Dennis Rayner and Joe Tex Xpress, Inc. v. Krista Dillon
Dennis Rayner and Joe Tex Xpress, Inc. v. Krista Dillon
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
Opinion by
After years of frequent errors and gaps in his required driving logs and after days and weeks of a taxing driving schedule, the extent of which is subject to some question—-in large measure because of the unreliable driving logs—long-haul truck driver Dennis Rayner was driving his tractor-trailér 'rig east on Interstate Highway 30 through Sulphur Springs when he hit Krista Dillon’s automobile from the left rear as he changed from the center lane to the right lane. After initially refusing medical care at the accident scene, Dillon went to a local emergency room that evening, complaining of head, neck, and low-back pain. Eventually, Dillon underwent an anterior cervical discectomy and fusion at C3-4 and a posterolateral fusion and foraminotomy on L2-3 for traumatic facet disruption and nerve root compression. As a result, Dillon "sued Rayner and his employer, Joe Tex Xpress, Inc. (Joe Tex), for personal injury and was awarded judgment for actual damages in excess of $1 million
This appeal centers on the jury' findings of gross negligence. Rayner and Joe Tex argue that the evidence is legally and factually insufficient to support the gross-negligence findings. Because we disagree, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
1. The Evidence
Rayner was hired by Joe Tex in 2007 as a long-haul truck driver, but at the time of the July 23, 2010, accident, he had over thirty years of long-haul experience. On the day of the accident, evidence suggests that Rayner left Van, Texas, at approximately 9:30 a.m. and drove to Wylie, where he unloaded his truck. After he unloaded in Wylie, Rayner drove to Dallas, where he was scheduled to pick up another load that was ultimately cancelled. Rayner was driving from Dallas to Joe Tex’s headquarters in Mount Vernon when the accident occurred. As he was traveling east on Interstate 30 through Sulphur Springs
Dillon’s evidence of gross negligence included (1) proof of repeated incidents of log book falsification by Rayner, (2) a Federal Department of Transportation (DOT) audit in April 2010 that reflected: forty-eight safety-related -violations by Joe Tex drivers, thirty-four of which were critical, and which resulted .in the lowering of Joe Tex’s safety rating from “satisfactory” to “conditional” status, (3) proof that Joe Tex’s safety rating at the time of .the accident was “conditional,” (4) proof that, in the month before the accident, Rayner failed to submit thirteen driving logs required by the DOT and that this constituted thirteen violations, (5) proof that Ray-ner falsified his log books in the month and days preceding the accident, (6) proof that Rayner committed log'-book violations on the date of the accident, (7) Rayner’s admissions that he “sucked” at maintaining driving logs and that he has been “sloppy” with his log books for years, (8) proof that the federal regulations establishing maximum daily and weekly hours of service for long-distance drivers are designed to keep fatigued drivers from operating vehicles,
II. The Law
Rayner and Joe Tex contend that the evidence is legally and factually insufficient to support the jury’s findings of gross negligence as to each of them. “Gross negligence” is statutorily defined as an act or omission:
(A) which when viewed objectively from the standpoint of the actor at the time of its occurrence involves an extreme degree of risk, considering the probability and magnitude of the .potential harm to others; and
(B)-of which the actor has actual, subjective awareness of the risk involved, but nevertheless proceeds with conscious indifference to the rights, safety, or welfare of others.
Tex. Civ. Prao. & Rem. Code Ann. § 41.001(11)(A), (B) (West Supp. 2015). Under the first, objective element, an “extreme risk” is not a remote possibility of injury or even a high probability of minor harm, but rather the likelihood of serious injury to the plaintiff. Mobil Oil Corp. v. Ellender, 968 S.W.2d 917, 921 (Tex. 1998).
In reviewing the legal sufficiency of the evidence supporting a finding that must be proven by clear and convincing evidence, we must consider “all the evidence in the light most favorable to the finding to.determine whether a reasonable trier of fact could have formed a firm belief or conviction that its finding was true.” Diamond Shamrock Ref. Co. v. Hall, 168 S.W.3d 164, 170 (Tex. 2005) (quoting Sw. Bell Tel. Co. v. Garza, 164 S.W.3d 607, 627 (Tex. 2004)); see Tex. Civ. PRAC. & Rem. Code Ann. § 41.001(2) (West Supp. 2015). “To give appropriate deference to the fact[-]finder’s conclusions and the role of a court conducting a legal sufficiency review,” we “must assume that the fact[-]finder resolved disputed facts in favor of its finding if a reasonable fact[-]finder could do so.” Garza, 164 S.W.3d at 627 (quoting In re J.F.C., 96 S.W.3d 256, 266 (Tex. 2002)). Conversely, we must “disregard all evidence that a reasonable fact[-]finder could have disbelieved or found to have been incredible.” /(¿. .(quoting J.F.C., 96 S.W.3d at 266). We must be careful, however, not to disregard undisputed facts that do not support the finding, as this “could skew the analysis of whether there is clear and convincing evidence.” Id. (quoting J.F.C., 96 S.W.3d at 266). Should we conclude that no reasonable fact-finder could form a firm belief or conviction that both the objective and subjective elements of gross negligence were proven with respect to Rayner and Joe Tex, then we must conclude that the evidence is legally insufficient.
“The distinction between legal and factual sufficiency when the burden of proof is clear and convincing evidence may be a fine one in some cases, but there is a distinction in how the evidence is reviewed.” In re J.F.C., 96 S.W.3d 256, 266 (Tex. 2002). In a factual sufficiency review, our inquiry is “whether the evidence is such that a fact[-]finder could. reasonably form a firm belief or conviction about the truth of the ... allegations.” Id. (quoting In re C.H., 89 S.W.3d 17, 25 (Tex. 2002)). We consider “whether disputed evidence is such that a reasonable fact[-]finder could not have resolved that disputed evidence in favor of its finding.” Id. Evidence is factually insufficient “[i]f, in light of the entire record, the disputed evidence that a reasonable fact[-]finder could not have credited in favor of the finding is so significant that a fact[-]finder could not reasonably have formed a firm belief or conviction.” Id.
III. Causation Is Established
The parties devote significant argument to the issue of whether Rayner’s fatigue caused the accident. The sole basis of this appeal, however, involves the ques
The logic of this position follows. As a prerequisite to any gross negligence findings, Dillon was required to prove the basic elements of a cause of action for ordinary negligence, i.e., that' Rayner and Joe Tex’s breach of the ordinary standard of care proximately caused her damages. See Nowzaradan v. Ryans, 347 S.W.3d 734, 741 (Tex.App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2011, no pet.); Sonic Sys, Int’l, Inc. v. Croix, 278 S.W.3d 377, 394-95 (Tex.App.— Houston [14th Dist.] 2008, pet. denied) (finding of ordinary negligence prerequisite to finding of gross negligence). Once the jury found that Rayner and Joe Tex were negligent, i.e., that they breached the ordinary standard of care and that such breach proximately caused damage to Dillon, the causation element was satisfied, and the jury was not required to make a new finding of causation connecting Ray-ner’s and Joe Tex’s gross negligence to Dillon’s harm. See Fort Worth Hotel, Ltd. P’ship v. Enserch Corp., 977 S.W.2d 746, 753 (Tex.App.—Fort Worth 1998, no pet.) (because jury was instructed that defendant was negligent and that negligence was proximate cause of damages, jury was not required to make new causation finding in order to determine defendant’s gross negligence). Stated differently, once the jury determined that Rayner’s and Joe Tex’s ordinary negligence proximately caused damage to Dillon, the only question that remained for the jury to answer was whether' that negligence was not just ordinary negligence, but was, instead, gross negligence.
This issue was addressed most recently in Telesis/Parkwood Retirement I, Ltd. v. Anderson, 462 S.W.3d 212, 247 (Tex.App.—El Paso 2015, no pet.). There, the appellees complained that “there was no clear and, convincing evidence that was legally or factually sufficient to show Park-wood’s gross negligence caused harm to [appellant].” Id. Our sister court initially observed that there was no requirement to show that appellees’ gross negligence caused the appellant’s harm, because “[w]hat lifts ordinary negligence into gross negligence is the defendant’s mental attitude.”' Id. (quoting Newman v. Tropical Visions, Inc., 891 S.W.2d 713, 721 (Tex.App.—San Antonio 1994, writ denied)). Because the appellate court had already determined that the evidence was legally and factually sufficient to warrant the jury’s verdict that the- appellee’s negligence caused Anderson’s harm, the causation element was satisfied. Id. Recognizing, however, that evidence- of simple negligence- is “not enough to prove either the objective or subjective elements of gross negligence,” the court interpreted the issue as a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence to prove gross negligence by clear and convincing evidence (disregarding appel-lee’s “contentions regarding the sufficiency of the evidence to support a finding of causation of ‘ordinary’ negligence”). Id.
Here, the jury was presented with a broad-form question asking whether'“the negligence, if any, of those named below proximately causefd] the occurrence in
IV. Sufficient Evidence Supports the . Gross-Negligence Finding as to Rayner
Having clarified the issues, we -now examine the record to determine whether sufficient evidence supports the jury’s findings (1) that Rayner’s acts or omissions, when viewed objectively from Rayner’s standpoint at the time the act or omission occurred, involved “an extreme, degree of risk, considering the probability and magnitude of the potential harm to others” and (2) that Rayner was actually, subjectively aware of the risks involved, but nevertheless proceeded in the face of that risk, showing conscious indifference to the rights, safety and welfare of others. Tex Civ. PRAC. & Rem. Code Ann. § 41.001(11)(A), (B).
Rayner testified that he knew that eighteen-wheelers could cause catastrophic injuries. He further acknowledged that it is important to keep accurate log books in order to ensure against driver fatigue, and that the regulations limiting driving time to eleven hours per day and total work time to fourteen hours per day are in place to protect against driver fatigue. Rayner is aware, based on his own experience, that some eighteen-wheeler truck drivers drive while fatigued. Rayner testified that “I suck at logs, sir,” and that he has been sloppy with his log books for years. When Rayner was questioned at trial about one of his many over-hour violations, he responded, “I made a mistake,” but agreed that he had many other over-hour violations. Although Rayner refused to admit that most trucking accidents involve driver fatigue, Setina testified that an eighteen-wheeler driver who drives in excess of eleven hours a day is unsafe because “that’s when they get in accidents and that’s when they catastrophically injure people.” Angie Dunavant, Joe Tex’s chief financial officer, testified that, if a driver continually violates company policy by improperly filling out their log books, people can and will be seriously and catastrophically injured.
Rayner contends that, despite the fact that he was careless with his log book entries, what happened in this case was an act of simple negligence—the act of changing lanes without seeing Dillon. He argues that this act of simple negligence was completely unrelated to any of his incorrect log
Indeed, aggravating circumstances are required to transform an act of simple negligence into one of gross negligence. In Emmons, for example, the driver of a moving van rear-ended a Ford Bronco in which Emmons was a front-seat passenger, resulting in Emmons’ paralysis. Id. at 112. The jury found that the driver and his employer acted with malice
Rayner contrasts Emmons with this Court’s opinion in USA Truck, Inc. v. West, 189 S.W.3d 904 (Tex.App.—Texarkana 2006, pet. denied). In West, this Court upheld the jury’s malice finding
Rayner believes this case is analogous to Emmons because the record here, he believes, contains none of the type of evidence necessary to show gross negligence, as was present in West. He thus concludes that the evidence fails to show that he posed an extreme risk of serious injury to other drivers on the accident date or that he knew about the peril, but nevertheless proceeded with conscious indifference to the rights, safety, or welfare of others. See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 41.001(11).
Dillon sees this evidence as proving that a fatigued tractor-trailer driver 'poses an
Setina admitted that driving in excess of the maximum hours established by federal regulations results in fatigue, which could lead to accidents in which people are catastrophically injured. Rayner’s fatigued driving of an eighteen-wheeler was more than an act of simple carelessness. This evidence establishes that Rayner’s fatigued driving posed an extreme risk or likelihood of serious injury to other drivers, including Dillon. See Tex. Civ. Peao. & Rem. Code ANN. § 41.001(11)(A).
We turn to the issue of whether Rayner was aware of the risk that his fatigued driving posed an extreme risk of serious injury to other drivers, but nevertheless proceeded in the face of that risk, with conscious indifference to the rights, safety, and welfare of others. See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 41.001(11)(B).
Rayner admitted that accurate log books are necessary to determine whether a driver is fatigued, and he could not say that he was not fatigued on the day of the accident. The evidence is undisputed that Ray-ner did not see Dillon’s car before the accident and that he hit her car from behind. Finally, the log book violations reflecting Rayner’s pattern of driving excessive hours, in conjunction with his many years’ of driving experience, is circumstantial evidence that Rayner knew he was fatigued when driving excess hours and that, in doing so, he was risking the lives of others on the road. This evidence, coupled with Rayner’s credibility issues, could lead a reasonable jury to form a firm conviction or belief that Rayner knew.he was fatigued when driving over hours, and that, in doing so, he was risking the lives of others on the road.
As fact-finders,, the jury members were permitted to weigh the evidence and to accept or reject it as they thought proper. See Elbar, Inc. v. Claussen, 774 S.W.2d 45, 50 (Tex.App.—Dallas 1989, writ dism’d) (sufficient evidence to support conclusion that truck driver was fatigued at time of accident, even though in compliance .with DOT regulations). Here, the jury had sufficient evidence on which to form a firm belief or conviction that Rayner was grossly negligent. This Court is not permitted to substitute our judgment for that of the jury, and to do so would place this Court in the untenable position of sitting as a thirteenth juror.
Y. Sufficient Evidence Supports the Gross-Negligence Finding as to Joe Tex
In its charge to the jury, the trial court defined “negligence” to mean
the failure to use ordinary care, that is, failing to do that which a person or company of ordinary prudence would have done under the same or similar circumstances or doing that which a person of ordinary prudence would not have*154 done under the same or similar circumstances. As to Joe Tex Xpress, Inc., “negligence” may also mean entrusting a vehicle to an unlicensed, incompetent and/or reckless driver if Joe Tex Xpress, Inc; knew or should have known that the driver was unlicensed or incompetent or reckless.
The jury found, by clear and convincing evidence, that gross negligence attribute ablé to Joe Tex resulted in the harm to Dillon.
Setina testified at length about the April 2010 DOT audit, which resulted in a conditional safety rating for Joe Tex,
The Joe Tex log-violations policy called for an oral warning for a first violation, retraining for a second violation within thirty dáys of the last contact with the driver, and a final warning and counseling on a third violation within thirty days of the last contact with the driver. A fourth violation within thirty days of the last contact with the driver required automatic termination. In a form letter sent to each driver committing log-book violations, the driver was told whether the. warning was a first, second, or third and final warning. When asked if the third and final warning meant termination, Setina testified, “It’s my call. It’s my company. I can kind of do what I want.” Setina further testified that he decided whether to follow Joe Tex company policy, stating, “I can choose to over
The Joe Tex safety program was designed to ensure that the company does not have fatigued drivers, yet,. Joe Tex failed to document that its drivers—including Rayner—received adequate safety training. EÍunavant testified that, even though the company worked with Rayner regarding his log book violations after the DOT audit, she never felt sure that he was filling out his log books correctly. It is important to log accurately so that the company can total the hours at the end of each week. If log books are inaccurate, there can never be an accurate recording of how many hours are driven each week. If a driver continually violates company policies in an eighteen-wheeler because they are not filling out their log books correctly, people can and will be seriously and catastrophically injured. The most important reason to maintain hours within regulations is to prevent driver fatigue. Craig Skidmore, who did some safety training for Joe Tex- in 2009, testified that fatigue plays a role in most accidents. Ray-ner was involved in two accidents before the audit.
In an open letter addressing improvement in their safety rating after the audit, Joe Tex wrote, “We also have made the tough, but necessary decision to lay-off some of our long-time drivers who were responsible for many of the violations and scoring issues we were encountering.” But, although Rayner was responsible for almost nineteen percent of the violations noted on the audit, he was not laid off.
Some twenty years ago, this Court was faced with a fact situation similar to this case. See Dalworth Trucking Co. v. Bulen, 924 S.W.2d 728, 732 (Tex.App.—Texarkana 1996, no writ). In Bulen, this Court addressed the issue of whether the evidénce supported a jury verdict that Dalworth was grossly negligent in, connection with a fatal accident involving one of its employee drivers. Id. at 731-34. The driver ran a stop sign, killing the occupant of another vehiclé. This Court upheld the verdict as supported by the evidence, although, admittedly, Bulen preceded the advent of the clear-and-convincing-evidence standard of review in assessing evidentiary sufficiency in gross negligence cases.
There was proof in Bulen that, from July to October 1994, when the accident happened, the driver had committed fifty-five violations of company speed policies, six hours violations, and one missing log violation. Id. at 732. Federal regulations restricted driving hours to not more than seventy hours in eight days. Five of the hours violations occurred within the week preceding the accident. Id. The driver failed to log pre-trip and post-trip inspections, and he was driving more hours than he was logging, which allowed the company to bill the customer for more miles and allowed drivers to be paid for more miles than company time and speed policies allowed. Id. Testimony showed that, although company policy provided that a driver would be discharged after accumulating three safety violations, the driver in that case was not terminated, disciplined, or admonished, and the company did not send him cautionary letters concerning his violations. Id. Although Dalworth was aware of many technical safety violations by its driver, none but the excessive driv
The company safety manager testified that company managers were aware of the driver’s over-hour violations, that over-hour driving caused driver fatigue, that fatigue from excessive driving builds up to an almost inevitable loss of alertness in a driver, and that he would give the driver’s overall driving record a grade of “F” as far as safety violations were concerned. The driver had over-hour driving violations , on each of the four days preceding the wreck. The evidence also showed that repeated safety violations by drivers create an extremely dangerous situation, that company managers knew about the situation but did not' suspend, terminate, or admonish the driver, and that to do anything less than that would be inexcusable. The safety manager testified that he knew an accident was almost inevitable if management failed to enforce safety practices vigorously. Id. at 733.
.As in this case, Bulen did not exceed permissible driving hours on the day of the accident. However, on the four days preceding the accident, Bulen violated the hours regulations for each of those days. Even so, the evidence showed that Bulen was not fatigued on the accident date, that he had a good night’s sleep before the day of the accident, and that he had several rest breaks on the accident date. Id.
Based on this evidence, this Court concluded that the jury could have reasonably found that the driver’s cumulative safety violations caused a lack of alertness that contributed to his failure to see the stop sign in time to stop and avoid the collision. This Court further concluded that company managers could have reasonably foreseen a similar consequence from their failure to suspend or discipline the driver. Id. at 734.
As in Bulen, the evidence here shows that Rayner committed numerous log violations, including hours violations that tend to cause fatigue. Here, Rayner’s log book indicates that, two days before the accident, he drove from Dallas to Mobile, but the bill of lading showed that he delivered a load to Sherman on that date. The. trip from Dallas to Mobile, as reflected in the log book, shows exactly eleven hours of driving time. Sometime during that same day, Rayner presumably sidetracked to Sherman. There is no testimony indicating how many excess hours Rayner drove July 21.
We conclude that such evidence was sufficient to permit the jury to form a firm belief or conviction that Joe Tex was aware of the extreme risk of serious injury Ray-ner’s fatigued driving posed to others on the road, yet continued to not only permit, but to tacitly encourage, Rayner to drive in such a state. Setina conceded that Ray-ner had a long history of over-hour violations and that he was aware of those violations well before the accident involving Dillon. Setina also knew that an eighteen-wheeler driver who exceeds driving hours is unsafe, because catastrophic injury can occur. From this testimony, it is apparent that Setina was aware of the fact that Rayner’s driving, by definition, was unsafe every time he exceeded the eleven-hour driving limit. Although company policy required that Rayner’s employment be terminated for his repeated over-hour driving violations, no adverse action was ever taken against him. Instead, Setina callously ignored Rayner’s over-hour violations, stating, “It’s my company. I can kind of do what I want.” Moreover, Joe Tex failed to document that it did anything meaningful about Rayner’s patterns, including providing Rayner adequate safety training. Even after the accident, Joe Tex could not be sure that Rayner was filling out his log books correctly.
We affirm the trial court’s judgment.
.At trial, Rayner and Joe Tex accepted full responsibility for the accident, and their appeal relates solely to the jury’s determination that they were grossly negligent and to the damages resulting from that determination. The actual damages of $1,110,629.76 were paid before this appeal was filed and are not in issue here.
. After applying the statutory damages cap, the trial court reduced the exemplary damages that the jury assessed against Joe Tex from $3 million to $1,679,259.52. See Tex, Civ. Prac. & Rem, Code Ann, § ,41.008 (West 2015).
. The section of Interstate 30 that runs through Sulphur Springs contains four lanes, with two lanes running east and two lanes running west.
. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has promulgated regulations for commercial truck drivers. See 49 C.F.R. § 395.3 (West, Westlaw current through July 7, 2016). These regulations generally provide that a driver is permitted to work fourteen hours per day, but can drive .for only eleven of those fourteen hours. 49 C.F.R. 395.3.
. At the time of the accident, the statutory definition of "malice” included an alternative gross negligence component. The jury was instructed with this definition of malice. Em-mons, 50 S.W.3d at 127. Currently, malice is defined solely as "a specific intent by the defendant to cause substantial injury or harm to the claimant.” Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 41.001(7) (West Supp. 2015).
. As in Emmons, the definition of "malice” in West is currently the statutory definition of “gross negligence.” See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 41.001(11) (West Supp, 2015),
, The April 2010 DOT audit of Joe Tex reflects that Rayner was cited with six critical violations and three nominal violations of DOT regulations. The critical violations reflect that:
• On or about 02/04/2010, Joe Tex Xpress Inc used driver, Dennis Rayner, to drive a commercial , motor vehicle in , interstate commerce from Blytheville, AR to Conway, AR. The driver made a false report of duty activities on the record of duty status for that date. The driver’s record of duty status is false because on 02/04/2010 Comdata fuel report shows driver Dennis Rayner fueling in Calera, OK at 7:07 PM (CT). On 02/04/2010 log book shows driver Dennis Rayner shows arriving in Cleburne, TX at 7:30 PM (CT) and going off duty between 7:30 PM (CT) and midnight. As per PC miler, Cleburne, TX to Calera, OK is approximately 138 miles and 2 hours and 25 minutes from each other.
• On or about 02/05/2010, Joe Tex Xpress Inc used driver, Dennis Rayner, to drive a commercial motor vehicle in interstate commerce from Cleburne, TX to Fourchon, LA. The driver made a false report of duty activities on the record of duty status for that date. The driver’s record of duty status is false because on 02/05/2010 Comdata fuel report shows driver Dennis Rayner fueling in Vinton, LA at 9:45 PM (CT). On 02/05/2010 log book shows driver Dennis Rayner shows off duty all day in Cleburne, TX. As per PC miler, Vinton, LA to Cle-burne, TX is approximately 395 miles and 6 hours and 4 minutes from each other.
• On or about 02/09/2010, Joe Tex Xpress Inc used driver, Dennis Rayner, to drive a commercial motor vehicle in interstate commerce from Tylertown, MS to Houston, TX. The driver made a false report of duty activities on the record of duty status for that date. The driver’s record of duty status is false because on 02/09/2010 Comdata fuel report shows driver Dennis Rayner fueling in Van, TX at 5:57 PM (CT). On 02/09/2010 log book shows driver Dennis Rayner driving from Pauls Valley, OK and Periy, OK between 5:30 PM (CT) and 7:00 PM (CT). As per PC miler, Pauls Valley, OK to Van, TX is approximately 236 miles and 3 hours and 30 minutes from each other. As per PC miler, Perry, OK to Van, TX is approximately 351 miles and 5 hours from each other.
• On. or about 02/11/2010, Joe Tex Xpress Inc used driver, Dennis Rayner, to drive a commercial motor vehicle in interstate commerce from Kimball, NE to Sherman, TX. The driver made a false report of duty activities on the record of duty status for that date. The driver's record of duty status is false because on 02/11/2010 Comdata fuel report shows driver Dennis Rayner fueling in North Platte, NE at 1:49 PM (CT). On 02/11/2010 log book shows driver Dennis Rayner going off duty in Aurora, NE between 2:00 PM (CT) and 3:00 PM (CT). As per PC miler, North Platte, NE to Aurora, NE is approximately 159 miles and 2 hours and 13 minutes from each other.
• On or about 02/26/2010, Joe Tex Xpress Inc used driver, Dennis' Rayner, to drive a commercial motor vehicle in interstate commerce from Blanco, NM to Ingleside, TX. The driver made a false report of duty activities on the "record of duty status for that date. The driver’s record of duty status is false because on 02/26/2010 Comdata fuel report shows driver Dennis Rayner fueling in Moriarty, NM at 6:04 PM (CT). On 02/26/2010 log book shows driver Dennis Rayner off duty in Corpus Christi, TX between 6:30 PM (CT) and midnight. As per PC miler, Corpus Christi, TX to Moriarty, NM is approximately 833 miles and 13 hours and 58 minutes from each other.
• On or about 02/28/2010, Joe Tex Xpress Inc used driver, Dennis Rayner, to drive a commercial motor vehicle in interstate commerce from Blanco, NM to Ingleside, TX. The driver made a false report of duty activities on the record of duty status for that date. The driver's record of duty status is false because on 02/28/2010 Comdata fuel report shows driver Dennis Rayner fueling in San Antonio, TX at 7:18 AM (CT). On 02/28/2010 log books shows driver Dennis Rayner off duty all day in Corpus Christi, TX. As per PC miler, Corpus Christi, TX to San Antonio, TX is approximately 145 miles and 2 hours and 8 minutes from each other.
. This was not a big time discrepancy. The weight ticket for that date indicated that his truck was loaded at 9:19 a.m., yet the log book showed that Rayner was off duty at 9:22 a.m.
. Both "clear and convincing evidence" and "gross negligence" were appropriately defined.
. A trucking company can be rated as satisfactory, conditional, or unsatisfactory by the DOT.
. The verdict against Dalworth was upheld despite the jury’s finding that the driver was not grossly negligent.
Concurring Opinion
Concurring Opinion by
CONCURRING OPINION
I join the majority opinion and write separately to respectfully address one point raised by the dissent. The dissent does not question the sufficiency of the evidence establishing the objective element of gross negligence as to both Dennis Ray-ner and Joe Tex Xpress, Inc. (Joe Tex), and the majority thoroughly addresses the sufficiency of the evidence establishing the subjective element of gross negligence as to Rayner. Therefore, my response is limited to the dissent’s position that the subjective element of gross negligence was not established by clear and convincing evidence as to Joe Tex. In order to understand why I believe the evidence is sufficient as to that issue, it is necessary to briefly review the unique fashion in which this case was tried.
A. Procedural History
At trial, Krista Dillon presented the evidence of log book violations and excessive driving detailed' by the majority to prove that Rayner and Joe Tex were grossly negligent because Rayner was fatigued on the occasion in question and because Joe Tex allowed him to drive in that condition.
After the close of the evidence, the trial court submitted question 1, a broad-form question combining ordinary negligence and proximate cause. The jury answered yes to that question as to both Rayner and Joe Tex. After trial, both Rayner and Joe Tex accepted and paid the underlying judgment and only challenged on appeal
Because the trial court submitted the ordinary negligence and proximate cause issues in a single, broad-form question, the jury’s answer to the ordinary negligence question constitutes a finding of all the specific acts of negligence for which evidence was presented against Rayner and Joe Tex. Because the evidence regarding excessive driving and. log book violations was presented without limitation and because the jury could consider that evidence in deciding whether Rayner and Joe Tex were negligent, the jury’s finding of ordinary negligence necessarily includes a finding that Rayner was fatigued and that his fatigued driving was a proximate cause of the accident in this case.
The dissent correctly points out that no one (including the two investigating police officers) testified that Rayner appeared at the time to be fatigued and that Rayner himself denied being fatigued at the time of the accident. The dissent then concludes that, in the absence of such evidence, Dillon has failed to prove by clear and convincing ewdenee that Rayner or Joe Tex knew that Rayner was fatigued on the day of the accident. However, in considering whether sufficient evidence establishes the subjective element as to Joe Tex, it is important to note that Dillon alleged grossly negligent entrustment against Joe Tex in addition to gross negligence. Negligent entrustment requires “a showing of (1) entrustment of a vehicle by the owner; (2) to an unlicensed, incompetent, or reckless driver; (3) that the owner knew or should have known to be unlicensed[, incompetent, or reckless]; (4) that the driver was negligent on the occasion in question[;] and (5) that the driver’s negligence proximately caused the accident.” Schneider v. Esperanza Transmission Co., 744 S.W.2d 595, 596 (Tex. 1987). “Punitive damages can be imposed if the owner of the vehicle knows or should have known that the entrusted driver was incompetent or habitually reckless and the owner was grossly negligent in entrusting the vehicle to that driver.” Id. Finally, “[f]or entrustment to be a-proximate cause, the defendant entrustor should be shown to be reasonably able to anticipate that an injury would result as a natural and probable consequence of the entrustment.” Id.
Therefore, Dillon did not have to prove by clear and convincing evidence that Joe Tex subjectively knew that Rayner was fatigued on the day of the accident. Instead, because the jury’s unchallenged answer to question 1 established that Rayner was fatigued and that his fatigue proximately caused the accident, Dillon only had to prove by clear and convincing evidence that Joe Tex subjectively knew that Rayner was an “incompetent or habitually reckless” driver based on his history of fatigued driving and that it was “able to anticipate that an injury would result as a natural and probable consequence of the entrustment.” Id.
The Department of Transportation (DOT) adopted the log book and driving limit regulations precisely because of the inherent difficulty in' establishing driver fatigue as weighed against the potential danger to the public by fatigued drivers.
Therefore, even under the clear and convincing evidence standard, given the substantial history of Rayner’s log book violations and driving in excess of the federal driving limits presented in this case, as well as the jury’s unchallenged findings that Rayner’s fatigued driving proximately caused the accident, the jury could fairly infer that Joe Tex was subjectively aware of the risk that Rayner was an “incompetent or habitually reckless” driver based on his history of excessive driving and that Joe Tex was “able to anticipate that an injury would result as a natural and probable consequence of the entrustment,” but it “nevertheless proceed[ed] with conscious indifference to the rights, safety, or welfare of others.” Tex. Crv. Prao. & Rem. Code ANN. § 41.001(11) (West Supp. 2015); Schneider, 744 S.W.2d at 596. Consequently, Dillon presented legally and factually sufficient evidence to establish grossly negligent entrustment against Joe Tex.
C. Conclusion
Of course, it is not possible to draw a bright-line at the point where log-book violations become sufficient evidence to support a grossly negligent entrustment finding. Considering the competing interests, it seems clear that the point where the history of log-book violations rises to the level of clear and convincing evidence to support a grossly negligent entrustment finding is very high. But here, we have evidence (1) that Rayner had a substantial history of driving in excess of the federal driving limits, (2) that Joe Tex knew that history and, therefore, knew that Rayner was at risk of driving while fatigued, (3) that Joe Tex was “able to anticipate that an injury would result as a natural and probable consequence of the entrustment,” and (4) that, despite that knowledge, Joe Tex made the conscious decision to violate its own work place rules and put Rayner back on the road because, in the words of Joe Tex’s owner, “It’s my call. It’s my company. I can kind of do what I want.”
Therefore, the evidence was legally and factually sufficient to support the gross negligence findings and punitive damages awards against Joe Tex.
. The majority opinion lists the evidence Dillon presented on the issue of gross negligence. See majority opinion supra Part I.
. See Burk Royalty Co. v. Walls, 616 S.W.2d 911, 924 (Tex. 1981) (holding that variance between pleadings and proof "is a pleading problem, one that is handled by objections to the evidence and one which requires distinct objections to the charge which specifically advise the court of each variance”) (citing Tex R. Civ. P. 274).
. See Scotchcraft Bldg. Materials, Inc. v. Parker, 618 S.W.2d 835, 837 (Tex.Civ.App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1981, writ ref’d n.r.e.) ("It is the duty of the party objecting to the introduction of evidence which is admissible for one. purpose but hot for another, to request the court to limit the purpose for which it might be considered, and failing to do so, he may not be heard to complain that the jury may have considered the evidence for other purposes."); Aluminum Co. of Am. v. Alm, 785 S.W.2d 137, 139 (Tex. 1990) (“[S]ince Aim did not request a limiting instruction, admission of the evidence was, for all practical purposes, a general offer. Therefore, the jury was afforded the opportunity to consider the evidence of Alcoa's warnings to Seven-Up in its deliberation on ordinary negligence.” (citations omitted)).
.Because fatigued driving is neither a separate theory of liability nor a separate element of a theory of liability, but is simply an act Dillon alleged to establish the failure to use ordinary care element of a negligence claim, ' Dillon was not required to seek a separate question to establish that Rayner was fatigued and that his fatigued driving proximately caused the accident in question. When a plaintiff presents evidence that the defendant committed several negligent acts which proximately caused her injuries, but only alleges one theory of liability—negligence—the trial court is not required to charge the jury with a separate question as to each negligent act. See Columbia Med. Ctr. of Las Colinas v. Bush, 122 S.W.3d 835, 858-59 (Tex.App.—Fort Worth 2003, pet. denied) (holding that no error was shown by trial court’s broad-form submission of negligence question even though plaintiff alleged several acts of negligence by each defendant, noting that "these acts are not separate theories of liability and do not constitute the assertion by [plaintiff] of any additional basis for recovery”). And when a party fails to "challenge in the court of appeals the factual or legal sufficiency of the evidence supporting” the jury’s answer, the answer is established as to the theory alleged. See In re A.V., 113 S.W.3d 355, 362 (Tex. 2003) (holding that evidence supporting termination of appellant's parental rights under Section 161.001(b)(l)(Q) of the Texas Family Code was sufficient in absence of challenge to "factual or legal sufficiency of evidence supporting subsection Q.”); see also Columbia Med. Ctr. of Las Colinas, Inc. v. Hogue, 271 S.W.3d 238, 242 (Tex. 2008) ("This is a medical malpractice case. In this appeal, it is undisputed that the hospital caused Bob Ho-gue’s death. The jury made that finding' at trial, the hospital does not challenge it in this Court, and the dissenting justices acknowledge that the evidence supports that finding.”).
. See Operation Rescue-Nat’l v. Planned Parenthood of Houston & Se. Tex, Inc.:
Appellants have not raised any points of error attacking the sufficiency of the evidence supporting the jury’s findings that they participated in a conspiracy to interfere with the business of the clinics or that they and their operatives tortiously interfered with the clinic’s business. By failing to allege error in a point of error, any complaint as to these findings has been waived.
Operation Rescue-Nat’l v. Planned Parenthood of Houston & Se. Texas, Inc., 937 S.W.2d 60, 67 n. 1 (Tex.App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1996), aff'd as modified, 975 S.W.2d 546 (Tex. 1998) (citing San Jacinto River Auth. v. Duke, 783 S.W.2d 209, 210 (Tex. 1990) (per curiam)).
. Because the evidence of log-book violations and excessive driving was presented to the jury without limitation and because Ray-ner and Joe Tex did not challenge the sufficiency of that evidence to support the jury’s subsequent ordinary negligence and proximate cause findings, we cannot at this point consider whether that type of evidence is sufficient to establish that Rayner was fatigued and that his fatigued driving proximately
. In United States v. Sandhu, 462 F.Supp.2d 663 (E.D.Pa. 2006), Ae Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania observed,
In a case regarding Ae DOT’S rule for motor carriers’ safety fitness ratings, Ae D.C. Circuit approvingly cited several studies finding that fatigue plays a significant role in truck drivers’ accidents. Looking at Ae record in Ae case, Ae court noted Aat one study found Aat fatigue was Ae " ‘probable primary cause’ of 41% of studied accidents"; a second study found an “over-risk of involvement in accidents beyond ten and more hours of work span"; and a Aird study concluded Aat "accident rates for trucks tend to increase dramatically the longer Ae driver continues beyond 8 hours of continuous driving."
Id. at 673-74 (citations omitted) (quoting Am. Trucking Ass’ns v. U.S. Dep’t of Transp., 166 F.3d 374, 384-85 (D.C.Cir. 1999) (internal quotation marks omitted)).
. The court in Sandhu went on to discuss the legislative history behind the federal regulations, noting,
The 10-hour rule [now 11-hour] on the other hand, has a different purpose: promoting safety. Though the hours of service regulations have a somewhat tortured history, the intent of Congress and the DOT is clear: limiting the hours CMV drivers can drive (and requiring them to submit logbooks verifying their hours) improves the safety of our nation's roadways. Circumventing the regulation means risking the safety of innocent motorists.
Dissenting Opinion
Dissenting Opinion by
The opinion put forth by the majority is persuasive, knowledgeable, and well-written. However, the entire matter here revolves around employment of the “clear and convincing” evidence standard necessarily employed in a finding of gross negligence. It must be remembered that Texas law requires a finding of “clear and convincing” evidence before a finding of gross negligence can be sustained. Tex. Civ. Prac. <& Rem. Code Ann. § 41.001(11)(A), (B) (West Supp. 2015).
Because the majority has done a masterful job of setting out the facts of the case, a restatement of those facts is unneces
However, the clear and convincing proof of those things does not almost inevitably lead to the conclusion that either Rayner or Joe Tex knew that Rayner was fatigued at the time of the collision with Dillon. In order to make that finding, the jury had to leap from the proven facts to conclude that Rayner was known to be fatigued and that he or Joe Tex were aware of that condition. No one (for instance, neither Dillon nor the investigating police officers) testified that Rayner appeared at that time to be fatigued, and Rayner testified that he was not tired.
In a concurring opinion, Justice Harriett O’Neill correctly noted the task of an appellate court when reviewing a case requiring this heightened standard of proof.
When the burden of proof is heightened beyond a mere preponderance of the evidence—for example, when a fact must be proved either by clear and convincing evidence or beyond a reasonable doubt—then the standard for legally sufficient evidence will be correspondingly heightened. When clear and convincing evidence is required, we have held that the party with the burden of proof must introduce enough evidence “that a fact-finder could reasonably form a firm belief or conviction about the truth of the matter.”
Sw. Bell Tel. Co. v. Garza, 164 S.W.3d 607, 631 (Tex. 2004) (citations omitted) (quoting In re J.F.C., 96 S.W.3d 256, 266 (Tex. 2002) (O’Neill, J., concurring)).
An example of what might be the difference here is illustrated in the realm of libel. In order to protect the First Amendment Constitutional rights, the United States Supreme Court has instituted- a “clear and convincing” burden of proof in cases of defamation. In so doing, the burden is put upon judges, “as expositors of the Constitution, [to] independently decide whether the evidence in the record is sufficient to cross the constitutional threshold that bars the entry of any judgment that is not supported by clear and convincing proof of ‘actual malice.’ ” Bose Corp. v. Consumers Union of U.S., Inc., 466 U.S. 485, 511, 104 S.Ct. 1949, 80 L.Ed.2d 502 (1984). Here, the burden is on us, as the reviewers of the record, to distinguish between what was established by clear and convincing evidence and what was not proven to that standard.
Precisely, then, what kind of proof is required to sustain a finding of “clear and convincing?” “[I]n reviewing the legal suf-
Although the evidence is sufficient to prove the first prong of gross negligence (that driving an eighteen-wheeler while fatigued involves an extreme degree of risk of serious harm to other drivers) there must likewise be sufficient evidence that Rayner was actually aware of this risk, and nonetheless chose to drive in a fatigued state. This evidence shows that Rayner quite often drove his eighteen-wheelér in excess of the allowable hours, but there is nothing here to support a “clear and convincing” finding that Rayner was aware of his fatigue on the accident date and that he nonetheless chose to imperil the lives of others by driving while fatigued. The gross negligence finding against Rayner cannot stand.
In its charge to the jury, the trial court defined “negligence” to mean
thé failure to. use ordinary care, that is, failing to do that which a person or company of ordinary prudence would have done under the same or similar circumstances or doing that which a person of ordinary prudence would not have done under the same or similar circumstances: As to Joe Tex Xpress, Inc., “negligence” may also mean entrusting a vehicle to an unlicensed, incompetent and/or reckless driver if Joe Tex Xpress, Inc.[,] knew or should have known that the driver was unlicensed or incompetent or reckless.
The jury found, by clear and convincing evidence, that the harm to Dillon resulted from gross negligence attributable to Joe Tex.
Setina testified at length about the April 2010 Federal Department of Transpoirtation (DOT) audit, which resulted in a conditional safety rating for Joe Tex,
The Joe Tex log violations program provides for a verbal warning for a first violation, retraining for a second violation within thirty days of the last contact with the driver, and a final warning and counseling on a third violation within thirty days of the last contact with , the driver. A fourth violation within thirty days of the last contact with the driver requires automatic termination. In a form letter sent to drivers who. are found to commit log-book violations, the driver is told whether the warning is a first, second, or third and final warning. When asked if the third and final warning meant termination, Setina testified that as president of the company, “It’s my call. It’s my company. I can kind of do what I want.” Setina further testified that he can decide whether to follow Joe Tex company policy, stating “lean choose to overrule things,” and “I can make the policy as I go, and I can change.it.” Despite Joe Tex’s policy to document disciplinary actions, there is, no documentation that Rayner had ever, been disciplined.
The Joe Tex safety program was designed to ensure that they do not have fatigued drivers. Yet, Joe Tex failed to document that any of its drivers received adequate safety training. One of the company officials testified that evero though the company worked with Rayner regarding his -log book violations after the DOT audit,. she never felt sure that he was filling his log books out correctly. It is important to accurately post logs so that the company can total the hours at the end of each week. If log books are inaccurate, there can never be an accurate recording of how many hours are driven each week. If a driver continually violates company policies in an eighteen-wheeler because they are not filling out their log books correctly, people can be seriously and catastrophically injured. The most important reason to maintain hours within regulations is to prevent driver fatigue.
In -an open letter addressing improvement in their safety rating after the audit, Joe Tex wrote, “We also have made the tough, but necessary decision to lay-off some of our long-time drivers who were responsible for many of the violations and scoring issues we were encountering.” Even though Rayner was responsible for almost nineteen percent of the violations noted on the audit, he was not terminated.
Dalworth Trucking Co. v. Bulen, 924 S.W.2d 728 (Tex.App.—Texarkana 1996, no writ), involved a fact situation similar 'to this case. In that case, this Court addressed the issue of whether the evidence supported a jury verdict that Dalworth was grossly negligent in connection with a fatal accident involving one of its employee drivers. Id. at 731-34. The driver ran a stop sign, killing the occupant of another vehicle. This Court upheld the verdict as supported by the evidence, although Bulen preceded the advent of the clear and convincing standard review of evidentiary sufficiency in gross negligence cases.
The company safety manager testified that company managers were aware of the driver’s over-hours violations, that over-hours driving caused driver fatigue, that fatigue from excessive driving builds up to an almost inevitable loss of alertness in a driver, and that he would give the driver’s overall driving record a grade of “F” so far as safety violations were concerned. The driver had over-hours driving violations on each of the four days preceding the collision. The evidence also showed that repeated safety violations by drivers create an extremely dangerous situation, that company managers knew about the situation but did not suspend, terminate, or admonish the driver, and that to do anything less than that would be inexcusable. The safety manager testified that he knew an accident was almost inevitable if management failed to enforce safety practices vigorously. Id.
As in this case, Bulen was not shown to have exceeded permissible driving hours on the day of the accident. However, on the four days preceding the accident, Bu-len violated the hours regulations for each of those days. Even so, the evidence showed that Bulen was not fatigued on the accident date, that he had a good night’s sleep before the day of on the accident, and that he had several rest breaks on the accident date. Id.
Based on this evidence, this Court concluded that the jury could have reasonably found that the driver’s cumulative safety violations caused a lack of alertness that contributed to his failure to see the stop sign in time to stop and avoid the collision. This Court further concluded that company managers could have reasonably foreseen a similar consequence from their failure to suspend or discipline the driver. Id. at 734.
As in Bulen, the evidence here shows that Rayner committed numerous log violations, including hours violations that tend to cause fatigue. Joe Tex was fully aware of these violations. Despite these similarities, though, two key factors distinguish this case from Bulen. First, this case is subject to a “clear and convincing” evidence standard, whereas Bulen applied the traditional no evidence standard to the gross negligence findings.
Here, Rayner’s log book indicates that two days before the accident, he drove from Dallas to Mobile, but the bill of lading showed that he delivered a load to Sherman on that date. The trip from Dallas to Mobile, as reflected in the log book, shows exactly eleven hours of driving time. Sometime during that same day, Rayner presumably sidetracked to Sherman. There is no testimony indicating how many excess hours Rayner drove on July 21. But on the day before the accident and on the day of the accident, Rayner did not exceed his driving time. The evidence showed that he was well rested on the accident date.
While there was sufficient evidence before the jury to permit it to form a firm belief or conviction that Joe Tex was aware of the extreme risk of serious injury that Rayner’s fatigued driving could cause, I believe that the evidence falls short on the issue of Joe Tex’s knowledge that Rayner posed this type of risk to other drivers on the accident date. Although Joe Tex was aware that Rayner exhibited a pattern of over-hours driving, there is nothing in the evidence to meet the “clear and convincing,” burden that Joe Tex knew that Ray-ner was fatigued on the accident date. While the jury might infer that Joe Tex knew that Rayner was fatigued on the accident date, I do not believe this evidence is sufficient to support that inference under the clear and convincing evidence standard.
I respectfully dissent.
. Both "clear and convincing evidence” and "gross negligence” were appropriately defined.
. A trucking company can be rated as satisfactory, conditional, or unsatisfactoiy by the DOT.
. The verdict against Dalworth wás upheld despite the jury’s finding that the driver was
. Under this standard, only the evidence and inferences that, when viewed in their most favorable light, tend to support the finding, are considered. Therefore, if any evidence of probative force supports the finding, the find
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.