KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Legal Newsline) – The mother of a woman struck by a train as she drove over tracks has received good news in her lawsuit against Union Pacific Railroad.
The Missouri Court of Appeals on Nov. 24 allowed Judith Ann Campbell to pursue punitive damages while also overturning summary judgment for the defendants in the trial court – Adair County Circuit Court.
The ruling also allows Campbell to present one of her expert’s opinions as the case proceeds.
It’s bad news for Union Pacific, which had successfully argued the claims were preempted by federal law and that the warning devices at the crossing where the collision took place were approved by the Federal Highway Administration.
Campbell’s claims that the train’s horn, which was blown 19 seconds before the collision, was unsafe are reinstated.
“Although the circuit court found lack of causation as an alternative ground for granting summary judgment on claims involving the horn’s audibility, Union Pacific did not properly assert this ground in its summary judgment pleadings,” the ruling says.
“Union Pacific attempted to assert lack of causation in its suggestions in support of its summary judgment motion, arguing that ‘Plaintiff’s own expert, Jimmy Scott, intends to opine that even if the locomotive horn produced 110 decibels, the horn would not have been audible to Ms. Barnhart.’
"Union Pacific did not provide any citation to the record for this statement and did not include this statement in its statement of uncontroverted material facts. Moreover, we note that, while Campbell’s expert, Seidemann, offered opinions on this issue, Scott did not.
“Union Pacific’s pleadings were insufficient to assert lack of causation as a basis for granting summary judgment on the horn audibility claims.”
Because the horn audibility claims will continue, so will Campbell’s quest for punitive damages. They will be bolstered by the opinions of an expert who will testify about the timing and pattern of the horn blasts and whether it was installed backwards.