Janero v. Norfolk S. Ry. Co.
| Decision Date | 15 March 2017 |
| Docket Number | CAUSE NO.: 1:13-CV-155-TLS |
| Parties | THOMAS A. JANERO, individually and as Personal Representative of the Estate of Kristen M. Janero and the Estate of Xander D. Janero, Plaintiffs, v. NORFOLK SOUTHERN RAILWAY COMPANY, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Indiana |
This matter comes before the Court on Defendant Norfolk Southern Railway Company's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment [ECF No. 73] and Plaintiff Thomas A. Janero's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment [ECF No. 76]. The Plaintiff, individually and as a personal representative of the Estate of Kristen M. Janero and the Estate of Xander D. Janero, filed a Complaint [ECF No. 1] against the Defendant for wrongful death. This matter is fully briefed and ripe for the Court's review.
BACKGROUND
On September 3, 2011, an accident occurred in Montpelier, Indiana, at the intersection of High Street and the railroad track owned and operated by the Defendant. The High Street crossing and its surroundings are laid out like this:
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(Brach Decl. Ex. 2, ECF No. 80-5.)
The following facts are not in dispute. On the morning of September 3, 2011, a train that was owned and operated by the Defendant headed south toward High Street. There were two locomotive cars and 35 loaded railcars, and the Defendant's train was approximately 5,768 tons and 6,615 feet long. Engineer Mickey Coak was seated on the right side of the train and Conductor Christopher Barnes was also in the locomotive. The train's speed was a constant 53 miles per hour as it approached the High Street crossing.
Rodney Brown, who was driving a Pontiac Grand-Prix, headed west on High Street toward the railroad crossing. His wife, Angela Brown, was in the passenger seat. In the backseatwere Ms. Janero and her son Xander, the decedents in this case. Mr. Brown approached the High Street crossing at roughly 5.5 miles per hour.
As Mr. Brown approached the High Street crossing, the intersection's northeast quadrant was on his right. There was a set number of warning devices at the High Street crossing: flashing lights, a mast with crossbucks and a bell, and an advanced railroad warning sign. To his right was a shed-structure, which blocked his line of sight further north on the railroad track. There was a signal box at the intersection's corner, between the tracks and the shed-structure in the northeast quadrant. And further north up the track to Mr. Brown's right was a tree.
Roughly 13 seconds before reaching the crossing, the Defendant's train started to sound its horn. The horn sounded five times total before the accident occurred. Engineer Coak first observed Mr. Brown's car when it was east and to the left (from his vantage point) of the shed-structure, approximately 6-7 seconds before the accident. The shed-structure obstructed any view of Mr. Brown's car for a few seconds, but then Engineer Coak observed him once more west and to the right of the shed-structure, approximately 3-4 seconds before the accident occurred.
Then, at approximately 11:20 a.m., Mr. Brown's car and the Defendant's train collided at the High Street crossing. Engineer Coak applied the train's emergency brake, but Ms. Janero and her son were thrown from the car upon impact and died from the injuries that they sustained in the collision.
PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
The Plaintiff was Ms. Janero's husband and Xander's father. On April 29, 2013, he instituted this negligence action in Blackford County Superior Court against the Defendant and CSX Transportation, Inc., for wrongful death. He claimed that the Defendant "was negligent in operating its passenger train at a speed too fast for conditions," in "failing to sound its hornwarning motor vehicle traffic . . . that it was approaching the crossing," "failing to operate its passenger train in a reasonably safe manner," and "failing to keep a proper lookout for vehicles approaching and crossing the tracks." (Compl. ¶ 10, ECF No. 1.) As to CSX Transportation, the Plaintiff claimed that it "owned and had a duty to maintain the railroad right of way on High Street," but that it failed "to maintain the railroad right of way" and "to maintain good visibility" at the crossing. (Id. ¶ 11.) A Notice of Removal [ECF No. 2] was filed on May 10, 2013, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1441. On June 10, 2013, the Plaintiff and the Defendant jointly stipulated to dismiss CSX Transportation from the lawsuit, leaving only the present parties. [ECF No. 15.]
After the close of discovery, both parties filed for partial summary judgment. On October 28, 2015, the Defendant filed a Motion for Partial Summary Judgment accompanied by a Supporting Brief [ECF No. 80]. The Plaintiff responded to the Defendant's Motion on April 11, 2016 [ECF No. 91], and included a Brief [ECF No. 92] and Supplemental Brief [ECF No. 93]. The Defendant's Reply [ECF No. 101] was entered on May 11, 2016. Also on October 28, 2015, the Plaintiff filed his Motion for Partial Summary Judgment with an accompanying Supporting Brief [ECF No. 77]. The Defendant's Response [ECF No. 87] was filed on April 11, 2016. And on May 11, 2016, the Plaintiff's Reply [ECF No. 98] was filed.
Separately, the parties moved to strike parts of their opposing parties' Summary Judgment Motions. On April 11, 2016, the Defendant filed a Motion to Strike [ECF No. 88], seeking to exclude portions of the testimony of the Plaintiff's expert audiologist. On April 27, 2016, the Plaintiff filed his Response [94], and the Defendant's Reply [ECF No. 95] was entered on May 2, 2016. Then, on May 11, 2016, the Plaintiff filed a Rule 12(f) Motion to Strike [ECF No. 97], asking the Court to strike statements from the Defendant's Response to the Plaintiff'sMotion for Partial Summary Judgment that implicated Federal Rule of Evidence 609. The Defendant responded on May 19, 2016 [ECF No. 103], and the Plaintiff replied on May 31, 2016 [ECF No. 104]. Finally, the Defendant filed a Motion to Strike [ECF No. 102] arguments first raised in the Plaintiff's Reply in Support of his Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, or alternatively for leave to file a surreply. The Plaintiff filed a Response [ECF No. 105] on May 31, 2016. The time for the Defendant to file a Reply has elapsed. On February 14, 2017, the Court termed these Motions to Strike because it determined that it would consider them in conjunction with the parties' Motions for Partial Summary Judgment.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
Summary judgment is warranted when "the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). Summary judgment is the moment in litigation where the nonmoving party is required to marshal and present the court with evidence on which a reasonable jury could rely to find in that party's favor. Goodman v. Nat'l Sec. Agency, Inc., 621 F.3d 651, 654 (7th Cir. 2010). A court should only deny a motion for summary judgment when the nonmoving party presents admissible evidence that creates a genuine issue of material fact. Luster v. Ill. Dep't of Corrs., 652 F.3d 726, 731 (7th Cir. 2011) (). A court's role in deciding a motion for summary judgment Waldridge v. Am. Heochst Corp., 24 F.3d 918, 920 (7th Cir. 1994). Material facts are those that are outcome determinative under theapplicable law. Smith v. Severn, 129 F.3d 419, 427 (7th Cir. 1997). Although a bare contention that an issue of material fact exists is insufficient to create a factual dispute, a court must construe all facts in a light most favorable to the nonmoving party, view all reasonable inferences in that party's favor, Bellaver v. Quanex Corp., 200 F.3d 485, 491-92 (7th Cir. 2000), and avoid "the temptation to decide which party's version of the facts is more likely true," Payne v. Pauley, 337 F.3d 767, 770 (7th Cir. 2003).
JURISDICTION
This Court has diversity jurisdiction over this suit. 28 U.S.C. § 1332. The parties are completely diverse. For purposes of diversity jurisdiction, the Plaintiff is a citizen of Indiana and the Defendant is a corporation incorporated in Virginia, as well as with its principal place of business in Virginia. The injuries suffered in this case exceed the amount in controversy threshold of $75,000. The matter was properly removed from state court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1441 & 1446.
ANALYSIS
To hold a defendant liable for negligence, a plaintiff must prove "(1) the defendant has a duty to conform its conduct to a standard of care arising from its relationship with the plaintiff, (2) the defendant failed to conform its conduct to that standard of care, and (3) an injury to the plaintiff was proximately caused by the breach." Indianapolis-Marion Cty. Pub. Library v. Charlier Clark & Linard, P.C., 929 N.E.2d 722, 726 (Ind. 2010). "Summary judgment is rarely appropriate in negligence cases because they are particularly fact sensitive and are governed by a standard of the objective reasonable person, which is best applied by a jury after hearing all the evidence." Winfrey v. NLMP, Inc., 963 N.E.2d 609, 612 (Ind. Ct. App. 2012). "Nevertheless,summary judgment may be granted to a defendant if the undisputed material evidence negates one element of a negligence claim." Nagel v. N. Ind. Pub. Serv. Co., 26 N.E.3d 30, 43 (Ind. Ct. App. 2015).
For ease of organization, the Court will assess each theory of negligence individually, but will also consider whether these theories, as a whole, sufficiently state a claim for...
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