Port Terminal Railroad Ass'n v. Jones

• Decision Date: 08 May 2002
• Docket Number: No. 04-01-00042-CV.,04-01-00042-CV.
• Citation: 82 S.W.3d 126
• Parties: PORT TERMINAL RAILROAD ASSOCIATION, Appellant, v. Michael JONES, Appellee.
• Court: Texas Court of Appeals

82 S.W.3d 126

PORT TERMINAL RAILROAD ASSOCIATION, Appellant, v. Michael JONES, Appellee.

No. 04-01-00042-CV.

Court of Appeals of Texas, San Antonio.

May 8, 2002.

Rehearing Overruled May 29, 2002.

Gordon A. Holloway, Kyle M. Rowley, Holloway & Rowley, P.C., Houston, for Appellant.

George Payne, Tom R. Letbetter, Garrett, Letbetter & Payne, Houston, for Appellee.

Daniel Saphire (ADL), Louis P. Warchot, Ass'n of American RR's, Washington, DC, for Appellee.

James L. Walker (ADL), Leo D. Figueroa, Jackson Walker, L.L.P., San Antonio, for Appellee.

Sitting: PHIL HARDBERGER, Chief Justice, PAUL W. GREEN, Justice, SARAH B. DUNCAN, Justice.

Opinion by SARAH B. DUNCAN, Justice.

Port Terminal Railroad Association appeals the judgment in favor of Michael Jones in his suit under the Federal Employer's Liability Act for violations of the Safety Appliance Act. We hold there is no evidence of a precondition of liability — that the train was "in use" at the time of the accident — and therefore reverse the trial court's judgment and render judgment in the PTRA's favor.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On the afternoon of the accident, Michael Jones, a railroad switchman for PTRA, was assigned to drop off a string or "cut" of railroad cars at three facilities (Lubrizol, Grace, and Diamond Deer Park), pick up each facility's loaded cars, and take the cars to the Pasadena Yard, where they would be coupled with other cars and an engine to form a train. Before Jones could pick up a cut of cars, however, he had to release the hand brake on each car, visually inspect the safety appliances (steps, handholds, and rails), lace or "cut in" the compressed air supply lines, perform an air brake test, and couple his engine to the cars.

Jones first went to Lubrizol, working first on the car furthest from where the engine would be coupled. When he was approximately half way through the cut, he fell from the brake platform of a railcar when the handhold broke. At that point, the engine had not been coupled to the cars, nor had an air brake test been performed. These steps were not performed until Jones and his crew first dropped off the cars at the other two facilities, performed the same predeparture procedures on their "outbound" rail cars, and returned with those cars to pick up the "outbound" cars at Lubrizol.

After the accident, Jones sued PTRA for negligence and violations of the Safety Appliance Act. The jury found that the broken handhold, but not negligence, was a proximate cause of Jones' injuries. The trial court rendered judgment on the verdict, after first ruling that the train was "in use" at the time of the accident.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

Because the material facts are undisputed, whether the train car was "in use" at the time of the accident is a question of law. Deans v. CSX Transp., Inc., 152 F.3d 326, 329 (4th Cir.1998). We review questions of law de novo. See Mitchell Energy Corp. v. Ashworth, 943 S.W.2d 436, 437 (Tex.1997); Pony Express Courier Corp. v. Morris, 921 S.W.2d 817, 820 (Tex.App.-San Antonio 1996, no writ).

DISCUSSION

"The Safety Appliance Act imposes strict liability on railroads for violations of the Act's safety standards." Trinidad v. S. Pac. Transp. Co., 949 F.2d 187, 188 (5th Cir.1991). However, strict liability does not attach unless the train is "in use" at the time of the accident. See Brady v. Terminal R.R. Assn., 303 U.S. 10, 13, 58 S.Ct. 426, 82 L.Ed. 614 (1938). To determine whether a train is "in use," the federal circuit courts have developed competing tests. For instance, in Trinidad, the Fifth Circuit held the train was not "in use" when "it had not been released following inspection because the inspection was not yet complete." Trinidad, 949 F.2d at 189. This "bright line" test was rejected as "too facile" by the Fourth Circuit. Deans, 152 F.3d at 329. Instead, "to determine whether a train is `in use' for purposes of the FSAA, the primary factors [the Fourth Circuit] consider[s] are where the train was located at the time of the accident and the activity of the injured party." Id.; see McGrath v. Consol. Rail Corp., 136 F.3d 838, 842 (1st Cir.1998). In Deans, a conductor was injured while attempting to release a stuck hand brake and before conducting a predeparture air brake test. Deans, 152 F.3d at 328. The court held the train was "in use" because "it already had its engine coupled to it and was standing on a track in the rail yard in preparation for imminent departure"; the injured conductor "was part of the transportation crew and in no way involved in the repair or maintenance of the train." Id. at 330. That the predeparture air brake test had not yet been conducted was of no practical significance since it could have been performed before the hand brakes were released. Id.

PTRA contends that both tests mandate reversal and rendition of judgment in its favor in light of the facts adduced at trial. We agree. Under the "bright line" test adopted by the Fifth Circuit, the Safety Appliance Act clearly does not apply. Jones's testimony establishes his predeparture inspection of the Lubrizol cars was not complete at the time of the accident. The Fourth Circuit's test leads to the same result. Jones's testimony establishes the cars were not in the yard, but on the Lubrizol lead; his predeparture inspection of the cars had not been completed; the engine had not yet been coupled to the cars; and the air brake test had not yet been performed. Indeed, neither of the latter two steps would be accomplished for a number of hours. In short, the departure of the cars was far from "imminent." See Phillips v. CSX Transp., Inc., 190 F.3d 285, 289-90 (4th Cir.1999) (holding train was not in use, even though train was assembled and sitting in the yard, in part because "the train was about to be uncoupled from its engine, its handbrakes were being engaged, and it had yet to undergo its predeparture inspection"), cert. denied, 529 U.S. 1004, 120 S.Ct. 1269, 146 L.Ed.2d 218 (2000). We therefore hold the train was not "in use" when Jones's accident occurred.

CONCLUSION

Because the train was not "in use" when Jones's accident occurred, regardless of whether we employ the Fifth or Fourth Circuit's test for "in use," the Safety Appliance Act does not apply. Consequently, we reverse the trial court's judgment and render judgment in favor of Port Terminal Railway Association.

Dissenting opinion by PHIL HARDBERGER, Chief Justice.

PHIL HARDBERGER, Chief Justice, dissenting.

The majority reverses the trial court's judgment based on its conclusion that the train was not "in use" when Jones was injured. I respectfully dissent.

In 1908, Congress enacted the Federal Employers' Liability Act ("FELA") in response to the physical dangers railroad workers faced that resulted in the death or maiming of thousands of workers each year. Consolidated Rail Corp. v. Gottshall, 512 U.S. 532, 542, 114 S.Ct. 2396, 129 L.Ed.2d 427 (1994). FELA was intended to provide a federal remedy that "shifted part of the `human overhead' of doing business from employees to their employers." Id. "[G]eneral congressional intent was to provide liberal recovery for injured workers." Kernan v. American Dredging Co., 355 U.S. 426, 432, 78 S.Ct. 394, 2 L.Ed.2d 382 (1958). To further this humanitarian purpose and Congress's remedial goal, the United States Supreme Court has liberally construed FELA. Gottshall, 512 U.S. at 548, 114 S.Ct. 2396.

A railroad is strictly liable under FELA for violations of the Safety Appliance Act ("SAA"). Houston Lighting & Power Co. v. Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe Ry. Co., 890 S.W.2d 455, 457 (Tex.1994). The SAA provides that "a railroad carrier may use or allow to be used on any of its railroad lines a vehicle only if it is equipped with ... secure handholds or grab irons." 49 U.S.C. § 20302(a). A railcar is a vehicle. 19 U.S.C. § 20301(a). Accordingly, a violation of the SAA occurs if a carrier allows a railcar that is not equipped with secure handholds to be used.

The stated purpose of the "in use" limitation is to give railroads the opportunity to inspect for and correct safety appliance defects before being exposed to the SAA's strict liability for such defects. Phillips v. CSX Transp., Inc., 190 F.3d 285, 288 (4th Cir.1999). In keeping with this purpose, whether the railroad has completed its inspection is a critical factor in determining whether a railcar is in use. See, e.g.. Angell v. Chesapeake & Ohio Ry. Co., 618 F.2d 260, 261 (4th Cir.1980) (car in use when all servicing, maintenance, and inspection work had been completed and injury occurred post-inspection during coupling process); Monongahela Ry. Co. a Black, 235 F.2d 406, 408 (4th Cir.1956) (car in use when moved to side track for loading); Baltimore & O.R. Co. v. Tittle, 4 F.2d 818, 819 (6th Cir.1925) (car in use when being prepared for coupling). In other cases involving a train arriving at a particular location, the critical factor is whether the train was withdrawn from service which would give the railroad a new opportunity to inspect the train. See, e.g., Brady e. Terminal R. Ass'n, 303 U.S. 10, 13, 58 S.Ct. 426, 82 L.Ed. 614 (1938) (car in use because not withdrawn from service); Chicago Great Western R. Co. v. Schendel, 267 U.S. 287, 291-92, 45 S.Ct. 303, 69 L.Ed. 614 (1925) (car in use where use, movement and hauling had not ended); Great Northern Ry. Co. v. Otos, 239 U.S. 349, 351, 36 S.Ct. 124, 60 L.Ed. 322 (1915) (car in use when merely subjected to delay); Fort St. Union Depot Co. v. Hillen, 119 F.2d 307, 312 (6th Cir.1941) (train not withdrawn from service at time employee was injured). The consistent pattern in these cases is to exclude from the SAA's coverage "only such functions as are necessary to detect and correct those defective conditions for which absolute liability will be imposed." Angell, 618 F.2d at 262.

Although some common factors are considered in each case, the cases primarily demonstrate that "[t]he...