Statutory Interpretation

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Ronald Ward v. Soo Line Railroad Company, et al.

Case No.: 17-2150

Officials: FLAUM, SYKES, and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Statutory Interpretation

Ronald Ward injured his shoulder and back when his seat collapsed in the train he was operating. Ward is a U.S. resident who is employed by a U.S. railroad. Normally, these facts could give rise to a lawsuit under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA), 45 U.S.C. § 51 et seq. Because Ward’s seat collapsed across the border in Ontario, however, the FELA does not apply. Instead, Ward pursued his tort claims under state common law. Ruling on the defendants’ motions to dismiss and for judgment on the pleadings for failure to state a claim, the district court rejected Ward’s claims by holding that another federal law, the Locomotive Boiler Inspection Act (LIA), 49 U.S.C. § 20701 et seq., preempted all state tort law remedies for injuries caused by locomotive equipment.

We see the case differently on the merits of the preemption defense, but we ultimately affirm the judgment. The federal railroad-safety statutes left plaintiff one path that is viable and not preempted: He could assert state-law tort claims against the defendants that borrow the applicable standards of care from the federal LIA and its regulations governing the safety of locomotive equipment. This is a well-established path for fitting state and federal law together. See Delaware & Hudson Railway Co., Inc. v. Knoedler Manufacturers, Inc., 781 F.3d 656, 662 (3d Cir. 2015) (LIA does not preempt state common-law claims seeking to redress violations of federal standard of care mandated by LIA and its regulations). Plaintiff pursued this viable theory in the district court, but in pursuing his appeal, he has waived any claim based on this theory.

The district court dismissed Ward’s claims on the pleadings, so we review its decisions de novo, giving Ward the benefit of all well-pleaded factual allegations in his complaints and reasonable inferences from them. See, e.g., Matrix IV, Inc. v. American Nat’l Bank and Trust Co. of Chicago, 649 F.3d 539, 547 (7th Cir. 2011). To explain our decision, we examine in Part I the relevant federal statutes and the precedents governing their relationships with state tort law. In Part II, we turn to the merits of the district court’s judgment, explaining why the court erred in part on the scope of the preemption defense and why plaintiffs in Ward’s position should be allowed to pursue the one viable path open to them. Finally, in Part III, we turn to the procedural history of this lawsuit and address defendants’ arguments that Ward waived that one viable path.

Since plaintiff Ward waived on appeal the only viable theory for pursuing relief from these defendants, we cannot revive it for him. The judgment of the district court is affirmed.

Affirmed

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.