EAST ST. LOUIS - U.S. District Judge David Dugan restored Madison County jurisdiction in a suit involving a fatal Greyhound bus crash at a rest area on Interstate 70 near Highland.
Dugan granted a remand motion filed by Sangamon County resident Terry Feero, widow of bus passenger Bradley Donovan, on Nov. 9.
He found Branum Trucking of Amarillo, Texas, improperly removed the suit to district court.
The Greyhound struck three tractor trailers parked on the ramp from westbound I-70 to the rest area around 2 a.m. on July 12.
Donovan and two other passengers died.
State police reported all three drivers were in their sleeper berths.
On July 31, Ryan Meikamp and Todd Strong of Peoria filed suit for Feero against Greyhound, bus driver Raymond Paradise, and the owners and drivers of the trucks.
They claimed the truck drivers created a hazard by parking on the ramp.
Branum Trucking counsel Ted Perryman of St. Louis County removed the complaint to district court on Aug. 4.
He claimed Feero sued truck dealer ILoca of suburban Chicago solely for the purpose of creating state court jurisdiction.
He claimed there was no agency relationship between ILoca and defendant MZ Cargo of Columbus, Ohio, which leased one of the trailers from ILoca.
He added that Feero didn’t allege any defect in the truck.
Perryman also answered the complaint, arguing among other points that drivers parked on the ramp because Illinois hasn’t provided enough parking spaces at rest areas.
Strong moved to remand in August and filed a brief in September claiming ILoca’s website contains the motto, “Your partner for the long haul.”
“What ILoca means by identifying themselves as a partner is unclear at this early stage of the investigation,” he wrote.
He claimed partnership could plausibly establish ILoca’s vicarious liability.
He also claimed Branum’s argument that there was no alleged defect was premature.
“Again, the investigation remains in its early stages,” he wrote.
Strong attached a letter he sent to ILoca, requesting preservation of the trailer so Feero could inspect it for defects that could cause it to be parked in the Greyhound’s path.
He claimed ILoca’s trailer appeared to be the point of first impact.
He added that its position and visibility were potentially major contributing causes of the collision.
Dugan resolved the dispute by finding a reasonable possibility that Feero could prove an agency relationship between ILoca and MZ Cargo.
As of Nov. 20, Feero hadn’t served the complaint on Greyhound or Paradise.