Court Opinion

ID: 9599878
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 01:22:02.242795+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:01:47.240570
License: Public Domain

LIMBAUGH, District Judge,
concurring.
I concur in the principal opinion affirming the district court on all issues, but I write separately to advocate a different approach to the Locomotive Inspection Act claim. The majority adopts a “totality of the circumstances” test to evaluate whether the accident occurred when the locomotive was “in use,” which is a prerequisite to liability under the LIA. But the locomotive in this case was “blue flagged,” which means, under LIA regulations, that the railroad is prohibited from moving the locomotive, and which is to say that the locomotive cannot be put “in use.” A better rule then, in my mind, is that blue flagging creates a presumption that the locomotive was not in use.
Under the LIA, a railroad carrier cannot “use or allow to be used” a locomotive on its railroad line unless the locomotive “and its parts and appurtenances ... are in proper condition and safe to operate without unnecessary danger of personal injury.” 49 U.S.C. § 20701. Federal regulations implementing this statute articulate the railroad’s obligation to provide a safe working environment, and they address in particular the kind of accident at issue in this case by providing that, “passageways ... shall be kept free from oil ... or any obstruction that creates a slipping [or] tripping ... hazard.” 49 C.F.R. § 229.119(c).
A railroad’s violation of the LIA results in strict liability, Lilly v. Grand Trunk W. R.R. Co., 317 U.S. 481, 485, 63 S.Ct. 347, 87 L.Ed. 411 (1943), which is a critical matter in this case given the fact that the jury found that plaintiff was 40% negligent. If a railroad employer’s violation of the LIA contributes to the injury of a railroad employee, the employer cannot rely on the defenses of contributory negligence or assumption of risk, and will be *623found negligent as a matter of law under the FELA. 45 U.S.C. §§ 53, 54; Lilly, 317 U.S. at 491, 63 S.Ct. 347. Although contributory negligence is a partial defense under the FELA, it is not a defense under the LIA. Lilly, 317 U.S. at 485, 63 S.Ct. 347. However, a defendant is subject to strict liability under the LIA only if the locomotive was “in use” at the time of the accident. Steer, 720 F.2d at 976-77.
In this case, the accident occurred when the locomotive and two others were parked on a repair in place track with blue lights placed at the ends of each one. In addition, blue flags were lodged in the engine throttles and the track switch was locked to further prevent the locomotives from being moved. There is a dispute, however, whether the locomotive on which the accident occurred was still undergoing its daily inspection at the time of the accident. The inspection card had been signed, but the inspector testified that he did so before conducting the inspection. In any event, it is uncontested that the inspector was still working on one or more of the locomotives, that they were still blue flagged, and that they had not yet been released to the crew or crews. The issue, then, is whether, under these circumstances, the locomotive on which the accident occurred was “in use” under the LIA.
The district court found that the locomotive was not “in use” based principally on the facts that the blue lights had been set out to prevent the locomotive from moving, that the locomotive was not on the main line, and the locomotive was still under inspection at the time plaintiff was injured. Plaintiff claims this decision was in error because the majority of courts have held that the locomotive is “in use” if it is being prepared for imminent departure.
The only case in which the United States Supreme Court has addressed the “in use” question is Brady v. Terminal R. R. Ass’n of St. Louis, 303 U.S. 10, 58 S. Ct. 426, 82 L.Ed. 614 (1938). The Court, interpreting a nearly identical “in use” provision in the Federal Safety Appliance Act, held that a rail car was “in use” when petitioner was injured while he was inspecting it. Id. at 11-13, 58 S.Ct. 426. The car was one of a string of cars that had been placed on a “receiving” or “inbound” track temporarily pending the continuation of a trip and would only be taken out of service if the inspection found a defect. Id. at 11, 13, 58 S.Ct. 426. Under the Court’s reasoning, the car was “in use” because it was located on the receiving or inbound track, it had never been taken out of service, and the inspection was merely a temporary delay of the train’s journey. Steer, 720 F.2d at 976.
The Eighth Circuit, too, has addressed this issue only once, in the 1983 decision, Steer v. Burlington N., Inc. In that case, a pipefitter was injured while repairing an engine, and this Court held that the engine was not “in use” because it could not be moved until the repairs were completed. Id. at 976.
Since the Supreme Court decision in Brady and this Court’s holding in Steer, two competing tests have developed to determine whether a locomotive is “in use.” The Fifth Circuit established a bright line rule in Trinidad v. Southern Pacific Transp. Co., 949 F.2d 187, 189 (5th Cir. 1991), holding that a train is “in use” only after it has been fully assembled and the pre-departure inspection complete. Id. at 189. On the other hand, the Fourth Circuit established a totality of the circumstances test in Deans v. CSX Transp. Inc., 152 F.3d 326, 329 (4th Cir.1998), holding that to determine if a rail car is “in use” the court must look to several factors, with particular emphasis on the location of the car and the activity of the inured party.
*624Despite these generally recognized tests, many “in use” cases are so fact specific that the tests do not lend themselves to easy application, and instead the cases sometimes appear to be decided on an ad hoc basis. See, e.g., McGrath v. Consol. Rail Corp., 136 F.3d 838, 842 (1998) (holding train “in use” while idling on a yard track); Horibin v. Providence & Worcester R.R. Co., 352 F.Supp.2d 116, 121-22 (D.Mass.2005) (holding locomotive was still “in use” while being shut down for the night); Haworth v. Burlington N. and Santa Fe Ry. Co., 281 F.Supp.2d 1207, 1212 (E.D.Wash.2003) (holding train “in use” during its final pre-departure inspection where it was neither being serviced nor repaired); cf. Crockett v. Long Island R.R., 65 F.3d 274, 277 (2nd Cir.1995) (holding train not “in use” when being cleaned on “out of service” track); Pinkham v. Maine Cent. R.R. Co., 874 F.2d 875, 881-82 (1st Cir.1989) (holding locomotive was not “in use” when maintenance worker was injured after completing his repairs and the locomotive was not ready to be immediately returned to service).
None of the foregoing cases, however, have focused on the effect of blue flagging (or in this case, blue lighting) a locomotive or train. The blue flag is widely recognized throughout the railroad industry as a signal, warning crews not to move locomotives in the surrounding area. Carder v. Indiana Harbor Belt R.R., 205 F.Supp.2d 981, 985 (N.D.Ind.2002). In fact, blue flagging is mandated as part of the regulations of the Federal Railroad Administration’s Railroad Operating Procedures, 49 C.F.R. §§ 218.21 et seq. In pertinent part, the regulations provide that when railroad employees are “engaged in the inspection, testing, repair and servicing of [locomotives],” and they are working “on, under or between [locomotives] on track other than the main track,” the locomotive must be blue flagged. 49 C.F.R. § § 218.21, 218.27(e). Furthermore, once blue flags or blue lights have been placed, the locomotive cannot be moved or repositioned until the flags or lights have been removed and other workers on the affected track notified. 49 C.F.R. §§ 218.23, 218.29.
The decisions in the few cases that have addressed the issue of blue flagging are mixed. Only one case, Angell v. Chesapeake & Ohio Ry. Co., 618 F.2d 260 (4th Cir.1980), has held that a locomotive was “in use” despite the presence of blue flags. Angelí involved a machinist for the railroad who was injured while working on an engine that had been placed on a service track and blue flagged. Id. at 261. The injury occurred as petitioner was attempting to uncouple two engines after all servicing, maintenance, and inspections had been completed. Id. The court held that even though the engine was still blue flagged and was not scheduled to depart until several hours later, it was being “readied” to pull a train and was thus “in use.” Id.
In contrast, the court in Paul v. Genesee & Wyoming Indus., Inc., 93 F.Supp.2d 310 (W.D.N.Y.2000) held that a train was not “in use” when petitioner was injured while conducting a pre-departure inspection because the train was located on an assembly track that was blue flagged and locked-out. Id. at 317. Unlike the case at hand, however, the plaintiff in Paul was not a member of the train crew and the train was not scheduled for imminent departure.
Then in Carder, the court held that a blue flagged engine was not “in use” when an electrician was injured while making repairs on the engine. Although the court held that blue flagging was a significant factor in its ruling, that factor alone was not dispositive. Instead, the court applied the same two-step analysis as in Deans, taking into account other factors, and in *625particular the activity of the petitioner at the time of the injury. Carder, 205 F.Supp.2d at 985-86.
Notwithstanding the rationales of these cases, and in view of their inconsistent results, a better rule, and a better bright line rule, is that blue flagging creates a presumption that a locomotive is not “in use.” This rule not only is more deferential to the regulations that require blue flagging, but also is more faithful to the language of the statute and the plain and ordinary meaning of the word, “use.” To use a locomotive, of course, is to put it in action, to engage it for its intended purpose. But a locomotive cannot fairly be said to be “in use” if it cannot be moved, and blue flagging, under the regulations, literally prohibits a locomotive from being moved. Indeed, to hold for a plaintiff who is injured on blue flagged locomotive while preparing to use it — as is the case here— would require this Court, in effect, to rewrite the statute so that the term, “in use,” would also include preparation for use. The statute, however, must control as written. For that reason, plaintiff, here, was not injured while the locomotive was in use, and trial court was correct in ruling that the LIA does not apply.
Although the principal opinion arrives at the same outcome under a “totality of the circumstances” test, that test is better suited to those cases in which the locomotive in question was not blue flagged, for it may well be that in those cases the locomotive was nonetheless not in use. To be sure, that is the kind of case in which the totality of the circumstances test was fashioned. See Deans v. CSX Transp. Inc., 152 F.3d 326 (4th Cir.1998). But when a locomotive is in fact blue flagged, that circumstance should be dispositive. Thus, I would affirm the district court’s dismissal of the LIA claim on this separate ground.