Cobb v. Metro-North Railroad

41 F. Supp. 3d 145, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 120748, 2014 WL 4258259
CourtDistrict Court, D. Connecticut
DecidedAugust 29, 2014
DocketCivil No. 3:12-cv-00661(AWT)
StatusPublished

This text of 41 F. Supp. 3d 145 (Cobb v. Metro-North Railroad) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Connecticut primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cobb v. Metro-North Railroad, 41 F. Supp. 3d 145, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 120748, 2014 WL 4258259 (D. Conn. 2014).

Opinion

RULING ON CROSS MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

ALVIN W. THOMPSON, District Judge.

Plaintiff Alphus Cobb brings this action against defendant Metro-North Railroad Company (“Metro-North”) pursuant to the Federal Employers Liability Act (“FELA”), 45 U.S.C. § 51 et seq. In his First Cause of Action, Cobb alleges that he was injured as a result of Metro-North’s negligence. In his Second Cause of Action, Cobb alleges that Metro-North violated certain Federal Railroad Administration (“FRA”) regulations and therefore is strictly liable for his injuries. Metro-North has filed a motion for summary judgment as to both causes of action. Cobb has filed a cross motion for summary [147]*147judgment as to the Second Cause of Action. For the reasons set forth below, Cobb’s cross motion for summary judgment is being denied, and Metro-North’s motion for summary judgment is being denied.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

A. Cobb’s Employment and the Incident

Cobb has been employed with Metro-North and its predecessor railroads as a Machinist since 1974. During his shift, Cobb was responsible for conducting daily mechanical inspections of multiple unit (“MU”) cars and Genesis Locomotives. Cobb’s regular shift was from midnight to 8:00 a.m., Monday through Friday, in the Bridgeport Yard.

On May 16, 2009, Cobb was working an overtime shift in the New Haven Yard. As during his regular shift, Cobb’s responsibilities during the overtime shift included conducting on-board inspections of train cars in the New Haven Yard. Cobb ascended the exterior steps1 of Genesis Locomotive No. 226, entered the locomotive cab and performed his inspection. After completing the inspection, Cobb began climbing down the same steps. He faced the cab door and stepped down one foot at a time, with both hands on the vertical handholds on either side of the ladder. When Cobb had both feet on the bottom step, he began to lower his left foot to the ground. Cobb “claims to have felt a pain starting on the right side of his neck and right shoulder, down the center of his back” before his left foot touched the ground. (Local Rule 56(a)(1) Stmt. ¶ 8). Cobb did not slip on the step as he was lowering his foot.

Cobb climbed from ground level into rail cars every day he worked in order to conduct on-board inspections. Specifically, he had conducted on-board inspections of Genesis Locomotives at least once or twice per week since Metro-North acquired them in 1995. Prior to the incident on May 16, 2009, Cobb had never been involved in any incident involving climbing on or off a Genesis Locomotive, and he had never complained to any supervisor at Metro-North about the height of the steps or handholds on the Genesis Locomotive.

B. Genesis Locomotives

In 1994, Metro-North contracted with General Electric (“GE”) to obtain five Genesis Locomotives. The Genesis Locomotive is a road power locomotive. At the time Metro-North initially ordered the Genesis Locomotives, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (“Amtrak”) was already using the same locomotives, including in Metro-North territory. After receiving its first five Genesis Locomotives in 1995, Metro-North obtained an additional 26 Genesis Locomotives between 1998 and 2001. The locomotive involved in Cobb’s incident was received by Metro-North in 2001.

In late 1997, Metro-North learned that an Amtrak conductor had sustained an injury while riding on a Genesis Locomotive. The conductor had been standing on the lowest step, and when the locomotive traveled around a curve, the conductor’s foot was pinched by the traction link, which was located just behind the steps. After learning of the Amtrak incident, Metro-North expressed concern to GE about the clearance between the steps and [148]*148the traction link. GE agreed to review the concerns with its Safety Specialist “to confirm FRA compliance.” (Id. at ¶ 28). After reviewing the concerns and conducting an investigation, GE informed Metro-North in October 1997 that the steps were FRA compliant. GE also told Metro-North that Amtrak would attempt to prevent similar injuries by placing a decal near the steps that read: “KEEP OFF LADDER WHEN LOCOMOTIVE IS IN MOTION.” (Id. at ¶ 29).

In April 1998, Metro-North requested that GE raise the lowest step of the Genesis Locomotive steps by four inches and that GE adjust the other steps accordingly. Because of third rail clearance issues,, lowering the steps instead of raising them was not an option. When the height of the steps was raised, the vertical handholds were not modified and, instead, were left at their original height. Prior to the modification, the lowest step was measured at 17.78 inches above the rail; after the modification, the lowest step measures at approximately 21.75 inches above the top of the rail.

II. LEGAL STANDARD

A motion for summary judgment may not be granted unless the court determines that there is no genuine issue of material fact to be tried and that the facts as to which there is no such issue warrant judgment for the moving party as a matter of law. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986); Gallo v. Prudential Residential Servs., 22 F.3d 1219, 1223 (2d Cir.1994). Rule 56(a) “mandates the entry of summary judgment ... against a party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party’s case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial.” Celotex Corp., 477 U.S. at 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548.

When ruling on a motion for summary judgment, the court must respect the province of the jury. The court, therefore, may not try issues of fact. See, e.g., Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Donahue v. Windsor Locks Bd. of Fire Comm’rs, 834 F.2d 54, 58 (2d Cir.1987); Heyman v. Commerce & Indus. Ins. Co., 524 F.2d 1317, 1319-20 (2d Cir.1975). It is well-established that “Credibility determinations, the weighing of the evidence, and the drawing of legitimate inferences from the facts are jury functions, not those of the judge.” Anderson, 477 U.S. at 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505. Thus, the trial court’s task is “carefully limited to discerning whether there are any genuine issues of material fact to be tried, not to deciding them. Its duty, in short, is confined ... to issue-finding; it does not extend to issue-resolution.” Gallo, 22 F.3d at 1224.

Summary judgment is inappropriate only if the issue to be resolved is both genuine and related to a material fact. Therefore, the mere existence of some

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41 F. Supp. 3d 145, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 120748, 2014 WL 4258259, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cobb-v-metro-north-railroad-ctd-2014.