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Union Pacific Railroad Co. v. Harding5/19/1998
Appeal from an order of the district court granting respondent's motion to dismiss appellant's third-party complaint, and cross-appeal from the district court's certification of dismissal as to one of multiple parties. Eighth Judicial District Court, Clark County; Joseph S. Pavlikowski, Judge,
Affirmed.
This case arises out of a collision between two freight trains near Caliente, Nevada. Three employees of appellant/cross-respondent Union Pacific Railroad Company (UPRR) were injured in the accident, and another was killed. The estate of the deceased employee sued UPRR for damages; UPRR in turn filed a third-party complaint against two of the employees involved in the collision, Roger J. Sullenberger and respondent/cross-appellant Larry J. Harding, seeking indemnity and contribution. Sullenberger filed a cross-complaint against UPRR pursuant to the Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA) 45 U.S.C.A. § 51 (1986).
Sullenberger joined in Harding's motion to dismiss UPRR's third-party complaint on the grounds that it was preempted by FELA and/or the Railway Labor Act, 45 U.S.C.A. § 151 (1986). The district court granted Harding's motion and dismissed UPRR's complaint as to Harding and Sullenberger. UPRR filed a motion for certification of final partial judgment as to third-party defendant Harding, pursuant to NRCP 54(b), and the motion was granted. UPRR now appeals the district court's dismissal of its third-party complaint against Harding. Harding cross-appeals the district court's certification of its order granting dismissal of UPRR's third-party complaint against Harding as final. We conclude that the district court properly dismissed UPRR's third-party complaint against Harding because it lacked jurisdiction under the Railway Labor Act.
FACTS
On January 12, 1995, an eastbound Union Pacific freight train collided head-on with a westbound Southern Pacific freight train near Caliente, Nevada. At the time of the accident, both trains were manned by UPRR employees; Sullenberger and Harding were engineer and conductor, respectively, of the Union Pacific train, and Michael Allen Smith and Robert A. Franklin were engineer and conductor, respectively, of the Southern Pacific train. All four UPRR employees were injured in the accident, and Smith died from his injuries.
On February 16, 1995, Smith's widow and estate filed a wrongful death suit against UPRR. On June 7, 1995, UPRR filed a third-party complaint against its employees, Sullenberger and Harding, seeking contribution and indemnification with regard to Smith's suit, along with indemnification for damages caused to Southern Pacific's train and for UPRR's lost profits and damaged property caused by the accident. UPRR alleged that Sullenberger and Harding, who had been controlling the eastbound Union Pacific train at the time of the accident, had failed to heed a stop signal. prior to the accident; had the eastbound train stopped, the westbound Southern Pacific train would have been able to enter and clear a siding, thus passing the eastbound train without incident.
On August 23, 1995, Harding filed a motion to dismiss UPRR's third-party complaint. Harding's motion alleged that the district court lacked jurisdiction because the federal Railway Labor Act preempted, and because FELA prohibited, UPRR's third-party claims which allegedly seek over $5,000,000 in damages. On August 31, 1995, Sullenberger joined in Harding's dismissal motion. On October 23, 1995, Sullenberger filed a counterclaim against UPRR for personal injuries incurred in the accident, pursuant to FELA. Harding filed a FELA action against UPRR in California state court, which was still pending as of January 1997.
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