Violation of company policy is not per se negligence and does not establish liability when there is no evidence of actions or omissions that constitute negligence.

A pedestrian wearing dark clothing while in the middle of an intersection was struck and killed, and the truck driver was operating her vehicle with no apparent negligence. However, the truck driver was on her phone via a hands-free device at the time of the collision. There was no evidence that the driver was speeding or improperly operating in any other regard. Her company had a policy against handheld electronic devices, but she was not in violation when using the phone hands free. Importantly, the District Court noted that they were not provided with any authority that violation of the company policy—even if there were a violation—constitutes per se negligence unless that negligence is a proximate cause of the accident. The court specifically noted that there was nothing in the record that indicated the accident would have not occurred but for the driver’s phone usage. For those reasons, the court granted summary judgment and dismissed the action.

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