Task: songer_source

What follows is an opinion from a United States Court of Appeals. Your task is to identify the forum that heard this case immediately before the case came to the court of appeals.

PER CURIAM:
To recover damages for the death of William Edwin Baughn when struck by a train of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad Company on June 1, 1966, while driving a truck over a highway crossing of the tracks a few miles east of Liles-ville, North Carolina, his administratrix sued the railroad. The District Court directed a verdict for the defendant and dismissed the action, for the decedent’s contributory negligence.
In his opinion, Baughn. v. Seaboard Air Line Railroad Company, 291 F.Supp. 425 (M.D.N.C.1968), the District Judge recounts closely and with clarity the proofs upon the tragic event. The issue of contributory negligence is decided in this context and in the frame of the law of North Carolina. Since our review discloses no substantial error in the premises or the final determination, we cannot overrule the dismissal.
Affirmed.

Question: What forum heard this case immediately before the case came to the court of appeals?
A. Federal district court (single judge)
B. 3 judge district court
C. State court
D. Bankruptcy court, referee in bankruptcy, special master
E. Federal magistrate
F. Federal administrative agency
G. Court of Customs & Patent Appeals
H. Court of Claims
I. Court of Military Appeals
J. Tax Court or Tax Board
K. Administrative law judge
L. U.S. Supreme Court (remand)
M. Special DC court (not the US District Court for DC)
N. Earlier appeals court panel
O. Other
P. Not ascertained
Answer:

Answer: A