Langenhorst v. Norfolk Southern Ry. Co.

• Decision Date: 02 March 2006
• Docket Number: No. 99924.,99924.
• Citation: 219 Ill.2d 430,848 N.E.2d 927
• Parties: Rita LANGENHORST, Special Adm'r of the Estate of Gerald Langenhorst, Deceased, Appellee, v. NORFOLK SOUTHERN RAILWAY COMPANY et al., Appellants.
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

Page 927

848 N.E.2d 927

219 Ill.2d 430

Rita LANGENHORST, Special Adm'r of the Estate of Gerald Langenhorst, Deceased, Appellee, v. NORFOLK SOUTHERN RAILWAY COMPANY et al., Appellants.

No. 99924.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

March 2, 2006.

Rehearing Denied May 22, 2006.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Kurt E. Reitz and Heath H. Hooks, Belleville (Thompson Coburn, L.L.P., of counsel), for appellants.

Thomas Q. Keefe, Jr., Belleville, for appellee.

Brian M. Wendler, of Wendler & Ezra, P.C., Collinsville, amicus curiae Illinois Trial Lawyers Association.

Justice KILBRIDE delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion:

Plaintiff, Rita Langenhorst, as special administrator of the estate of Gerald Langenhorst, deceased, brought a wrongfuldeath action in the circuit court of St. Clair County against defendants, Norfolk Southern Railway Company (Norfolk), Jimmy Ellis, Samuel Baggett, and Keith Egmon. Plaintiff sought damages for the death of Gerald Langenhorst, resulting from a train-motor vehicle accident occurring in Clinton County. Defendants moved to transfer the action to Clinton County under the doctrine of forum non conveniens.

The circuit court denied the motion and the appellate court initially entered an order denying defendants' petition for leave to appeal. This court then entered a supervisory order directing the appellate court to vacate and reconsider its judgment in light of Dawdy v. Union Pacific R.R. Co., 207 Ill.2d 167, 278 Ill.Dec. 92, 797 N.E.2d 687 (2003), and First American Bank v. Guerine, 198 Ill.2d 511, 261 Ill. Dec. 763, 764 N.E.2d 54 (2002). Upon reconsideration, the appellate court affirmed the circuit court's denial of defendants' motion to transfer. 354 Ill.App.3d 1103, 290 Ill.Dec. 895, 822 N.E.2d 480.

We allowed defendants' petition for leave to appeal (177 Ill.2d R. 315). We also allowed the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association leave to file a brief as amicus curiae in support of plaintiff. 155 Ill.2d R. 345(a). We now affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

On July 27, 2001, Gerald Langenhorst, a lifetime resident of Germantown, Clinton County, died from injuries he sustained when he was ejected from his pickup truck after being struck by a Norfolk train. The accident occurred at a railroad crossing on the Langenhorst farm, located in Clinton County near the St. Clair County line, a few miles west of Germantown, Clinton County. Norfolk is a foreign corporation domiciled in Virginia, whose Illinois registered agent for service is located in Belleville, St. Clair County. Defendant Samuel Baggett, a resident of Patoka, Indiana, was employed by Norfolk as the conductor of the train at the time of the accident. Patoka is approximately 146 miles from Belleville and 129 miles from Carlyle, Clinton County. Defendant Keith Egmon, a resident of Hazelton, Indiana, and a Norfolk employee, was the train's engineer at the time of the accident. Hazelton is approximately 10 miles north of Patoka. Defendant Jimmy Ellis, a resident of Decatur, Macon County, was Norfolk's division engineer, responsible for maintenance and safety of the railroad crossing. Decatur is approximately 117 miles from Belleville and 100 miles from Carlyle.

Gerald was transported by New Baden, Clinton County, ambulance to St. Joseph's Hospital in Breese, Clinton County, approximately five miles north of Germantown. The doctors who treated Gerald at St. Joseph's Hospital are not residents of Clinton County. Dr. Keith Thomas resides in Madison County, and Dr. David Sorge resides in St. Clair County.

According to defendant, fire departments from neighboring Germantown and Albers in Clinton County responded to the accident. Defendant also claims that ambulances from Albers and Breese were present at the scene of the accident, but it does not appear from the record that those ambulance services transported anyone from the accident scene. Gerald's wrecked vehicle was transported to Robke Auto Body in Germantown following the accident.

Clinton County Sheriff's Deputy C. Becherer investigated and prepared an accident report. The record indicates he took no photographs or videotape of the accident scene.

St. Joseph's Hospital was not equipped to treat Gerald's neurological injuries and he was transported by Arch Air Medical Service of St. Louis, Missouri, to St. Louis University Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. St. Louis is approximately 40 miles west of Breese and 15 miles west of Belleville. Gerald died shortly after arriving at St. Louis University Hospital.

Dr. Raj Nanduri, a pathologist with the St. Louis city medical examiner in St. Louis, Missouri, performed an autopsy on Gerald's body and reported his cause of death as thoracic blunt trauma injuries suffered in the accident.

Plaintiff hired Mark Heffernan, a resident of St. Clair County, to investigate the accident. On August 18 and September 16, 2001, Heffernan took extensive photographs of the railroad crossing where the accident occurred. Heffernan also videotaped the railroad crossing and prepared diagrams of the scene. All items relating to Heffernan's investigation are located in St. Clair County.

Don Richardson of the Illinois Commerce Commission Transportation Division/Rail Safety Section in Springfield, Illinois, belatedly learned of this fatal accident, and on September 13, 2001, he conducted an inspection of the railroad crossing. Richardson observed a cornfield within 28 feet of the railroad, and weeds and brush appearing to have been recently cut to 280 feet of the crossing. Richardson noted additional cutting was needed to bring the crossing into compliance with the Illinois Administrative Code.

Richardson also found the crossbuck in the northwest quadrant of the crossing had lost most of its reflective material on the back, needed to be replaced, and was not in compliance with the Illinois Administrative Code. Richardson's written report indicated Norfolk was contacted about its failure to report the accident and the need to replace the crossbuck and to cut additional brush on the railroad right-of-way.

Richardson made his written report to Michael Stead, Rail Safety Program Administrator in Springfield, on September 24, 2001. On that same date, Stead notified defendant Ellis, Norfolk's division engineer, of the inspection and informed him that the crossing was not in compliance with the Administrative Code. Stead informed Ellis that the crossbuck needed to be replaced "as soon as possible" and that weeds and brush needed to be cut to bring the crossing into compliance with the Administrative Code, "which requires the railroad right of way to be kept reasonably clear of brush, shrubbery, trees, weeds, crops, etc. for a distance of 500 feet each way from the crossing." 92 Adm.Code §§ 1535.300, 1535.205 (2003). Stead advised Ellis to notify his office in writing when the corrective action had been taken to bring the crossing into compliance. The letter further advised Ellis to contact its railroad safety specialist, Bob Berry, with any questions.

Gerald's widow, Rita Langenhorst, a resident of Germantown, Clinton County, as special administrator of Gerald's estate, hired an attorney from Belleville, St. Clair County, to represent her in this action. On October 22, 2001, Rita's attorney filed this wrongful-death action on her behalf in Belleville, St. Clair County. Belleville is located approximately 26 miles west of Germantown. Following service on Norfolk's Belleville, St. Clair County, Illinois, registered agent for service, Norfolk, on behalf of itself and its employees, hired attorneys in Belleville, St. Clair County, to defend this action.

On January 25, 2002, defendants filed a motion to transfer this action to Clinton County based on the doctrine of forum non conveniens. The Clinton County courthouse is located in Carlyle, approximately 12 miles east of Germantown, and 36 miles east of Belleville. The individual defendants each filed identical affidavits stating, "It would not be inconvenient for me to appear in Clinton County, Illinois for the trial of this case." The affidavits did not indicate these defendants would be inconvenienced by appearing at a trial in St. Clair County. Defendants also supported their motion to transfer with plaintiff's answers to interrogatories that list several neighbors who were at the scene of the accident.

On June 12, 2002, the circuit court of St. Clair County held a hearing on defendants' motion to transfer. Defense counsel argued that all of the forum non conveniens factors favored transfer to Clinton County. Citing to a law review article, defendants argued that only one factor seems to matter— the place of the occurrence—and that this case has no practical connection to St. Clair County because the decedent and his wife were from Clinton County, the accident occurred in Clinton County, and the witnesses listed in defendants' discovery are from Clinton County. Defense counsel also cited court statistics, both in numbers of cases and in timely docket dispositions as factors favoring transfer to Clinton County. During the hearing, the circuit court judge commented on the St. Clair County court's docket congestion:

"[T]he idea that anybody thinking they can get to trial and have a trial quicker in another county than St. Clair County just isn't true * * * hardly anybody goes to trial to verdict. I think I've had three verdicts all year * * * you can get to trial any time you want to. You want to try a case in St. Clair County, I'm telling you I'll try it. It doesn't matter whose docket, you just can, and you can get to trial in St. Clair County as quickly as you can in any other county."

Plaintiff's counsel argued that the scene of the accident has changed since the date of the accident. The only legitimate accident site evidence that would have existed at the time of the occurrence is located in his office in St. Clair County, evidence generated by plaintiff's investigator, who resides in St. Clair County. Plaintiff's...