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Duncan v. Kansas City Southern Railway Co.10/30/2000
e relevant state law." 507 U.S. at 664, 113 S.Ct. at 1738. Applying this standard, the Court concluded that because 23 C.F.R. §§ 646.214(b)(3) and (4) "establish requirements as to the installation of particular warning devices. . . . when they are applicable, state tort law is pre-empted." 507 U.S. at 670, 113 S.Ct. at 1740-1741. The regulations "displace state and private decision- making authority by establishing a federal law requirement that certain protective devices be installed or federal approval obtained." Id at 670, 113 S.Ct. at 1741. The Court went on to explain that:
In short, for projects in which federal funds participate in the installation of warning devices, the Secretary has determined the devices to be installed and the means by which railroads are to participate in their selection. The Secretary's regulations therefore cover the subject matter of state law which, like the tort law on which respondent relies, seeks to impose an independent duty on a railroad to identify and/or repair dangerous crossings. Id at 671, 113 S.Ct. at 1741.
Ultimately, the Court concluded that the plaintiff's state tort claim was not preempted by 23 U.S.C. §§ 646.214(b)(3) and (4) because the facts did "not establish that federal funds participate in the installation of the [warning] devices." Easterwood, at 672, 113 S.Ct. at 1741. Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court addressed the question of "whether §§ 646.214(b)(3) and (4) are applicable to all warning devices actually installed with federal funds." Norfolk Railway Co. v. Shanklin, 120 S.Ct. 1467, 1474 (2000). The Court concluded that "§§ 646.214(b)(3) and (4) pre-empt state tort claims concerning the adequacy of all warning devices installed with the participation of federal funds." Id, at 1476. Guided by these principles, we turn our attention to KCS' contention that plaintiffs' state negligence claims are preempted by federal law.
A pretrial hearing was held regarding KCS' federal preemption claim at which both KCS and the plaintiffs presented exhibits. Following a review of the exhibits, some of which are letters referencing federal funds allocated for sign replacement in the area, the trial court determined that KCS failed to prove the expenditure of federal funds at the crossing so as to support a claim of federal preemption. After reviewing the evidence offered, the court of appeal found no error in the trial court's assessment of the evidence. Specifically, the court concluded:
he evidence offered indicates that the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development used federal funds as part of a 1980 project to install or replace advance railroad crossings signs and crossbuck signs at crossings in the state, including those in Beauregard Parish. Furthermore, evidence demonstrates that the East Iowa Road crossing was included in this project. However, the evidence does not necessarily demonstrate that signs were replaced/installed with the use of federal funds at this crossing. Additionally, the plaintiffs presented a letter from DOTD that those signs encountered during the project which were in good condition could remain. Thus, even if under consideration during the project, federal funds may not have been used to improve/replace signs at the crossing. Duncan, 747 So. 2d at 668.
Having also reviewed the record, we cannot say the trial court's finding is not supportable. The evidence introduced at the pre-trial hearing does prove the existence of the 1980 project using federal funds to install or replace railroad crossing signs and crossbuck signs in the State, and in Beauregard Parish. The jurisprudence clearly establishes that state tort claims are preempted when warning devices are installed
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