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Hargrove v. Missouri Pacific Railroad Co.12/17/2003
PUBLISHED
REVERSED IN PART, AFFIRMED IN PART AND REMANDED FOR TRIAL ON THE MERITS.
This appeal arises out of an automobile/train accident which occurred at the intersection of Cary Avenue and Union Pacific Railroad Company's (Union Pacific) mainline track in Jennings, Louisiana. On September 26, 1996, a vehicle operated by Ricky J. Haley (Haley), collided with a Union Pacific train. Betty Jean Hargrove, individually and as natural tutrix of Jessica Banks, who were passengers in the Haley vehicle, filed suit for personal injuries against both Haley and Union Pacific. One of their claims is that the warning devices at the crossing were inadequate and that Union Pacific should be held liable.
Union Pacific countered that the crossing warnings and signage were installed pursuant to a federally-funded project and, therefore, any state law claims that the plaintiffs have with respect to inadequate warning devices at the crossing are preempted by federal law. Union Pacific filed a motion for partial summary judgment and motion in limine requesting that the trial court dismiss the plaintiffs' claims regarding inadequate railroad crossing warning signals and to preclude the plaintiffs from addressing any issues with respect to the crossing signals at trial.
The trial court concluded that the project to install the advance warning signs at the Cary Avenue railroad crossing in Jennings, Louisiana, used federal funds and, therefore, any state claims against the railroad with respect to the inadequacy of the signage was preempted by federal law. Therefore, the trial court granted Union Pacific's motions for summary judgment and in limine. The plaintiffs now appeal. For the reasons stated below, we reverse the summary judgment granted by the trial court, affirm the trial court judgment on the use of documents relating to highway safety information pursuant to 23 U.S.C. § 409, and remand for trial on the merits.
I. ISSUES
We shall consider:
(1) whether the trial court erred in finding that Union Pacific met its burden of proving that federal law preempted state law in this railroad crossing collision case; and,
(2) whether 23 U.S.C. § 409 creates a privilege which prohibited Union Pacific from introducing documents related to highway safety information to show the source of funds used to install warning signage at a railroad crossing.
II. LAW AND DISCUSSION
Federal Railroad Preemption Requirements Under 23 C.F.R. §§ 646.214(b)(3) and (4)
Recently, the Supreme Court in Norfolk Southern Ry. Co. v. Shanklin, 529 U.S. 344, 348, 120 S.Ct. 1467, 1471 (2000), explained the enactment of the Federal Railroad Safety Act (FRSA) as follows:
In 1970, Congress enacted the . . . FRSA "to promote safety in every area of railroad operations and reduce railroad-related accidents and incidents." 49 U.S.C. § 20101. The FRSA grants the Secretary of Transportation the authority to "prescribe regulations and issue orders for every area of railroad safety," § 20134(a). The FRSA also contains an express pre-emption provision, which states:
"Laws, regulations, and orders related to railroad safety shall be nationally uniform to the extent practicable. A State may adopt or continue in force a law, regulation, or order related to railroad safety until the Secretary of Transportation prescribes a regulation or issues an order covering the subject matter of the State requirement." § 20106.
The court further explained the purpose of the enactment of the Highway Safety Act of 1973, § 203, which created the Federal Railway-Highway Crossings Program (Crossings Program)
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