Ganus v. Alabama And Gulf Coast Railway LLC

S.D. Alabama

Ganus v. Alabama And Gulf Coast Railway LLC

District Court, S.D. Alabama·Decided March 6, 2024·No. 1:23-cv-00103·Unknown

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA SOUTHERN DIVISION

MICHELLE L. GANUS, as personal ) representative of the Estate of Michael ) Fisher Ganus, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) vs. ) CIV. ACT. NO. 1:23-cv-103-TFM-MU ) ALABAMA AND GULF COAST ) RAILWAY, LLC, ) ) Defendant. )

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

On February 6, 2024, the Magistrate Judge issued a Report and Recommendation which recommends the Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 4, filed 3/31/23) be denied. See Doc. 29. Defendant timely filed objections (Doc. 30) and Plaintiff timely filed a response to the objections (Doc. 31). The Report and Recommendation and underlying motions are ripe for review. The Court looks to the original motion to dismiss and objections. The Court notes that most cases relied upon by the Defendant are ones where the Court was reviewing a motion for summary judgment or after a trial on the merits. While there are a few cases that rely upon the motion to dismiss standard, some also offered Plaintiff the opportunity to amend in lieu of dismissal. Regardless, the Court has reviewed the complaint in this case and agrees with the Magistrate Judge in the findings that Plaintiff has sufficiently pled under the Rule 8 standard as contemplated and discussed in by Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662 (2009) and Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544 (2007). There is no heightened pleading standard required in a Federal Employers’ Liability Act (“FELA”) case. Therefore, Defendant’s objections are OVERRULED. Nothing about this holding precludes Defendant from raising the issues at the summary judgment stage after a more robust record has been developed. Therefore, after due and proper consideration of the issues raised, and a de novo determination of those portions of the recommendation to which objection is made, the Report and Recommendation of the Magistrate Judge (Doc. 38) is ADOPTED as the opinion of this Court. Accordingly, it is ORDERED that the Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 4) is DENIED.

DONE and ORDERED this 6th day of March, 2024. /s/Terry F. Moorer TERRY F. MOORER UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA SOUTHERN DIVISION

MICHELLE L. GANUS, as personal ) representative of the Estate of Michael ) Fisher Ganus, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) vs. ) CIV. ACT. NO. 1:23-cv-103-TFM-MU ) ALABAMA AND GULF COAST ) RAILWAY, LLC, ) ) Defendant. )

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

On February 6, 2024, the Magistrate Judge issued a Report and Recommendation which recommends the Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 4, filed 3/31/23) be denied. See Doc. 29. Defendant timely filed objections (Doc. 30) and Plaintiff timely filed a response to the objections (Doc. 31). The Report and Recommendation and underlying motions are ripe for review. The Court looks to the original motion to dismiss and objections. The Court notes that most cases relied upon by the Defendant are ones where the Court was reviewing a motion for summary judgment or after a trial on the merits. While there are a few cases that rely upon the motion to dismiss standard, some also offered Plaintiff the opportunity to amend in lieu of dismissal. Regardless, the Court has reviewed the complaint in this case and agrees with the Magistrate Judge in the findings that Plaintiff has sufficiently pled under the Rule 8 standard as contemplated and discussed in by Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662 (2009) and Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544 (2007). There is no heightened pleading standard required in a Federal Employers’ Liability Act (“FELA”) case. Therefore, Defendant’s objections are OVERRULED. Nothing about this holding precludes Defendant from raising the issues at the summary judgment stage after a more robust record has been developed. Therefore, after due and proper consideration of the issues raised, and a de novo determination of those portions of the recommendation to which objection is made, the Report and Recommendation of the Magistrate Judge (Doc. 38) is ADOPTED as the opinion of this Court. Accordingly, it is ORDERED that the Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 4) is DENIED.

DONE and ORDERED this 6th day of March, 2024. /s/Terry F. Moorer TERRY F. MOORER UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Ganus v. Alabama And Gulf Coast Railway LLC, (S.D. Ala. 2024).

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