Equally Divided U.S. Supreme Court Affirms FELA Dismissal on Summary Judgment

Ledure v. Union Pac. R.R. Co., 962 F.3d 907 *; 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 18990 **; 2020 WL 3263897 (7^th Cir. 2020); aff’d., 142 S. Ct. 1582, 212 L. Ed. 2d 575, 2022 U.S. LEXIS 2229 *, 2022 WL 1243660 (April 22, 2022)

            This case seems to have flown under the radar likely because an equally divided Supreme Court in which Justice Barrett did not take part resulted in affirming the appellate court.¹ As it is a case involving the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA),² it is relevant to Jones Act claims.

            The plaintiff was employed by Union Pacific Railroad Company as a conductor and was injured when he slipped and fell down steps on a locomotive on what he described was a “’small amount of oil.’”³ He brought suit under the Locomotive Inspection Act⁴ and the Federal Employers' Liability Act, asserting that the violation of the Locomotive Inspection Act constituted negligence per se under FELA.⁵

            The Seventh Circuit affirmed the trial judge who determined that the Locomotive Inspection Act was not applicable. This hinged on whether the locomotive was “in use” at the time of the accident.⁶ The panel noted the split between the test adopted by its own circuit in Lyle v. Atchison, T. & S. F. R. Co.⁷ and that of the Fourth Circuit⁸ and of the Fifth Circuit in Trinidad v. Southern Pacific Transportation Co.⁹  Ostensibly, as he was getting the locomotive ready for use, the Act was inapplicable as it was not “in use.”¹⁰ Thus, there was no statutory violation so supplement a FELA claim.

            The appellate court also affirmed summary judgment dismissing the FELA claim as the claimant had to show that the employer knew or should have known of the dangerous condition.¹¹ Here the trial judge determined that LeDure failed to provide evidence that the condition was reasonably foreseeable which was upheld.

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¹ 142 S. Ct. 1582, 212 L. Ed. 2d 575, 2022 U.S. LEXIS 2229 *, 2022 WL 1243660 (April 22, 2022).

² 45 U.S.C. § 51 et seq.

³ 962 F.3d 907, 909 (7^th Cir. 2020).

⁴ 49 U.S.C. § 2701 et seq. 

⁵ Citing: Crane v. Cedar Rapids Iowa City Ry., 395 U.S. 164, 89 S. Ct. 1706, 23 L. Ed. 2d 176 (1969). The Locomotive Inspection Act is supplementary to a FELA negligence claim. (962 F.3d at 910).

⁶ 962 F.3d at 910.

⁷ 177 F.2d 221 (7th Cir. 1949).

⁸ Deans v. CSX Transportation, Inc., 152 F.3d 326 (4th Cir. 1998).

⁹ 949 F.2d 187 (5th Cir. 1991).

¹⁰ 962 F.3d. at 910.

¹¹ Id. at 911.