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Sutherland v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co.3/28/2005
Plaintiff Joseph M. Sutherland filed a three-count complaint against his former employer, Norfolk Southern Railway Company (Norfolk Southern). Counts I and II sought relief under the Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA) (45 U.S.C. §51 et seq. (2000)) and the Federal Boiler Inspection Act (FBIA) (49 U.S.C. §20701 (2000)), respectively, for personal injuries Sutherland sustained while employed by Norfolk Southern. Count III was a common-law claim for retaliatory discharge. The circuit court granted Norfolk Southern's motion to dismiss count III. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.
BACKGROUND
The factual allegations common to all three counts are summarized as follows. Sutherland was employed by Norfolk Southern as a conductor/yard foreman at Norfolk Southern's Calumet Yard. On April 21, 2000, Sutherland and his crew were engaged in moving groups of railcars to different tracks in the Calumet Yard. During one of the movements, Sutherland entered a cab of the locomotive in use by his crew and sat in a chair. The chair's back support broke, and he fell to the cab floor, sustaining injuries.
On July 3, 2000, Sutherland was terminated from his employment. On March 5, 2003, Sutherland filed his complaint, alleging, as noted, personal injury in counts I and II, and retaliatory discharge in count III. Sutherland claimed that Norfolk Southern discharged him in order to prevent him from presenting damages for wage loss in his FELA/FBIA action, to avoid reporting his on-the-job injury to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and to avoid reporting Norfolk Southern's violation of the FBIA to the Secretary of Transportation. Norfolk Southern moved to dismiss count III pursuant to section 2-615 of the Code of Civil Procedure (the Code) (735 ILCS 5/2-615 (West 2002)) on the grounds that Sutherland's right of action is not protected under the Illinois retaliatory discharge law. The circuit court agreed with Norfolk Southern and dismissed count III. Upon receiving Rule 304(a) (155 Ill. 2d R. 304(a)) certification, Sutherland filed this appeal.
ANALYSIS
The central issue on this appeal is whether a railroad employee has the protection of the Illinois retaliatory discharge law, where his discharge was brought about in anticipation or as a result of his filing a claim under the FELA and/or the FBIA. Sutherland contends that the Illinois retaliatory discharge law affords him that protection. Norfolk Southern, on the other hand, argues that Sutherland's claim of retaliatory discharge falls outside the scope of the tort.
A section 2-615 motion to dismiss attacks the legal sufficiency of the complaint by alleging defects appearing on its face. Illinois Graphics Co. v. Nickum, 159 Ill. 2d 469, 484, 639 N.E.2d 1282, 1289 (1994). Such a motion should be granted if the complaint does not allege sufficient facts to state a cause of action. Bianchi v. Savino Del Bene International Freight Forwarders, Inc., 329 Ill. App. 3d 908, 918, 770 N.E.2d 684, 692-93 (2002). Our review on appeal is generally de novo. Unterschuetz v. City of Chicago , 346 Ill. App. 3d 65, 68, 803 N.E.2d 988, 991 (2004).
The parties agree that, as a railroad employee, Sutherland was covered by the FELA, which provides the sole remedy for workplace injuries to the exclusion of the Workers' Compensation Act (820 ILCS 305/1 et seq. (West 2002)). See, e.g., Hines v. Industrial Comm'n, 295 Ill. 231, 234, 129 N.E. 175, 176 (1920) ("Where an injury occurs to an employee while engaged in interstate commerce there is no choice of remedy. The remedy under the Federal Employers' Liability act is exclusive and all State laws covering the same character of facts are superseded");
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