A St. Clair County jury ruled in favor of Metro in a passenger’s lawsuit alleging his eye popped out of his head when the train doors closed on him as he was exiting.
The two-day trial ended after jurors deliberated just over an hour and returned a verdict in favor of defendant Bi-State Development Agency of the Missouri-Illinois Metropolitan District, doing business as Metro, on May 9 in Associate Judge Heinz Rudolf’s courtroom.
Plaintiff Alvin Golliday was represented by Mathew Young and Derek Siegel of Kuehn Beasley & Young PC in Belleville.
Metro was represented by corporate attorney Richard Rudd and Yvette Boutaugh of Hinshaw & Culbertson.
Before the case was taken to trial, Golliday rejected an arbitration award for $3,000 plus court costs on July 19, 2016.
Golliday requested mediation on April 6, 2016, arguing that it would “be in the best interest of judicial economy if the parties could resolve the matter by mediation.”
Metro opposed the request.
In his suit, Golliday claimed he was riding on the train on Sept. 14, 2014, when he was allegedly told to get off because the train was being taken out of service. As he was leaving the train, he claimed the doors closed on him, causing him to be crushed and injured. He claimed his prosthetic eye popped out of his head and he had to walk around without an eye in his face for several months.
Metro claims the plaintiff exaggerated his injuries and denied Golliday’s allegation that the door made contact with him in such a way as to cause his alleged injuries.
In its amended answer filed on May 8, the defendant argued that its train doors “do not function in such a manner as to strike, put pressure and/or inflict any bodily trauma as they are equipped with sensors that cause the doors to reopen when an obstruction is present and Plaintiff’s encounter with the doors with (sic) consistent was their normal functioning and the mechanism of injury alleged is anatomically and operationally impossible.”
Metro also argued that Golliday failed to pay attention to several audible announcements stating, “Stand clear, all doors are closing.”
He also allegedly “moved erratically, in a manner inconsistent with the flow of alighting passengers and in a manner consistent with the infliction of self-harm…”
Despite its denial of any wrongdoing, Metro alleged it attempted to resolve the case “for a fair and reasonable sum which plaintiff has deemed unacceptable.”
St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 15-L-320