In re New Orleans Train Car Leakage Fire
| Decision Date | 27 June 2001 |
| Docket Number | No. 2000-CA-0479.,2000-CA-0479. |
| Citation | 795 So.2d 364 |
| Parties | In re NEW ORLEANS TRAIN CAR LEAKAGE FIRE LITIGATION. |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US |
Wendell H. Gauthier, Bruce C. Dean, Gauthier, Downing, LaBarre, Beiser & Dean, and T. Allen Usry Usry & Weeks, Metairie, LA, and Joseph M. Bruno, David Scalia, Anthony Irpino, Bruno & Bruno, New Orleans, LA, and Henry T. Dart, Metairie, LA, Plaintiffs' Liaison Counsel and Darleen M. Jacobs, New Orleans, LA, and Luther F. Cole, Baton Rouge, LA, Counsel for Plaintiffs/Appellees.
Harry S. Hardin, III, Raymond J. Salassi, Jr., Jones, Walker, Waechter, Poitevent, Carrere & Denegre, L.L.P., and Sam A. Leblanc, III, Adams and Reese, LLP, and Roy J. Rodney, Jr., Rodney, Bordenave, Boykin, & Ehret, New Orleans, LA, Counsel for Defendant/Appellant, (CSX Transportation, Inc.).
Daniel Lund, Timothy F. Daniels, David W. O'Quinn, Montgomery, Barnett, Brown, Read, Hammond & Mintz, LLP, New Orleans, LA, and Joseph L. Shea, Jr., Barlow and Hardtner, L.C., Shreveport, LA, Counsel for AMF-BRD, Inc.
Eric Shuman, Dwayne C. Jefferson, McGlinchey Stafford, A.P.L.C., and K. Eric Gisleson, Douglas L. Grundmeyer Chaffe, McCall, Phillips, Toler & Sarpy, L.L.P., New Orleans, LA, Counsel for Nova Chemicals, Inc.
John S. Keller, and Richard C. Stanley, Thomas M. Flanagan, Bryan C. Reuter, Stanley & Flanagan, L.L.C., New Orleans, LA, Amicus curiae, (The City of New Orleans).
Taylor L. Caffery, American Lung Association of. Louisiana, Inc., Baton Rouge, LA, Amicus Curiae, (The American Lung Association of Louisiana, Inc.).
.
This is a class action. It arises out of a chemical leak and fire involving a railroad tank car. After a two-phase trial, the jury found all defendants liable for compensatory damages and several defendants liable for punitive damages. The quantum of compensatory damages was determined as to each of twenty selected plaintiffs. The quantum of punitive damages was determined as to each of the several defendants found liable for punitive damages. All but three of the defendants settled. The three non-settling defendants bring the present appeal.
Defendant-appellant CSX Transportation, Inc. ("CSX") was held liable for 15% of the compensatory damages and was held liable for punitive damages. Defendant-appellant AMF-BRD, Inc. ("AMF-BRD") was held liable for 5% of the compensatory damages but was not held liable for punitive damages. Defendant-appellant Nova Chemicals, Inc. ("Polysar") was held liable for 5% of the compensatory damages but was not held liable for punitive damages. AMF-BRD and Polysar appeal as to liability for compensatory damages. AMF-BRD, Polysar and CSX all appeal as to the quantum of compensatory damages. CSX appeals as to liability for, and quantum of, punitive damages. The plaintiffs have answered these appeals and seek additional damages and prejudgment interest on punitive damages. For the reasons given below, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. Additionally, we remand this case to the trial court for proceedings as to the quantum of compensatory damages with respect to the remaining class members and for any other proceedings as are necessary to conclude this action.
On September 9, 1987, a pressurized railroad tank car which was loaded with butadiene ("GATX 55996") was parked on the interchange tracks of CSX in a residential area, Gentilly, of New Orleans. At about 1:50 a.m., GATX 55996 leaked and ignited. Butadiene is a carcinogenic hazardous chemical. It is flammable and also volatile, so that it can explode. The chemicals produced by burning butadiene include several carcinogenic hazardous chemicals. The butadiene leaked from GATX 55996 as a heavier-than-air gas so, as it leaked from GATX 55996, it spread out along the ground to the surrounding residential areas. Eventually, the butadiene reached an ignition source, possibly the hot water heater of a home, ignited, and flashed back to GATX 55996, which itself ignited. Five other pressurized tank cars loaded with butadiene were coupled to the now-flaming GATX 55996.
GATX 55996 burned for two days and, throughout that time, butadiene and the products of burning butadiene were carried by the wind, and deposited as soot, throughout the surrounding residential area. There was a danger that GATX 55996 might either explode, possibly destroying a number of city blocks, or even take off like a missile and travel as far as a mile through the surrounding residential area. There also was a danger that the fire might spread from GATX 55996 to the other five pressurized tank cars of butadiene to which GATX 55996 was coupled. Such a spread of the fire would result in further hazardous chemical release and further danger of explosions.
The neighborhood around the fire was evacuated. As it turned out, GATX 55996 did not explode (although some of the released butadiene did explode) and, after two days, the fire burned itself out. Also, the other five pressurized tank cars loaded with butadiene were successfully uncoupled and moved away from GATX 55996, so the fire never did spread to those five tank cars. After the fire burned itself out, the people of the surrounding areas were allowed to return home.
Class action suits were filed against nine defendants which, after some corporate name changes, are now known as: The Alabama Great Southern Railroad Company ("AGS"), AMF-BRD, Inc. ("AMF-BRD"), CSX Transportation Inc. ("CSX"), GATX Terminals Corporation ("GATX"), General American Transportation Corporation ("GATC"), Illinois Central Railroad Company ("Illinois Central"), Mitsui & Company (U.S.A.), Inc. ("Mitsui"), Nova Chemicals, Inc. ("Polysar"), and Phillips Petroleum Company ("Phillips"). The plaintiffs sought not only compensatory damages, but also punitive damages under Article 2315.3 of the Civil Code, because the butadiene leak and fire involved a hazardous or toxic substance. The roles of the nine defendants are, briefly and generally described, as follows: AMF-BRD manufactured the pressurized tank which was installed in GATX 55996. The installation of the tank, and the overall assembly of GATX 55996, was done by non-party North American Car Corporation ("NACC"), which is now out of business. The pressurized tank on GATX 55996 which was manufactured by AMF-BRD had a "manway" (an opening through which the car is cleaned) on the bottom. The bottom manway was sealed using an asbestos gasket. NACC sold GATX 55996 to Phillips. During the course of apparently routine maintenance, Phillips replaced the asbestos gasket with a rubber gasket. Butadiene can react with a rubber gasket causing a leak. Also, Phillips misaligned the rubber gasket and this, too, could cause a leak. Phillips then sold GATX 55996 to GATC. GATC labeled GATX 55996 as a butadiene tank car and owned GATX 55996 at the time of the butadiene leak and fire at issue. At the time of the butadiene leak, GATX 55996 was leased by GATC to Mitsui. On September 4, 1987, five days before the butadiene leak and fire, GATX, which is an affiliate of GATC, loaded GATX 55996 with butadiene at GATX's Good Hope, Louisiana terminal. The butadiene was owned by Polysar and was being shipped to a Polysar plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Polysar bought the butadiene overseas and arranged for it to be brought by ship to Louisiana and then off loaded to rail tank cars at GATX's Good Hope terminal. Polysar did not send anyone to Good Hope to inspect the rail tank cars or observe their loading. On September 5, 1987, Illinois Central, at GATX's Good Hope terminal, put GATX 55996 into a train with other butadiene tank cars and transported it to an Illinois Central train yard. Illinois Central then moved GATX 55996 to interchange tracks where Illinois Central and AGS exchange railroad cars. (An "interchange" is an area of track where one railroad leaves rail cars for another railroad.) AGS then moved GATX 55996 to CSX's interchange tracks in Gentilly. AGS delivered GATX 55996 and some other rail cars to CSX, and notified CSX's employees to pick up GATX 55996 and the other rail cars, at about 7:25 p.m. on September 8, 1987. GATX 55996 remained on CSX's interchange tracks for over six-and-a-half hours until the fire broke out.
Another panel of this court affirmed the trial court's certification of a class. See Adams v. CSX Railroads, 615 So.2d 476 (La.App. 4th Cir.1993). Later, on defense writ applications, another panel of this court reversed the trial court's denials of motions for summary judgment with respect to punitive damages, and granted summary judgment with respect to punitive damages, as to defendants AMF-BRD, Phillips and GATC, but affirmed the trial court's denials of motions for summary judgment by other defendants with respect to punitive damages. In re New Orleans Train Car Leakage Fire Litigation, 95-2710, 95-2721, 96-0016, 95-2734, 95-2811, 96-0017, 95-2797, 96-0015 (La. App 4 Cir. 3/20/96), 671 So.2d 540, writ denied, 96-0972, 96-0984, 96-1287, 96-0977, 96-1311, 96-0978 (La.6/28/96), 675 So.2d 1120-22, cert denied, 519 U.S. 1009, 117 S.Ct. 512, 136 L.Ed.2d 402 (1996). Just prior to trial, the Louisiana Supreme Court, on defense writ applications, ruled that the jury should not be instructed to determine the amount of punitive damages (if any) by applying a multiplier to the amount of compensatory damages. In re New Orleans Train Car Leakage Fire Litigation, 97-1150, 97-1161 (La.6/27/97), 697 So.2d 239.
In the first phase of the trial, the jury determined liability for compensatory damages, quantum of compensatory damages as to twenty plaintiffs (ten selected by plaintiffs' counsel and ten selected by defense counsel) and liability for punitive damages (but not quantum of punitive damages). The...
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