Kinworthy v. Soo Line R.R. Co.

• Decision Date: 04 March 2015
• Docket Number: No. A13–0915.,A13–0915.
• Citation: 860 N.W.2d 355
• Parties: Dennis E. KINWORTHY, Appellant, v. SOO LINE RAILROAD COMPANY, d/b/a CP Rail System, Respondent.
• Court: Minnesota Supreme Court

860 N.W.2d 355

Dennis E. KINWORTHY, Appellant

v.SOO LINE RAILROAD COMPANY, d/b/a CP Rail System, Respondent.

No. A13–0915.

Supreme Court of Minnesota.

March 4, 2015.

Randal W. LeNeave, Richard L. Carlson, Hunegs, LeNeave, & Kvas, P.A., Wayzata, MN, for appellant.

Megan K. Ricke, Jeffrey A. Abrahamson, Ricke & Sweeney, P.A., Saint Paul, MN, for respondent.

OPINION

DIETZEN, Justice.

The issue in this case is whether a successful plaintiff in a state court action brought under the Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA), 45 U.S.C. §§ 51 –60 (2012), is entitled to interest under Minnesota law from the date of the jury verdict until the date of the entry of judgment. Appellant Dennis Kinworthy brought a FELA lawsuit against respondent Soo Line Railroad Company, and the jury awarded him damages for his injuries. The district court denied Kinworthy's post-trial motion under Minn.Stat. § 549.09, subd. 1(a) (2014) for interest from the date of the verdict to the date of judgment, on the ground that prejudgment interest is not available in a FELA action. The court of appeals affirmed. Because post-verdict, prejudgment interest is not available in a FELA action as a matter of federal substantive law, we affirm.

Dennis Kinworthy was injured on January 24, 2009, during the course of his employment as a conductor with respondent Soo Line. Kinworthy brought an action against Soo Line in Minnesota state court seeking the recovery of damages under FELA and the Locomotive Inspection Act (LIA), 49 U.S.C. §§ 20701 –20703 (2012).¹ After trial, the jury returned a verdict in favor of Kinworthy for $340,000, finding that the railroad had violated LIA.

Kinworthy subsequently filed a motion to amend the judgment, requesting $7,854.30 in interest on the judgment, calculated from the date of the verdict until the date the judgment was entered, pursuant to Minn.Stat. § 549.09, subd. 1(a). Soo Line opposed Kinworthy's motion, and the district court denied the motion on the ground that prejudgment interest is not available in FELA cases under binding precedent from the United States Supreme Court. See Monessen Sw. Ry. v. Morgan, 486 U.S. 330, 108 S.Ct. 1837, 100 L.Ed.2d 349 (1988).

The court of appeals affirmed the denial of prejudgment interest, concluding that Monessen, 486 U.S. 330, 108 S.Ct. 1837, is controlling and that federal substantive law does not permit prejudgment interest in FELA actions. Kinworthy v. Soo Line R.R., 841 N.W.2d 363, 367–68 (Minn.App.2013).

I.

Kinworthy argues that his FELA case, which was commenced in Minnesota state court, is subject to state procedural rules; that post-verdict interest under Minn.Stat. § 549.09, subd. 1(a), is a procedural rule; and therefore, that he is entitled to post-verdict interest under the statute. Thus, Kinworthy argues that federal precedent on prejudgment interest does not apply. Soo Line counters that Kinworthy is not entitled to post-verdict, prejudgment interest in his state court FELA action because under Monessen, 486 U.S. at 338, 108 S.Ct. 1837, prejudgment interest is not available in FELA actions.

There are no factual disputes in this appeal; rather, the application of Minn.Stat. § 549.09, subd. 1(a), in a state court FELA action is a question of law, which we review de novo. See Monessen, 486 U.S. at 335, 108 S.Ct. 1837.

Under Minnesota law, a successful plaintiff in a state court action generally may recover pre-verdict interest. Minn.Stat. § 549.09, subd. 1(b). Once a verdict is rendered, “[t]he court administrator shall stay entry of judgment for thirty days ... unless the court orders otherwise.” Minn. Gen. R. Prac. 125. During this delay between the verdict and the entry of judgment, a successful plaintiff generally may recover “interest from the time of the verdict, award, or report until judgment is finally entered,” or post-verdict interest. Minn.Stat. § 549.09, subd. 1(a). Thus, a successful plaintiff in a state court action is generally entitled to recover not only pre-verdict interest, but also post-verdict interest until the date judgment is entered. Id., subd. 1(a)–(b).

To determine whether a successful plaintiff is entitled to recover post-verdict, prejudgment interest in a state court FELA action, we first discuss the nature of a cause of action under FELA, and then examine relevant case law regarding the availability of post-verdict, prejudgment interest.

A.

Under FELA, a railroad “shall be liable in damages to any [employee] suffering injury ... from the negligence” of the railroad or its employees. 45 U.S.C. § 51. Congress enacted FELA in 1908 to “provide a federal remedy for railroad workers who suffer personal injuries as a result of the negligence of their employer or their fellow employees.” Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Ry. v. Buell, 480 U.S. 557, 561 & n. 5, 107 S.Ct. 1410, 94 L.Ed.2d 563 (1987). FELA was enacted to achieve national uniformity in personal injury actions brought by railroad employees against their railroad employers. Dice v. Akron, Canton & Youngstown R.R., 342 U.S. 359, 361, 72 S.Ct. 312, 96 L.Ed. 398 (1952) ; N.Y. Cent. R.R. v. Winfield, 244 U.S. 147, 149, 37 S.Ct. 546, 61 L.Ed. 1045 (1917). An injured railroad employee may bring a FELA claim in either state or federal court. 45 U.S.C. § 56 (“The jurisdiction of the courts of the United States under this chapter shall be concurrent with that of the courts of the several States.”).

When a plaintiff chooses to bring a FELA claim in state court, as is the case here, federal law governs all substantive matters, but procedural matters are subject to state procedural rules. St. Louis Sw. Ry. v. Dickerson, 470 U.S. 409, 411, 105 S.Ct. 1347, 84 L.Ed.2d 303 (1985) ; Brown v. W. Ry. of Ala., 338 U.S. 294, 296, 70 S.Ct. 105, 94 L.Ed. 100 (1949). A state's classification of its own law as procedural is not dispositive; instead, we must look to federal law to determine what is procedural and what is substantive. See Monessen, 486 U.S. at 336, 108 S.Ct. 1837; Dice, 342 U.S. at 363, 72 S.Ct. 312; Brown, 338 U.S. at 298–99, 70 S.Ct. 105. Thus, a state court faced with the question of whether a particular issue in the case is governed by federal or state law must determine whether the issue is a “procedural” matter in which the state applies its own law, or a “substantive” matter in which the state court applies federal law.

The United States Supreme Court, however, has also considered principles of uniformity and the supremacy of federal law in determining whether state law applies to FELA causes of action. Based upon these considerations, some state rules that have traditionally been regarded as procedural, such as presumptions, jury trials, pleadings, statutes of limitations, and damages, have been deemed substantive in FELA cases in order to ensure uniform enforcement of the Act. See, e.g., Dickerson, 470 U.S. at 411, 105 S.Ct. 1347 (jury instructions regarding the proper measure of damages are substantive); Chesapeake & Ohio Ry. v. Kelly, 241 U.S. 485, 489–90, 36 S.Ct. 630, 60 L.Ed. 1117 (1916) (proper measure of damages is substantive).²

More recently, the Supreme Court applied principles of uniformity and supremacy of federal law in a case that squarely addressed whether prejudgment interest is available in a state court FELA action. Monessen Sw. Ry. v. Morgan, 486 U.S. 330, 108 S.Ct. 1837, 100 L.Ed.2d 349 (1988). In Monessen, the Court considered whether, pursuant to local practice, a state court may award pre-verdict, prejudgment interest in a FELA action brought in state court. 486 U.S. at 334, 108 S.Ct. 1837. There, a railroad employee brought a FELA action against his employer in Pennsylvania state court and was awarded $125,000 in damages and approximately $27,000 in prejudgment interest under the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure. 486 U.S. at 332, 108 S.Ct. 1837. The Court reversed and remanded the award of prejudgment interest, holding that state courts may not award “prejudgment interest” pursuant to a state rule of civil procedure in FELA actions. 486 U.S. at 338–39, 108 S.Ct. 1837. The Court concluded that prejudgment interest constitutes a substantial part of a defendant's potential liability under FELA, and therefore should be determined by federal substantive law, not state procedural rules. 486 U.S. at 336, 108 S.Ct. 1837. Based upon its analysis, the Court concluded that federal law does not authorize the award of prejudgment interest in a FELA action. 486 U.S. at 336–38, 108 S.Ct. 1837. Specifically, the Court reasoned that when Congress enacted FELA in 1908, the federal common law did not allow prejudgment interest in personal injury or wrongful death suits, and there is no evidence that Congress intended to abrogate the common law sub silentio. Id. at 337–38, 108 S.Ct. 1837. Moreover, when Monessen was decided, federal and state courts had concluded with virtual unanimity over more than seven decades that prejudgment interest is not available under FELA. 486 U.S. at 338, 108 S.Ct. 1837. Further, neither FELA nor the federal interest statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1961 (2012), mention prejudgment interest. 486 U.S. at 336, 108 S.Ct. 1837. Consequently, prejudgment interest is not available in a FELA action.

B.

With these principles in mind, we return to the question of whether Kinworthy is entitled to recover post-verdict, prejudgment interest. Essentially, Kinworthy makes three arguments. First, Kinworthy relies upon Lienhard v. State, 431 N.W.2d 861 (Minn.1988), to argue that he is entitled to interest from the time of the verdict until the entry of judgment under state law. See Minn.Stat. § 549.09, subd. 1. According to Kinworthy, pre-verdict and post-verdict interest serve “different purposes” and therefore should receive different treatment. It is true that in Lienhard we described post-verdict interest and post-judgment interest as “compensation for the loss of use of money as a result of the nonpayment of a liquidated sum, for which liability has already been determined.” 431 N.W.2d at...