Pierce v. Cook & Co

518 F.2d 720 (10th Cir. 1975)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

On January 11, 1968, Edwards' rig, hauling wheat for Cook, collided on an Oklahoma highway with a car driven by Ted Pierce. Pierce was killed, and passengers in his car were injured. Claudiatte Pierce brought suit in an Oklahoma state court for herself as surviving widow of Ted and for their minor daughter Letitia. Similar state suits were brought against Cook by Stephen Ellenwood and Mike Davis, passengers in the Pierce car. On the motion of defendant Cook, each case was removed to federal court on diversity grounds. The Mike Davis case was dismissed by the federal court on the motion of the plaintiff. It was later refiled in state court by co-guardians of Mike, a minor. The guardianship maneuver apparently destroyed diversity and prevented removal. The federal district court granted defendant Cook summary judgment on the ground that under the Oklahoma decision in Marion Machine, Foundry & Supply Co. v. Duncan, the shipper, Cook, was not liable for the torts of the independent contractor, Edwards. Claudiatte Pierce and Ellenwood appealed. They conceded the effect of the Marion Machine decision and argued that, because of the Motor Carrier Act, federal common law controlled. We held that the Motor Carrier Act did not indicate a congressional intent to supersede state tort law with respect to liability of a shipper, and concluded that Oklahoma law controlled. In the Mike Davis case, the Oklahoma state court gave summary judgment for Cook on the basis of the Marion Machine decision. The case then went to the Oklahoma Supreme Court, which specifically overruled Marion Machine. The court remanded the case for jury trial. The case was then settled favorably to the plaintiff. The Tenth Circuit decision became final in January 1971. The Oklahoma Supreme Court decision became final in May 1974. In November 1974, Claudiatte Pierce and Ellenwood filed the pending Rule 60(b) motion for relief from judgment.