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Engvall v. Soo Line Railroad Company8/2/2001
under the FELA, and locomotive manufacturer), cert. denied, 120 S. Ct. 498 (1999); Springston v. Consol. Rail Corp., 130 F.3d 241 (6th Cir. 1997) (action by automobile driver injured in collision with a train against the railroad owner of the train and track, and the train manufacturer); Law v. Gen. Motors Corp., 114 F.3d 908 (9th Cir. 1997) (action by railroad employees against locomotive brake and engine manufacturers).
However, all of these cases involve claims that a manufacturer was liable based on its failure to meet a standard imposed by state law rather than federal law. See Oglesby, 180 F.3d at 460; Springston, 130 F.3d at 244; Law, 114 F.3d at 909. Therefore, these cases provide no support for holding that a state law action against a manufacturer, whose alleged liability is premised on a failure to comply with the LIA, is preempted. In such an action, no state standard is imposed on the manufacturer. Because no state standard is imposed, there is no danger of undermining the goal of nationwide uniformity of railroad operating standards, the primary rationale for holding state law claims preempted. See Oglesby, 180 F.3d at 461; Law, 114 F.3d at 910-11. Accordingly, although cases such as Oglesby, Springston, and Law are said to hold that all state law claims against a railroad manufacturer are preempted, it is more accurate to say that they hold that claims seeking to impose a state law standard of care on a manufacturer (or a railroad) are preempted. We conclude that the field preempted by the LIA does not include state common law actions based on a violation of the LIA. Thus, because Engvall could have brought a state common law action of negligence per se against GM based on a violation of the LIA, we hold that GM is not entitled to summary judgment on Soo Line's contribution claim.
III.
Finally, we address whether the district court properly granted summary judgment on Soo Line's indemnity claim. Unlike contribution, where responsibility for damages is reallocated based on relative fault, indemnity "shifts the entire loss from one culpable wrongdoer to another." Tolbert v. Gerber Indus., Inc., 255 N.W.2d 362, 367 & n.9 (Minn. 1977). In Hendrickson v. Minnesota Power & Light Co., 258 Minn. 368, 104 N.W.2d 843 (1960), this court clarified the situations in which one joint tortfeasor may obtain indemnity from another joint tortfeasor. These include:
(1) Where the one seeking indemnity has only a derivative or vicarious liability for damage caused by the one sought to be charged.
(2) Where the one seeking indemnity has incurred liability by action at the direction, in the interest of, and in reliance upon the one sought to be charged.
(3) Where the one seeking indemnity has incurred liability because of a breach of duty owed to him by the one sought to be charged.
(4) Where the one seeking indemnity has incurred liability merely because of failure, even though negligent, to discover or prevent the misconduct of the one sought to be charged.
(5) Where there is an express contract between the parties containing an explicit undertaking to reimburse for liability of the character involved. Id. at 372, 104 N.W.2d at 848 (footnotes omitted).
We subsequently foreclosed indemnity in the fourth category, that is, where the one seeking indemnity is liable merely because of failure to discover or prevent the misconduct of the one sought to be charged, and to that extent overruled all cases to the contrary, including Hendrickson. Tolbert, 255 N.W.2d at 366-68 & n.11; see also Ploog v. Ogilvie, 309 N.W.2d 49, 53 (Minn. 1981) ("A cotortfeasor who is causally negligent may not recover indemn
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