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Straight
Track #252
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Jury's "Not Guilty" Verdict Overturned By
Federal Trial Judge
James L. Farina,
Attorney
Hoey & Farina
farina@hoeyfarina.com
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On October 23, 2003, Gary Pierce, a 26 year old
conductor employed by Chicago Rail Link ("CRL), was struck by a moving
locomotive during a switching move at a CSX intermodel facility. Mr.
Pierce suffered catastrophic injuries, including permanent spinal cord
damage.
Hoey & Farina was retained hours after the incident to
represent Mr. Pierce, and began an immediate investigation. The
discovery process revealed that CRL's locomotive engineer violated 49
C.F.R. §§220.45 and 220.49, the "Radio Rules", by commencing movement of
the locomotive on an incomplete radio command.
The trial began on June 26 2006, in the United Stated
District Court, Northern District of Illinois. Under the Federal
Employers' Liability Act Mr. Pierce had the burden of proving to the
jury that CRL's negligence caused his injuries. However, Mr. Pierce had
no memory of the accident, there were no eye witnesses and almost no
physical evidence at the scene. All liability evidence was presented
through expert witnesses and state of the art computerized accident
reconstruction animations. After two weeks of presenting evidence of
CRL's negligence, the jury was asked whether CRL violated the two Radio
Rules. The jury answered "No" to both questions and returned a ‘not
guilty' verdict in favor of CRL, based in large part upon a novel and
distorted interpretation of the Radio Rules argued by CRL's attorneys at
trial.
Yet, because of the sound expert evidence presented at
trial, and believing that no rational jury could have failed to find
that CRL violated the Radio Rules, Hoey & Farina immediately filed a
motion with the federal trial judge requesting that he overturn the
verdict and grant a new trial.
On November 20, 2006, the federal judge issued his
lengthy written opinion overturning the jury verdict. The Court stated
that there was "no plausible basis to sustain the jury's finding" and
that the verdict was "contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence."
The Court concluded that CRL's interpretation of the Radio Rules was
flawed, and granted a new trial for Mr. Pierce. Such an extraordinary
ruling by the trial judge in overturning a jury verdict, without the
necessity of an appeal, is extremely rare.
Rather than proceeding to a second trial, CRL agreed to
settle the case, and provided Mr. Pierce with, among other compensation,
a substantial lifetime annuity.
Hoey & Farina overcame nearly insurmountable odds due to
the lack of hard evidence to ultimately bring victory to a disabled
railroad employee. Tenacity, dedication and hard work are of what such
victories are made.
If you have any questions regarding this matter or any FELA issue, please contact our office at (888) 425-1212 or via
email at info@hoeyfarina.com.
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