Lundeen v. Canadian Pacific Ry. Co.

• Citation: 507 F.Supp.2d 1006
• Decision Date: 02 February 2007
• Docket Number: No. 04-CV-3220 (JMR/FLN).,04-CV-3220 (JMR/FLN).
• Parties: Tom LUNDEEN et al. v. CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY COMPANY et al.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Minnesota

Page 1006

507 F.Supp.2d 1006

Tom LUNDEEN et al. v. CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY COMPANY et al.

No. 04-CV-3220 (JMR/FLN).

United States District Court, D. Minnesota.

February 2, 2007.

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Benjamin J. Hasbrouck, Kristy L. Albrecht, Sarah Andrews Herman, Todd E. Zimmerman, Dorsey & Whitney LLP, Fargo, ND, Bryan L. Vangrinsveh, Collin P. Dobrovolny, McGee Hankla. Backes & Dobrovolny, PC, Minot, ND, George G. Eck, Dorsey & Whitney LLP, Minneapolis, MN, for Tom Lundeen et al.

Kevin M. Decker, Briggs & Morgan, PA, St. Paul, MN, Scott G. Knudson, Timothy R. Thornton, Briggs & Morgan, PA, Minneapolis, MN, for Canadian Pacific Railway Company et al.

ORDER

JAMES M. ROSENBAUM, Chief Judge.

This case, and thirty other related cases,¹ arises out of a train derailment which occurred on January 18, 2002, near Minot, North Dakota. Defendants ask the Court to dismiss these cases pursuant to Rule 12(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ("Fed. R. Civ.P.") claiming federal preemption bars plaintiffs' state law negligence claims. Plaintiffs ask the Court to stay its hand until the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has issued a ruling on a similar motion in another case arising from this incident. Plaintiffs' motion is denied; defendants' motion is granted.

I. Factual and Procedural Background²

In the early morning hours of January, 18, 2002, a freight train owned and operated by defendants (collectively referred to as "CP Rail") derailed near a residential neighborhood just beyond the city limits of Minot, North Dakota. During the derailment, five tank cars released more than 220,000 gallons of anhydrous ammonia. The resulting anhydrous ammonia cloud released toxic gas into the environment. Many of those exposed to the gas suffered burning of moist tissue such as the eyes, throat, and lungs. One person died as a result of the vapor plume; 11 people sustained serious injuries; and 322 `people sustained major injuries. Plaintiffs are among those injured by the release of the toxic gas.

At the time of the accident, the train was traveling on continuous welded rail ("CWR") track. When CWR track is damaged, it is replaced with "plug rail," which is attached to the original rail by joint bars.

The National Transportation Safety Board ("NTSB") investigated the derailment and found fractures in the joint bars at the east end of the plug rail. The Board further found that these fractures caused the rail itself to break away, leading to the derailment. The NTSB's Railroad Accident Report found the probable cause of the accident to be "an ineffective Canadian Pacific Railway inspection and maintenance program that did not identify and replace cracked joint bars before they completely fractured and led to the breaking of the rail at the joint." Track Safety Standards; Inspections of Joints in Continuous Welded Rail (CWR), 71 Fed.Reg. 59677, 59678-79 (Oct. 11, 2006) (quoting NTSB Railroad Accident Report: Derailment of Canadian Pacific Railway Freight Train 292-16 and Subsequent Release of Anhydrous Ammonia Near Minot, North Dakota, January 18, 2002 (NTSB/RAR-04-01) (March 9, 2004)).

Exposure to anhydrous ammonia led plaintiffs, along with hundreds of other Minot residents, to file lawsuits against CP Rail in Minnesota state court for personal injuries and property damages. Plaintiffs' original complaint alleged that CP Rail had violated "United States law." Citing this assertion, CP Rail removed the cases to federal court on July 15, 2004, claiming federal question jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1441(a) & (b). Soon thereafter, plaintiffs moved for remand to state court. Their motion was denied on October 26, 2004, by the district court, which found it had federal jurisdiction. Plaintiffs, thereafter, attempted to eliminate the federal question by amending their complaint, deleting any claim for violations of "United States law."

After this amendment, the district court remanded the cases to state court by Order dated March 9, 2005. CP Rail appealed the remand to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.³ The Eighth Circuit reversed, holding that, notwithstanding plaintiffs' amendment, the district court retained jurisdiction because federal law completely preempts state law claims of negligent inspection. Lundeen v. Canadian Pac. Ry. Co., 447 F.3d 606, 613-15 (8th Cir.2006). The appellate court remanded the cases for further proceedings pursuant to its rulings. Id. at 615. Plaintiffs sought a Writ of Certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court, which was denied on January 22, 2007. Lundeen v. Canadian Pac. Ry. Co., ___ U.S. ___, 127 S.Ct. 1149, 166 L.Ed.2d 993. Plaintiffs' previous request for a stay pending Supreme Court review is now moot.

As a result, the Court now considers plaintiffs' remanded negligence claims, which fall into four categories: (1) negligent inspections; (2) negligent construction and maintenance; (3) negligent hiring and training; and (4) negligent operation. CP Rail seeks summary judgment, asserting each claim is preempted by the Federal Railroad Safety Act ("FRSA") and its attendant regulations.

II. Analysis

A. Motion to Stay — Further Procedural Issues

Plaintiffs ask this Court to abstain from deciding CP Rail's motion to dismiss pending the outcome an appeal of an order dismissing a related North Dakota case, Mehl v. Canadian Pac. Ry. Ltd., 417 F.Supp.2d 1104 (D.N.D.2006), which is pending in the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. There, the district court found federal preemption, and dismissed numerous claims arising from the same derailment.

The Court declines the invitation to stay its hand. It is not for this Court to conjecture about the outcome of the Mehl case. Whatever other matters are underway in the empyrean, the Eighth Circuit has remanded these cases to this Court for further proceedings in accord with its decision. Lundeen, 447 F.3d at 615. Accordingly, this Court will do as directed to comply with the mandate. Plaintiffs' motion to stay is denied.

B. Judgment on the Pleadings

CP Rail has moved for judgment on the pleadings pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(c). When considering such a motion, a court applies the same standard as in a 12(b)(6) motion for failure to state a claim. St. Paul Ramsey County Med. Ctr. v. Pennington County, South Dakota, 857 F.2d 1185, 1187 (8th Cir.1988). The court accepts as true all facts pleaded by the non-moving party, granting all reasonable inferences in its favor. United States v. Any and all Radio Station Transmission Equip., 207 F.3d 458, 462 (8th Cir.2000). A court may only grant a motion for judgment on the pleadings when the moving party clearly establishes that no material issue of fact remains to be resolved, and it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Id.; Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(c).

C. Preemption

Federal preemption derives from the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution. The Constitution establishes the laws of the United States as "the supreme Law of the Land ... any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding." U.S. Const. art. VI, cl. 2. Thus, any state law which conflicts with federal laws or regulations is preempted. CSX Transp., Inc. v. Easterwood, 507 U.S. 658, 663, 113 S.Ct. 1732, 123 L.Ed.2d 387 (1993).

When Congress enacted the FRSA, it directed the Secretary of Transportation to "prescribe regulations and issue orders for every area of railroad safety." 49 U.S.C. § 20103. The Secretary delegated authority to "[c]arry out the functions vested in the Secretary by the [FRSA]" to the Federal Railroad Administration ("FRA"). 49 C.F.R. § 1.49(m). The FRA has done so by establishing a "national railroad safety program ... to promote safety in all areas of railroad operations in order to reduce deaths, injuries and damage to property resulting from railroad accidents." Id. at § 212. 101(a). To assure that railway safety is "nationally uniform to the extent practicable," Congress wrote into the FRSA an explicit preemption clause whereby states retain authority to regulate railroad safety, but only "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. Once the Secretary of Transportation has done so, state, law is preempted.

The United States Supreme Court has made this clear. It held that regulations adopted pursuant to the FRSA preempt state law tort claims if they cover — or "substantially subsume" — the subject matter of the relevant state law. Easterwood, 507 U.S. at 664, 113 S.Ct. 1732. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals also deems coverage to be preemption's touchstone. In re Derailment Cases, 416 F.3d 787, 793 (8th Cir.2005) (hereinafter Scottsbluff). State tort laws are preempted whenever federal regulations, adopted pursuant to the FRSA, address the same subject matter. Id.

In the face of this established law, plaintiffs advance three arguments against FRSA preemption in this case. First, they assert their claims arise from subject matters which are not covered by FRA regulations. They deny that inspection and maintenance of CWR track is covered by the FRSA and its attendant Federal Regulations. Next, they claim that only state tort claims imposing additional or more stringent duties are federally preempted. Finally, they seek shelter in the FRSA's Safe Harbor provision, which provides an exception to preemption for state laws addressing a local safety hazard. Each argument fails.

1. "Covered" Claims

Plaintiffs allege the Minot derailment was chiefly caused by CP Rail's ineffective and inadequate inspection and maintenance program. They claim CP Rail "failed to identify or replace cracked joint bars [in CWR] before those joint bars completely fractured." (Am. Compl. ¶ XVII.) According to plaintiffs, because their claims relate to inspection and maintenance of a specific type of track — CWR, as opposed to bolted track — they are not covered by any FRA...