Opinion ID: 1598843
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: dismissal of division ii

Text: Next, Chapman contends that the district court erred by dismissing the cause of action asserted in Division II of Chapman's amended petition. `In reviewing an order sustaining a demurrer, the Supreme Court accepts the truth of facts well pled and the factual and legal inferences which may be reasonably deduced from such facts, but does not accept conclusions of the pleader.' Security Inv. Co. v. State, 231 Neb. 536, 538, 437 N.W.2d 439, 442 (1989). When ruling on a demurrer, a court must assume that the pleaded facts, as distinguished from legal conclusions, are true as alleged and must give the pleading the benefit of any reasonable inference from the facts alleged, but cannot assume the existence of a fact not alleged, make factual findings to aid the pleading, or consider evidence which might be adduced at trial. Schuyler State Bank v. Cech, 228 Neb. 588, 593, 423 N.W.2d 464, 468 (1988). Accord Parrett v. Platte Valley State Bank, 236 Neb. 139, 459 N.W.2d 371 (1990). From Chapman's allegations in Division II of his amended petition, we assume that the vehicle which collided with Union Pacific's vehicle was either uninsured for negligently caused personal injury to another person or, if covered by liability insurance concerning personal injury to another, the insurance coverage was insufficient to indemnify Chapman's loss. As we construe the cause of action asserted in Division II of the amended petition, Chapman sought a recovery for his damages caused by Union Pacific's alleged common-law negligence in failing to inform Chapman that the railroad had not provided any indemnity protection against an uninsured or underinsured motorist who might negligently operate a vehicle in collision with the railroad's vehicle driven by Chapman. However, according to Chapman's allegations for the cause of action asserted in Division II, any of Union Pacific's negligence was occasioned by the railroad's and Chapman's conduct in the course of interstate commerce. Since the Federal Employers' Liability Act preempts state law concerning an employee's negligence claim against the railroad employer, the cause of action asserted in Division II of Chapman's amended petition is exclusively controlled by the Federal Employers' Liability Act and, therefore, is not a cause of action determined or disposed by state law concerning an action based on common-law negligence. See § 25-806(1) (lack of subject matter jurisdiction). Thus, Chapman's alleged facts for the cause of action asserted in Division II of his amended petition failed to state a cause of action based on negligence determined by state law because there was no allegation that all alleged negligent conduct occurred in intrastate commerce. See § 25-806(6). Consequently, the district court correctly dismissed the common-law cause of action asserted by Chapman in Division II of his amended petition. Chapman's second assignment of error is without merit.