Nunez v. BNSF Railway Co.

936 F. Supp. 2d 969, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 189498, 2012 WL 7848838
CourtDistrict Court, C.D. Illinois
DecidedAugust 9, 2012
DocketCase No. 09-4037
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 936 F. Supp. 2d 969 (Nunez v. BNSF Railway Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, C.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Nunez v. BNSF Railway Co., 936 F. Supp. 2d 969, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 189498, 2012 WL 7848838 (C.D. Ill. 2012).

Opinion

ORDER and OPINION

JOHN A.. GORMAN, United States Magistrate Judge.

The parties have consented to have this case heard to judgment by a United States Magistrate Judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c), and the District Judge has referred the case to me. Now before the Court are: the Defendant’s motion for summary judgment (# 57) and the Defendant’s motion to strike Plaintiffs response (# 69).

Defendant’s Motion to Strike that response was carefully considered. One of the considerations was that the motion for summary judgment and its response and reply were filed before the Court’s Daubert Order was entered. That means that a significant amount of Plaintiffs effort in her Response to the summary judgment motion is based on the testimony of her experts. The Court weighed whether to require Plaintiff to file an amended response that took into account the Court’s Daubert ruling, but in the interests of efficiency, the Court determined the requisite adjustments could be made without requiring the Plaintiff to replead.

The particular deficiencies in the Response pointed out by Defendant were also considered, and it is true that Plaintiffs citations to that record were, in many instances, less specific than is required by Rule. The Court’s familiarity with the case enabled it to overlook these deficiencies. In the interests of efficiency, the motion to strike is DENIED.

JURISDICTION AND VENUE

Jurisdiction is founded on the diversity of the parties’ citizenship, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)(1) and (c)(1). Plaintiff, is the Administrator of the Estate of Cynthia Madden, deceased. Ms. Madden was a citizen of the. State of Illinois. Defendant BNSF Railway Company (“BNSF”) is a corporation incorporated under the laws of Delaware with its principal place of business in Texas.

The Estate is being or was administered in Rock Island County, Illinois. Defendant conducts business in Henry and Rock Island Counties, Illinois, and the claims involved in this litigation arose in Henry County, Illinois. Venue exists in this District under 28 U.S.C. § 1391(a). Pursuant to Local Rule CDIL 40.1(c), the case is assigned to the Rock Island Division of this District.

SUMMARY JUDGMENT GENERALLY

The purpose of summary judgment is to “pierce the pleadings and to assess the proof in order to see whether there is a genuine need for trial.” Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co., Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). Under Rule 56(c) of the Federal . Rules of Civil Procedure, summary judgment should be entered if and only if there is no genuine issue as to any material fact, and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See Jay v. Intermet Wagner Inc., 233 F.3d 1014, 1016 (7th Cir.2000); Cox v. Acme Health Serv., 55 F.3d 1304, 1308 (7th Cir.1995).

In ruling on a summary judgment motion, the court may not weigh the evidence [972]*972or resolve issues of fact; disputed facts must be left for resolution at trial. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). The court’s role in deciding the motion is not to sift through the evidence, pondering the nuances and inconsistencies, and decide whom to believe. Waldridge v. American Hoechst Corp., 24 F.3d 918, 922 (7th Cir.994). The court has one task and one task only: to decide, based on the evidence of record, whether there is any genuine dispute of material fact that requires a trial.

The court is to examine all admissible facts, viewing the entirety of the record and accepting all facts and drawing all reasonable inferences in favor of the nonmovant, Erdman v. City of Ft. Atkinson, 84 F.3d 960, 961 (7th Cir.1996); Vukadinovich v. Bd. of Sch. Trustees, 978 F.2d 403, 408 (7th Cir.1992), cert. denied, 510 U.S. 844, 114 S.Ct.133, 126 L.Ed.2d 97 (1993); Lohorn v. Michal, 913 F.2d 327, 331 (7th Cir.1990); DeValk Lincoln Mercury, Inc. v. Ford Motor Co., 811 F.2d 326, 329 (7th Cir.1987); Bartman v. Allis-Chalmers Corp., 799 F.2d 311, 312 (7th Cir.1986), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 1092, 107 S.Ct. 1304, 94 L.Ed.2d 160 (1987), and construing any reasonable doubts against the moving party. Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970); Trotter v. Anderson, 417 F.2d 1191 (7th Cir.1969); Haefling v. United Parcel Serv., Inc., 169 F.3d 494, 497 (7th Cir.1999).

The existence of “some alleged factual dispute between the parties,” or “some metaphysical doubt,” however, does not create a genuine issue of fact. Piscione v. Ernst & Young, L.L.P., 171 F.3d 527, 532 (7th Cir.1999). In other words, not just any dispute will suffice to defeat summary judgment. In order to defeat summary judgment, the non-movant must produce “significantly probative” evidence, Celotex, 477 U.S. at 327, 106 S.Ct. 2548, showing that there is a genuine dispute about a material fact. A material fact is one that is essential to a party’s case. “Inferences that are supported by only speculation or conjecture will not defeat a summary judgment motion.” McDonald v. Village of Winnetka, 371 F.3d 992, 1001 (7th Cir.2004). A scintilla of evidence in support of the non-moving party’s position is not sufficient to oppose successfully a summary judgment motion; “there must be evidence on which the jury could reasonably find for the [non-movant].” Anderson, 477 U.S. at 250, 106 S.Ct. 2505. The. proper inquiry is whether a rational trier of fact could reasonably-find for the party opposing the motion with respect to the particular issue. See, e.g., Jordan v. Summers,

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Bluebook (online)
936 F. Supp. 2d 969, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 189498, 2012 WL 7848838, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/nunez-v-bnsf-railway-co-ilcd-2012.