Lacy v. CSX Transportation, Inc.
West Virginia Supreme Court
520 S.E.2d 418 (1999)
Driver Cacoe Sullivan drove around a lowered railroad crossing gate believing only a slow-moving train was approaching, when her car was struck by a second, faster train on a parallel track; her fiancé Richard Brooks (plaintiff) was left paraplegic and her mother Tanya Lacy (plaintiff) was seriously injured. Lacy and Brooks sued CSX Transportation (defendant) for negligently allowing fast and slow trains to approach the same crossing simultaneously. Over plaintiffs' objection, CSX's counsel told the jury in closing argument that CSX would likely end up paying the entire judgment anyway because Lacy would be unlikely to actually try to collect from her own daughter, Sullivan. The jury found CSX only 1% negligent, Lacy and Brooks 1% negligent each, Sullivan 97% negligent, and that Sullivan's negligence was the sole proximate cause, rendering judgment for CSX; the trial court denied post-trial motions, and the plaintiffs appealed.
Whether it is impermissible, in a civil trial, for the judge or counsel to discuss the operation of joint and several liability in order to communicate to the jury the potential post-judgment financial effect of its fault allocation.