Gladon v. Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority

662 N.E.2d 287 (1996)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D appealed from a jury verdict awarding P $2,736,915.35 in damages arising from D's operation of a rapid transit train. P purchased a passenger ticket and boarded a D rapid transit train. P had been at a baseball game and had consumed about five 16-ounce beers. P left his friends at the stadium in search of a restroom and ended up traveling alone on D's train. There were no witnesses to the incident, and the jury only heard P's account of events. P mistakenly exited the train at the West 65th Street Station and, once on the platform, was chased and attacked by two unknown males. P testified that he remembered being 'rolled up in a ball' on the tracks, but he could not recall if he had jumped onto the tracks or had been pushed onto the tracks. He did recall being kicked in the head. A train approached the West 65th Street Station. Mary Bell, the train's operator, had the train in braking mode when she observed first a tennis shoe and then Gladon's leg on the tracks. She pulled the emergency brake, but the train struck P causing him serious and permanent injuries. P sued D and the operator alleging negligence in the security and the operation of the train. The trial court granted D summary judgment as to the negligent security claim, and the case proceeded to trial on the negligent operation claim. The court instructed the jury that P was an invitee and that the driver of a rapid transit car with the right of way must use ordinary care. The jury returned a verdict for P and overruled D's motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. The court of appeals affirmed.