Daniels et al v. The Boeing Company

Filing 38

ORDER granting 32 Defendant's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment as to Plaintiff's "knee injuries", those damages are dismissed; signed as authorized by Judge Ronald B. Leighton.(DN)

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HONORABLE RONALD B. LEIGHTON

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT TACOMA

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CLIFFORD S DANIELS,
Plaintiff,

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CASE NO. C13-5679 RBL
ORDER GRANTING PARTIAL
SUMMARY JUDGMENT

v.
[Dkt. #32]
THE BOEING COMPANY,
Defendant.

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THIS MATTER is before the Court on Defendant Boeing’s Motion for Partial Summary

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Judgment [Dkt. # 32]. A Boeing employee drove a forklift into a cart that in turn struck Plaintiff
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Clifford Daniels, causing a shin laceration that required surgery and a two week hospital stay.
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Daniels claimed that the industrial accident also aggravated a pre-existing, degenerative

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condition in both knees. L&I determined Daniels’s knee condition pre-dated the accident, and he

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appealed. The Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals affirmed, and Daniels sought a trial de novo

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in Superior Court. The Pierce County Judge similarly determined that the knee condition was not

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related to or caused by the accident. Daniels’s appeal of that judgment is pending.

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In the meantime, Daniels sued Boeing here, claiming Boeing is liable for all of his
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claimed injuries, including his knees. Boeing concedes it is liable for all of the damages caused
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ORDER GRANTING PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT- 1

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by the accident, but argues the “pre-existing” nature of the claimed knee injuries has already

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been determined as a matter of law. Daniels argues that the prior adjudication is not binding,

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both because Boeing was not a party to it and because it is not yet final.
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I.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

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In 2010, Daniels, a DHL Express driver, was picking up a shipment at Boeing’s Spare

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Parts Building. While he did paperwork, a Boeing employee drove a forklift into a cart, which in

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turn struck Daniels’s lower legs. He suffered a laceration on his left shin, a few inches below his

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knee. Daniels spent 12 days in the hospital, undergoing muscle and skin grafts. Daniels has

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admitted he had a pre-existing degenerative knee condition and osteoarthritis, but claims the

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Boeing accident also aggravated his arthritic knees.
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Daniels made an L&I claim against DHL. L&I adjudicated the extent of the damages to
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his leg and knees, and determined that the knee issues were not caused by the accident. He

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appealed to the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals. It affirmed, concluding: “the evidence

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does not indicate on a more probable than not basis that the claimant sustained knee injuries

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during his 2010 accident.”

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Daniels sought a trial de novo in Pierce County Superior Court. Though he could have

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demanded a jury trial, he chose to have the case heard from the bench. Daniels again did not
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dispute the pre-existing knee injury, but claimed the accident proximately caused aggravation

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and a resulting disability. Judge Linda Lee determined there was pre-existing end stage

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degenerative arthritis, and that no evidence linked that condition specifically to the accident. She

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found that the accident did not cause or aggravate Daniels’s degenerative knee condition, and

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affirmed the Board’s decision. Daniels’s appeal of that judgment to the Washington Court of

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Appeals is pending.
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ORDER GRANTING PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT- 2

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Meanwhile, Daniels sued Boeing here, seeking damages for both the laceration and the
aggravated knee condition. Boeing concedes that it is liable for all injuries caused by the

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accident, but argues it has already been determined that the knee damages pre-dated and were not
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aggravated by the accident. It claims Daniels is collaterally estopped from claiming damages for
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his knee in this court because the same issue has already been finally adjudicated on the merits. It

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also argues, persuasively, that the fact the prior final judgment is on appeal does not deprive it of

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collateral estoppel effect.

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Daniels argues that collateral estoppel does not apply for two reasons: First, because
Boeing was not a party to the prior adjudication, and second, the adverse judgment is not “final”

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because it is on appeal. The issue is what effect the prior adjudication and pending appeal have
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on collateral estoppel in this case.
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II.

DISCUSSION

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Summary judgment is appropriate when, viewing the facts in the light most favorable to

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the nonmoving party, there is no genuine issue of material fact which would preclude summary

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judgment as a matter of law. Once the moving party has satisfied its burden, it is entitled to

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summary judgment if the non-moving party fails to present, by affidavits, depositions, answers to

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interrogatories, or admissions on file, “specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for
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trial.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 324 (1986). “The mere existence of a scintilla of

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evidence in support of the non-moving party’s position is not sufficient.” Triton Energy Corp. v.

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Square D Co., 68 F.3d 1216, 1221 (9th Cir. 1995). Factual disputes whose resolution would not

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affect the outcome of the suit are irrelevant to the consideration of a motion for summary

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judgment. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248 (1986). In other words,

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“summary judgment should be granted where the nonmoving party fails to offer evidence from
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ORDER GRANTING PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT- 3

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which a reasonable [fact finder] could return a [decision] in its favor.” Triton Energy, 68 F.3d at

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1220.

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Collateral estoppel prevents re-litigation of an issue “when an issue of fact or law is
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actually litigated and determined by a valid and final judgment, and the determination is essential
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to the judgment.” Amadeo v. Principal Mutual Life Insurance Co., 290 F.3d 1152, 1159 (9th

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Cir. 2002). Collateral estoppel applies when the following factors are satisfied: first, the issue

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decided in the prior adjudication is identical to the issue in the present action; second, the prior

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adjudication resulted in a final judgment on the merits; and third, the party against whom

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collateral estoppel is asserted was a party or in privity with a party to the prior adjudication. The

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party against whom collateral estoppel is asserted must have had a full and fair opportunity to
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litigate the issue in the prior proceeding. See Maciel v. Comm’r of Internal Revenue, 489 F.3d
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1018, 1023 (9th Cir. 2007). And the determination of the issue must have been essential to the

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prior judgment. Amadeo, 290 F.3d at 1159.

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The party asserting collateral estoppel does not have to be a party in the prior proceeding.
Rather, collateral estoppel requires only that the party against whom it is asserted must have
been a party to (or in privity with a party to) the prior adjudication. Christensen v. Grant County
Hosp., 152 Wn.2d 299, 306 (2004); Carter v. C.I.R., 746 F.3d 318, 321 (7th Cir. 2014). It is clear,

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therefore, that Boeing’s absence as a party to the prior proceeding does not deprive the judgment

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rendered there from collateral estoppel effect. Daniels was a party, and he had (multiple)

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demonstrably “full and fair” opportunities to litigate the issue. If it resulted in a “final judgment

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on the merits,” the prior adjudication is entitled to collateral estoppel effect as a matter of law.

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The only remaining issue is whether the fact that Daniels appealed that judgment prevents it

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from being final,” thus depriving it of collateral estoppel effect.
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ORDER GRANTING PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT- 4

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In Washington, the appeal of an adverse judgment does not deprive it of finality for
purposes of collateral estoppel. See Nielson v. Spanaway Gen. Med. Clinic, Inc., 135 Wn.2d

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255, 264 (1998) (an appeal does not suspend or negate the collateral estoppel aspects of a
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judgment entered after trial); Gausvik v. Abbey, 126 Wn. App. 868, 883 (2005) (same).
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Daniels asserts that collateral estoppel does not apply because the Court of Appeals has

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not ruled. The Superior Court already determined the knee injury issue, and that judgment is

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“final” despite Daniels’s appeal. Collateral estoppel bars Daniels from seeking those damages in

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this case as a matter of law.

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Boeing’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment on Daniels’s claimed “knee injuries” is

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GRANTED, and Daniels’s claim for those damages is DISMISSED.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
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Dated this 7th day of October, 2014.

A
RONALD B. LEIGHTON (as authorized/dn)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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ORDER GRANTING PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT- 5