O'Neal v. Union Pac. R.R. Co., CIVIL ACTION NO. 17-1234
| Decision Date | 27 November 2018 |
| Docket Number | CIVIL ACTION NO. 17-1234 |
| Parties | JAMES O'NEAL v. UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD CO. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Louisiana |
This matter arises from an accident at a railroad crossing. Pending before the Court is a Motion for Summary Judgment [Doc. No. 21] filed by Defendant Union Pacific Railroad Co. ("Union Pacific"). Plaintiff James O'Neal ("O'Neal") filed a Motion for Extension of Time to respond to the Motion for Summary Judgment [Doc. No. 29], an opposition memorandum to the Motion for Summary Judgment [Doc. No. 32], and a Motion to Continue Trial and Pretrial Deadlines [Doc. No. 31]. Union Pacific filed a memorandum in opposition to the Motion for Extension of Time [Doc. No. 28] and memorandum in opposition in part to the continuance of any pre-trial deadlines [Doc. No. 33], but not the continuance of trial. Finally, Union Pacific filed a reply in support of its Motion for Summary Judgment [Doc. No. 34].
For the following reasons, O'Neal's Motion for an Extension of Time is DENIED, Union Pacific's Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED, and O'Neal's Motion to Continue is DENIED AS MOOT.
On August 29, 2016, O'Neal, a seasonal employee of McLeod Farms, was driving a tractor trailer loaded with corn to the grain bins in Mer Rouge, Louisiana. At approximately 8:47 a.m., O'Neal, who was traveling eastbound, proceeded onto the railroad tracks in front of a southbound Union Pacific locomotive at the Harp Lane crossing, resulting in a collision.
O'Neal had driven over that crossing hundreds of times. The Harp Lane crossing is posted with a stop sign and cross buck. The engineer operating the train, Timothy Bland ("Bland"), sounded the horn on the train's approach to the crossing. O'Neal alleged in his original Petition that he had stopped at the crossing, but at his deposition, he admitted that he does not have a distinct memory of stopping. The train's lead engine had a Track Image Recorder ("TIR") that recorded the view of the engine looking forward down the track. The video shows O'Neal failing to stop at the stop sign and proceeding over the crossing. Upon viewing the video, he admitted that he must not have stopped.
The lead engine was also equipped with an Event Recorder that records data, including speed, throttle position, amount of train air braking, and horn. The Event Recorder confirmed Bland's account that he sounded the horn and also showed that the train was traveling fifty miles per hour when Bland applied the emergency brake. Because of the proximity to the crossing, however, Bland could not stop the train in time to avoid a collision.
O'Neal admitted: (1) if he had stopped at the stop sign and looked to his left, he would have seen the oncoming train; (2) if he had stopped at the stop sign, he would have avoided the accident; (3) the stop sign and crossbuck at the crossing gave him sufficient warning that he was approaching railroad tracks; (4) there was a stopped train on the siding, but it did not obscure his view of the oncoming train; (5) there was a field of corn adjacent to the tracks which had not been harvested, but it did not obscure his view of the oncoming train; (6) the TIR video contains an audio track on which the train's horn can be heard on its approach to the crossing; and (7) he hasno basis for the claim the train crew had ample time and opportunity to stop.
On August 29, 2017, O'Neal, acting pro se, filed suit in the Fourth Judicial District Court for Morehouse Parish, Louisiana. Union Pacific timely removed the case to this Court on September 27, 2017, under diversity jurisdiction.
On January 5, 2018, a Scheduling Order [Doc. No. 10] issued, setting trial for January 14, 2019. At that time, the discovery completion deadline was August 29, 2018. On August 23, 2018, counsel enrolled on behalf of O'Neal, and the following day, he filed an unopposed motion to continue the pre-trial deadlines. The Court granted the motion and, among others, extended the discovery completion deadline to September 17, 2018, and the dispositive motion deadline to October 31, 2018. O'Neal did not seek any further extensions or move to continue prior to the expiration of these deadlines.
On October 31, 2018, Union Pacific filed the instant Motion for Summary Judgment. [Doc. No. 21]. O'Neal's opposition was due no later than November 21, 2018.
On November 21, 2018, O'Neal filed a Motion for Extension of Time [Doc. No. 29]. O'Neal seeks a 60-day extension to respond to the Motion for Summary Judgment because "discovery is incomplete," and he needs additional time. Id. Union Pacific opposes the motion. [Doc. No. 28].
The same day O'Neal filed a Motion to Continue Trial and Pretrial Deadlines [Doc. No. 31] and opposition to the Motion for Summary Judgment [Doc. No. 32].
Union Pacific filed a Memorandum in Opposition to the Motion to Continue Trial and Pretrial Deadlines. [Doc. No. 33]. Union Pacific does not oppose a continuance of the trial date, but does oppose a continuance of the deadlines that have passed.
On November 26, 2018, Union Pacific filed a reply in support of its Motion for Summary Judgment [Doc. No. 34].
These motions are now ripe, and the Court is prepared to rule.
Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(a), The moving party bears the initial burden of informing the court of the basis for its motion by identifying portions of the record which highlight the absence of genuine issues of material fact. Topalian v. Ehrmann, 954 F.2d 1125, 1132 (5th Cir. 1992); see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(1) (). A fact is "material" if proof of its existence or nonexistence would affect the outcome of the lawsuit under applicable law in the case. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248 (1986). A dispute about a material fact is "genuine" if the evidence is such that a reasonable fact finder could render a verdict for the nonmoving party. Id.
However, Rule 56(d) provides:
First, the Court finds no basis to grant O'Neal's Motion for Extension and his request for 60-day deferral under Rule 56(d). Although O'Neal's counsel entered the case in August 2018, he was able to obtain an extension of the pending deadlines. Prior to the close of discovery, he did not move for a further extension of those deadlines, did not move for a continuance, and did not move to compel discovery from Union Pacific if, as he suggests, it was not being provided promptly. Instead, he waited until after the Motion for Summary Judgment was filed to raise these issues. As Union Pacific points out, a motion for summary judgment filed after the close of discovery is not premature, and no discovery is outstanding because the discovery deadlines are closed. Accordingly, O'Neal's Motion for Extension [Doc. No. 29] is DENIED, and the Court will consider the Motion for Summary Judgment based on the present record.
Union Pacific moves for summary judgment on all of O'Neal's claims, arguing that he cannot meet his negligence burden because (1) he failed to stop and yield the right of way to the train; (2) he was not prevented from seeing the train; (3) the train crew sounded the horn; (4) the train crew could not prevent the accident; (5) the train was travelling within the federal maximum, and any excessive speed claim is preempted; and (6) any inadequate warning claim is also preempted.
O'Neal raises a number of arguments to support his claim that Union Pacific was negligent in the subject accident. Union Pacific contends that he has failed to raise a genuineissue of material fact for trial on these claims. The Court addresses all of O'Neal's claims here with the exception of the claims of excessive speed and inadequate warning.
Under Louisiana law, negligence claims are subject to a duty risk analysis containing five elements: "(1) whether the defendant had a duty to conform his conduct to a specific standard (the duty element); (2) whether the defendant's conduct failed to conform to the appropriate standard (the breach element); (3) whether the defendant's substandard conduct was a cause-in-fact of the plaintiff's injuries (the cause-in-fact element); (4) whether the defendant's substandard conduct was a legal cause of the plaintiff's injuries (the scope of liability or scope of protection element; and (5) whether the plaintiff was damaged (the damages element)." Hanks v. Entergy Corp., 944 So.2d 564, 579 (La. 2006).
Union Pacific moves for summary judgment on the bases that it did not breach any duty to O'Neal and that his negligence was the sole cause of the accident.
In his original Petition, O'Neal alleged that a stopped train on the siding north of the crossing impacted his view of the oncoming train. Additionally, in discovery responses he claimed that a field of unharvested corn obscured his view as well.
First, with regard to the stopped train, O'Neal later admitted that it did not obscure his view. O'Neal had crossed the track earlier that morning, while traveling westbound, with an empty truck. At that...
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