessary requirements.’ ” Smith v. Baltimore Transit, 211 Md. 529, 537 , 128 A.2d 413 (1957) (quoting Smith v. Transportation Co., 172 Md. 42, 49 , 191 A. 66 (1937)).

That Ms. Reading was discharged at a location that is not a regular bus stop would not be dispositive in determining the negligence of WMATA, if Ms. Reading were not mentally handicapped. Indeed, if Ms. Reading were an ordinary adult, the undisputed facts would compel the conclusion that, once she was safely discharged, she was no longer a passenger. By statute, Maryland does not require buses to discharge passengers only at bus stops, and WMATA policy allows drivers to discharge passengers at undesignated stops that are safe. 4 Moreover, many of the courts that have considered this issue have refused to impose liability merely because a passenger exits at a place that is not a designated bus stop; in the absence of a stop at an inherently dangerous location, liability ¹⁰² does not automatically attach. See, e.g., Smith v. Virginia Transit Co., 206 Va. 951 , 147 S.E.2d 110, 115 (1966); Harris v. DeFelice, 379 Pa. 469 , 109 A.2d 174 (1954); Odom v. Willms, 177 Neb. 699 , 131 N.W.2d 140 .

(1964); Hanks v. Georgia Power Co., 86 Ga.App. 654 , 72 S.E.2d 198 (1952); Smuzynski v. East St. Louis R. Co., 230 Mo.App. 1095 , 93 S.W.2d. 1058 (1936). See also 13 C.J.S. Carriers, § 543 at 493; Jay M. Zitter, Annotation, Liability of Motorbus Carrier of Driver for Death, or Injury to, Discharged Passenger Struck by Other Vehicle, 16 A.L.R.5th 11 , § 27 (1994). The case of Adams v. Baltimore Transit Co., 203 Md. 295 , 100 A.2d 781 (1954), is instructive. There, the defendant Baltimore Transit Company was a public carrier that transported plaintiff to work at the Maryland Drydock Company.

Railroad tracks, which were jointly controlled by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and the Transit Company, were used by the Drydock employees to cross between work and the Transit Company’s waiting station. Plaintiff sued Baltimore Transit after he was discharged from a bus and was injured by the sudden movement of two railroad cars as he walked across the tracks. The Court noted that “[t]he primary question is whether it was the duty of the Transit Company ... to provide a safe way for Adams ... to cross the tracks of the railroad between the Transit Company’s waiting station and the premises of the Drydock Company.” Id. at 304 , 100 A.2d 781 . Adams argued that the Transit Company knew or intended employees to cross the tracks, and thus it had the duty to provide a safe means to do so.

What the Court said in affirming the trial court’s grant of a demurrer as to the Transit Company is pertinent here: [The plaintiff] was let off the car ... within fifty feet of a street. When he reached that point in safety, the obligation of the Transit Company ceased____ [The plaintiff] was discharged by the Transit Company in a safe place and could have left the waiting station without crossing the Railroad tracks. ¹⁰³ Adams, 203 Md. at 305 , 100 A.2d 781 . Numerous cases from other jurisdictions are to the same effect. See, e.g., Thomas v. Hampton Express, Inc., 208 A.D.2d 824 , 617 N.Y.S.2d 831 (1994), cert. denied, 85 N.Y.2d 803 , 624 N.Y.S.2d 373 , 648 N.E.2d 793 (1995); Kramer v. Lagnese, 144 A.D.2d 648 , 535 N.Y.S.2d 13 (1988); Mitchell v. Chicago, 221 Ill.App.3d 1017 , 164 Ill.Dec. 506 , 583 N.E.2d 60 (1991); Heger v. Trustees of Indiana University, 526 N.E.2d 1041 (Ind.Ct.App.1988); Smith, 147 S.E.2d 110 ; Harris v. De Felice, 379 Pa. 469 , 109 A.2d 174 (1954).

In Harris v. De Felice, supra, for example, the passenger on the defendant’s street car was discharged at the southerly-side of the highway, at a place that was not a regular car stop. The space was located between a retaining wall and highway that was “sufficient in width to permit a person to stand thereon.” Id., 109 A.2d at 176 . After exiting the street car, the passenger stood at the location until the street car started and then crossed the highway, where he was hit by a car. In affirming the trial court’s decision to grant the carrier’s motion for judgment, the court said: The mere fact that a street car discharges its passengers at an unusual stop does not in itself prove negligence.

It is only when a passenger is mistakenly led to alight at a manifestly dangerous place which is not the usual stopping place that a carrier may be held liable for any injuries sustained by the passenger. The controlling question, therefore, is whether the defendant ... discharged the plaintiff at a manifestly dangerous place. It is the plaintiffs position that the place of discharge was obviously perilous because there was no place to stand in safety on the southerly side of the street. The only evidence ... concerning the safety of the space beyond the curb on that side of the street was plaintiffs statement that Tf I stayed where I was, a car might have hit me, because there was