Fayette County Judge Mike Mchaney granted summary judgment for the City of Vandalia after it argued that the City is not a railroad and cannot be held liable for a fatal train crash that occurred prior to a Halloween parade in 2014.
On Oct. 28, Mchaney wrote that he “carefully considered” the arguments before granting the motion for summary judgment filed by attorney Charles Pierce of Pierce Law Firm PC in Belleville, on behalf of the City of Vandalia.
The motion for summary judgment was filed July 22 after the Fifth District Appellate Court ruled that Vandalia was immune from claims regarding the parade planning and execution, “leaving only the claim that the City is a railroad defendant.”
“Under the undisputed facts, the City does not own, maintain or control the tracks in question and thus cannot be liable. Further, any regulation of this crossing is within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Illinois Commerce Commission,” Pierce wrote.
In its memorandum in support of its motion, the defendant argued that while Vandalia does own some railroad tracks, the crossing in question is not one of them.
“Plaintiffs have had a full and fair opportunity to litigate this claim,” Pierce wrote. “If there is any liability by a ‘railroad,’ it lies with the true owner of the tracks, CSX, which has settled for a substantial confidential amount. The plaintiffs have had full knowledge that the City does not own these tracks and yet persists in pursuing that fallacy.”
The plaintiffs filed a response in opposition to Vandalia’s motion for summary judgment on Sept. 16 through attorney Gregory Shevlin of Cook Bartholomew Shevlin Cook & Jones LLP in Belleville and Nathan Karlin of Pottroff & Karlin LLC in Kansas.
“Plaintiffs should be allowed their day in court and present their case for trier of fact to weigh the evidence and determine whether Vandalia breached its duty, causation, and the extent of plaintiffs’ damages,” the response stated.
They argued that the appellate court “plainly found Vandalia had a duty of reasonable care to plaintiffs in their actions or inations while acting as a railroad.”
They also argued that there is “ample evidence” that Vandalia required CSX’s predecessor to install a railroad track without reconfiguring the lights and gates and that the city owns the Sixth Street Crossing property.
The response stated that due to the “faulty design” of the Sixth Street Crossing, the roadway intersection is inside the area between the railroad crossing gates, allowing motorists to become trapped between the gates when activated. The plaintiffs argued that the lights and gates were not approved by the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC).
They argued that Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail), a predecessor railroad to defendant CSX Transportation, “initially sought approval to move the light and gate installations at all of these crossings closer to the mainline track to prevent trapping motorists between the signal systems. However, Vandalia intervened in the proceedings to remove the northernmost siding track and demanded Conrail install an interchange between Vandalia’s spur track and the Conrail mainline at the Sixth Street Crossing.”
Conrail allegedly received approval from the ICC to move the lights and gates at several crossings but not the Sixth Street Crossing, creating a 70-foot void between the lights and gates.
“Had Vandalia not intervened and forced Conrail to add the interchange to connect its railroad tracks, Conrail would have moved the northerly light and gate assembly at the Sixth Street Crossing …” the response stated.
Beyond the placement of the lights and gates, the plaintiffs argued that Vandalia owed a duty to inspect and maintain the railroad crossing.
Vandalia filed a reply to the plaintiffs’ opposition on Sept. 21, arguing that the plaintiffs relied on “disproven allegations of their complaint.”
“Further, the plaintiffs seek to overread the Appellate Court’s findings on issues it never reached. Plaintiffs have had ample opportunity to try to prove their case and come forward with some evidence that the City owns these tracks or in some other way has a duty to the plaintiffs,” Pierce wrote. “This case is ripe for summary judgment.”
Pierce wrote that the Fifth District left the “railroad theories” alive because it had to assume the facts in the complaint were true.
“We are now past that stage,” the reply stated. “Plaintiffs continually cite to their complaint which is not evidence nor can it be used to support summary judgment.”
Pierce wrote that it is undisputed that CSX owns the railroad tracks, but the plaintiffs alleged the city was liable because it owns the land under the tracks.
“If plaintiffs’ argument is accepted, every farmer, city, and real property owner in the State of Illinois is suddenly held to the same standard as the railroad. This is simply untenable. Owning the street does not make the City a railroad. It makes the City a city. The Fifth District has already held that the City, in its municipal capacity, is immune,” Pierce wrote.
Vandalia also argued that the plaintiffs focused on a dispute between CSX’s predecessor and the city from 30 years ago, misstating the facts.
Pierce wrote that “in no way, shape, or fashion did the City of Vandalia ‘force’ Conrail to do anything.’”
Conrail allegedly wanted to remove a connection to its tracks, which would mean that other tracks in Vandalia would not connect to the mainline. An agreement was reached requiring Conrail to ensure there was still a connection to the tracks. The ICC found that the existing crossing signals were adequate. Further, Conrail was tasked with maintaining the crossing and the signals.
“The City cannot be held liable simply because this track goes through Vandalia, which is what the plaintiffs want this court to find,” Pierce wrote.
The Fifth District reached its decision dismissing claims against Vandalia in its municipal capacity, finding that it is immune from liability. The appellate court also found that Vandalia’s motion to dismiss was inappropriately denied.
Justice John Barberis delivered the Rule 23 decision on March 13 with justices James “Randy” Moore and Milton Wharton concurring.
The complaint was originally filed in Madison County Circuit Court before it was transferred to Fayette County. After it was filed in Fayette County, Wisnasky added the Vandalia Lions Club as a defendant for its role in organizing the parade.
According to the complaint, Crystal Anna was driving with her children, Alyssa Sewell, Dr.W., A.W., and Dy.W., on Oct. 30, 2014. They were traveling to the Vandalia Lions Club Halloween Parade. They were following a line of vehicles on Sixth Street when her vehicle was allegedly funneled across an at-grade railroad crossing less than one block from the parade. Anna’s vehicle was stopped on the track due to traffic when the lights and gates activated behind and in front of her, trapping her on the railroad crossing.
Anna allegedly drove forward onto the track in an attempt to get out of the way when her vehicle was struck by the CSX freight train. As a result all occupants in the vehicle were killed except for Dy.W, who was ejected from the vehicle and seriously injured.
Vandalia was included as a defendant, alleging it was involved in planning the parade and that it was acting as a railroad.
Wisnasky’s claims against CSX were settled for an undisclosed amount. The Lions Club was dismissed with prejudice on Feb. 28 after the court found that “no relationship exists between the parties so as to require a legal litigation upon the Lions Club for the benefit of the plaintiff.”
Vandalia’s motion to dismiss had been in the Feb. 28 order denied because “the plaintiffs’ complaint does allege that the city committed some affirmative act such as directing plaintiff to an unsafe area to watch the parade.”
The estate of Crystal Anna also filed a lawsuit in regards to the fatal collision. That case is still pending.