OKLAHOMA CITY (Legal Newsline) – A railway company is challenging the Oklahoma Blocked Crossing Statute on the allegations that the statute is preempted by federal law.
BNSF Railway Co. filed a complaint on Aug. 22 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma against the city of Edmond, Oklahoma; the city of Davis, Oklahoma; Oklahoma Corporation Commission Chairman Todd Hiett; Oklahoma Corporation Commission Vice Chairman Bob Anthony; and Oklahoma Corporation Commission Commissioner Dana Murphy, citing the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act and the Federal Railroad Safety Act.
The suit states Oklahoma in July enacted the statute, which prohibits railcars from blocking vehicles at railroad intersections for longer than 10 minutes. The plaintiff alleges it was issued citations in July by police officers in Edmond and Davis for allegedly violating the statute.
The plaintiff alleges the enforcement of the statue presents it with an "immediate threat of irreparable harm" and that the statute is preempted by the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act and the Federal Railroad Safety Act.
The plaintiff is seeking declaratory judgment that the statute is preempted and just relief. The plaintiff is represented by R. Richard Love III, J. Dillon Curran and Bryan R. Lynch of Connor & Winters LLP in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma case number 5:19-CV-00769