O'Bannon v. Union Pacific R. Co.

• Decision Date: 08 April 1997
• Docket Number: No. 96-0075-CV-W-1.,96-0075-CV-W-1.
• Citation: 960 F.Supp. 1411
• Parties: Christopher Dale O'BANNON and Justin Bradley O'Bannon by and through their Next Friend Sharon Michelle O'Bannon, et al., Plaintiffs, v. UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD COMPANY and National Railroad Passenger Corporation (d/b/a Amtrak), Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Western District of Missouri

960 F.Supp. 1411

Christopher Dale O'BANNON and Justin Bradley O'Bannon by and through their Next Friend Sharon Michelle O'Bannon, et al., Plaintiffs, v. UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD COMPANY and National Railroad Passenger Corporation (d/b/a Amtrak), Defendants.

No. 96-0075-CV-W-1.

United States District Court, W.D. Missouri, Western Division.

April 8, 1997.

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James D. Walker, Jr., Kansas City, MO, for plaintiffs.

Theodore J. Williams, Armstrong, Teasdale, Schlafly & Davis, St. Louis, MO, for defendants.

ORDER

WHIPPLE, District Judge.

Pending before the Court are two motions: (1) Defendants' motion for summary judgment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 and (2) Plaintiffs' motion to strike portions of an affidavit included in Defendants' summary judgment brief pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(f).

I. Factual Background

This is a wrongful death action arising out of a collision between a vehicle driven by Kevin O'Bannon and an Amtrak passenger train. The action is brought by O'Bannon's surviving children, father, and mother. O'Bannon was fatally injured on September 23, 1995 when he drove into the path of an eastbound Amtrak passenger train at the Sellers Road crossing just east of Sedalia, Missouri. The railroad tracks at the Sellers Road crossing are owned by Union Pacific.

Plaintiffs allege that Defendant Union Pacific was negligent for two reasons: (1) Union Pacific negligently failed to have adequate warning devices at the Sellers Road crossing and (2) Union Pacific negligently maintained and constructed the Sellers Road crossing. Plaintiffs allege that Defendant Amtrak negligently failed to slacken its speed when approaching the crossing.¹

Plaintiffs' claims against Union Pacific for inadequate warning devices, neglectful maintenance, and dangerous crossing design are premised on the following factual allegations. They allege that the only warning device located at the north side of the Sellers Road crossing was an unlit crossbuck sign² and a round railroad sign, but no stop sign. No electronic signaling devices, such as flashing lights, gates, or crossbars, were present. Plaintiffs further allege that a motorist's view down the tracks, when entering the Seller's Road crossing from the north, is obscured by the combination of the angle of convergence of the crossing; the crossing's excessively steep grade; and brush, trees, and other vegetation in the railroad track right-of-way. Pl.Compl. at 3, ¶ 10.

Against Amtrack, Plaintiffs' claim that Amtrack knew or by the exercise of the highest degree of care could have known that a collision with a motorist entering the crossing from the north was reasonably likely due to the motorist's obstructed view. Consequently, Plaintiffs claim, the Amtrack train should have stopped, slackened speed, or slackened speed and sounded a warning. Compl. at 7, ¶¶ 20(e) & (f).

II. Standard for Summary Judgment

Summary judgment is appropriate if the movant demonstrates that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 327, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2554-55, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The facts and inferences from those facts are viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party and the burden is placed on the moving party to establish both the absence of a genuine issue of material fact and that such party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586-90, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1355-58, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986).

Once the moving party has met this burden, the nonmoving party may not rest on the allegations in the pleadings, but by affidavit or other evidence must set forth specific facts showing that a genuine issue of material fact exists. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e); Lower Brule Sioux Tribe v. State of S.D., 104 F.3d 1017, 1021 (8th Cir.1997). To determine whether the disputed facts are material, courts analyze the evidence in the context of the legal issues involved. Id. Thus, the mere existence of factual disputes between the parties is insufficient to avoid summary judgment. Id. Rather, "the disputes must be outcome determinative under prevailing law." Id. (citation omitted). Furthermore, to establish that a factual dispute is genuine and sufficient to warrant trial, the party opposing summary judgment "must do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts." Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 586, 106 S.Ct. at 1356. Demanding more than a metaphysical doubt respects the proper role of the summary judgment procedure: "Summary judgment procedure is properly regarded not as a disfavored procedural shortcut, but rather as an integral part of the Federal Rules as a whole, which are designed to secure the just, speedy and inexpensive determination of every action." Celotex, 477 U.S. at 327, 106 S.Ct. at 2555.

III. Preemption

Defendants' motion for summary judgment asserts that state and federal law preempt all of Plaintiffs' state common law theories of negligence. Plaintiffs oppose the motion on two grounds: (1) Kurt Anderson's affidavit, which supports Defendants' motion for summary judgment, is flawed and cannot be considered by the Court and (2) material issues of fact remain to determine whether their claims are preempted.

A. General Principles of Preemption

In general, state laws suffer preemption if a federal declaration expressly preempts them, if they conflict with a federal declaration, or if the scope of a statute indicates that Congress intended federal law to occupy a field exclusively. Freightliner Corp. v. Myrick, 514 U.S. 280, ___, 115 S.Ct. 1483, 1487, 131 L.Ed.2d 385 (1995); Flanagan v. Germania, 872 F.2d 231, 233-34 (8th Cir.1989). The text and structure of a statute are the guideposts in determining whether Congress has manifested a clear purpose to preempt an area of state law. Peters v. Union Pacific R.R. Co., 80 F.3d 257, 261 (8th Cir.1996). Consequently, "[i]f the statute contains an express preemption clause, then the statutory construction should center on its plain meaning as the best evidence of Congress's preemptive intent." Id.; see also Cipollone v. Liggett Group, Inc., 505 U.S. 504, 517, 112 S.Ct. 2608, 2618, 120 L.Ed.2d 407 (1992) (discussing the effect of an express preemption clause).

B. Preemptive Force of the Federal Railroad Safety Act

The preemption issue in this case turns on the preemptive effect of the Federal Railroad Safety Act ("FRSA"), 49 U.S.C. §§ 20101 to 21311.³ Congress enacted the FRSA to "promote safety in every area of railroad operations and reduce railroad-related accidents and incidents." 49 U.S.C. § 20101. The FRSA authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to "prescribe regulations and issue orders for every area of railroad safety ..." 49 U.S.C. § 20103(a).

The FRSA contains an express preemption clause. See 49 U.S.C. § 20106.⁴ Thus, statutory construction must center on its plain meaning as the best evidence of Congress's preemptive intent. Peters, 80 F.3d at 261. The preemption clause expresses a preference for national uniformity and, by negative implication, indicates that regulations and orders prescribed by the Secretary will preempt state law relating to the same subject matter. 49 U.S.C. § 20106; see CSX Transp., Inc. v. Easterwood, 507 U.S. 658, 662, 113 S.Ct. 1732, 1736, 123 L.Ed.2d 387, 395 (1993) (discussing preemption under the FRSA); St. Louis Southwestern Ry. Co. v. Malone Freight Lines, Inc., 39 F.3d 864, 865 (8th Cir.1994), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 115 S.Ct. 1963, 131 L.Ed.2d 854 (1995). "Legal duties imposed on railroads by the common law fall within the scope of the[] broad phrases" of the preemption clause. Easterwood, 507 U.S. at 664, 113 S.Ct. at 1738.

The FRSA does not exclusively occupy the field, however. Section 20106's preemption clause also has a savings component: It preserves state law related to railroad safety "until the Secretary of Transportation prescribes a regulation or issues an order covering the subject matter of the State requirement." 49 U.S.C. § 20106. The Supreme Court has determined that Congress' use of the word "covering" in section 20106 indicates that the Secretary's regulation must do more than merely relate to the same subject matter as the state law for the latter to suffer preemption. Easterwood, 507 U.S. at 664, 113 S.Ct. at 1738. Instead, the federal regulations must "substantially subsume the subject matter of the relevant state law." Id. 49 U.S.C. § 20106 also includes an express savings clause that further preserves "additional or more stringent" state laws related to railroad safety when the law (1) is necessary to eliminate or reduce an essentially local hazard, (2) is not incompatible with federal law, and (3) does not unreasonably burden interstate commerce. 49 U.S.C. § 20106.

IV. Inadequate Warning Devices

Plaintiffs first contend that, under Missouri law, Defendant Union Pacific negligently failed to erect adequate warning devices at the Sellers Road crossing. Union Pacific argues that the FRSA and a Missouri statute preempt such a state common law claim. The Court will consider the theories jointly.⁵

The federal grade crossing regulations, promulgated by the Secretary of Transportation, provide the starting point for this issue. See 23 C.F.R. § 646.214(b)(3) and (4). Under sections 646.214(b)(3) and (4), a project for the improvement of a grade crossing must either include an automatic gate or receive approval from the Federal Highway Administration if federal funds participate in the installation of the warning devices. Thus, when applicable, sections 646.214(b)(3) and (4) displace state and private decision-making authority by establishing a federal-law requirement that certain protective devices be installed or federal approval obtained. Easterwood, 507 U.S. at 670, 113...