Opinion ID: 2313119
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The accidents and the wrongful death actions

Text: During the course of construction of the Route 15 Project and the Crossing Project, two separate accidents occurred which resulted in deaths at the Mt. Pleasant Crossing. On May 27, 1992, Bruce D. Flowers was driving eastbound on Route 15 when his car collided with a southbound Conrail freight train. On July 12, 1992, Lynn S. Saunders and her passengers, Lori J. White and Kathryn A. Fydenkevez, were traveling westbound on Route 15 and collided with a northbound Conrail freight train at the Mt. Pleasant Crossing. Both Flowers and Saunders and her passengers died from their injuries. The estates and survivors of all decedents filed separate wrongful death and survivorship actions against Julian and Conrail (the Flowers and Fydenkevez Complaints or the Complaints). The Flowers and Fydenkevez Complaints were filed on January 10, 1994. [13] Both alleged that Julian, its agents, servants, and employees were negligent in the major repairs of the Route 15 Project, creating a dangerous condition which they failed to eliminate, thereby proximately causing the death of the aforementioned individuals. Among other things, the Complaints alleged that Julian was negligent in failing to post adequate warning signs and signals, obstructing warning signs and signals designed to notify highway users of the Mt. Pleasant Crossing and oncoming trains, removing such signs and signals, failing to employ a flagman, and failing to warn of the dangerous condition of its work site and the Mt. Pleasant Crossing. [14] The Flowers and Fydenkevez Complaints also alleged negligence claims against Conrail. They claimed that Conrail knew or should have known that it had created a dangerous condition at the Mt. Pleasant Crossing, failed to warn of this condition properly and adequately, and failed to remedy the condition. They also alleged that Conrail was negligent in, among other things, creating a confusing and dangerous condition during the road construction at the Mt. Pleasant Crossing, improperly placing flashing lights, warning signs and other warning signals at the Mt. Pleasant Crossing, failing to post adequate warning devices at the Mt. Pleasant Crossing, and failing to utilize a flagman there. [15] Liberty provided a defense for Julian in the wrongful death suits. Conrail sought defense and indemnity coverage for the Flowers and Fydenkevez Complaints under the Liberty Policies, but Liberty denied coverage. Conrail then sought coverage under the Pacific Force Account Policy, which Pacific denied. Conrail filed a declaratory judgment action in Superior Court on October 1, 1997, claiming that both Liberty and Pacific had wrongly refused to defend and indemnify Conrail with respect to the Flowers and Fydenkevez claims. The estates and survivors of the decedents eventually settled their claims against Julian and Conrail, leaving only Conrail's claims for contribution and indemnification against Liberty and Pacific.