Richard Allen v. Semi Trucking, LLC, et al.

District Court, E.D. Missouri·Decided July 28, 2026·No. 4:23-cv-00639·Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI EASTERN DIVISION

RICHARD ALLEN, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) vs. ) Case No. 4:23-cv-00639-MTS ) SEMI TRUCKING, LLC, et al., ) ) Defendants. )

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER This matter is before the Court on Defendants Semi Trucking, LLC and German Perez Travieso’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment. Doc. [120]; see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). Defendants seek judgment in their favor on Plaintiff Richard Allen’s demand for punitive damages and on his negligence and negligence per se claims against Defendant Semi Trucking, LLC. After review and consideration of the parties’ filings, the Court will grant the Motion as described herein. I. Legal Standard Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 requires federal district courts to grant a party’s motion for summary judgment if the party “shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). As the Supreme Court has explained, the main purpose of the summary judgment procedure “is to isolate and dispose of factually unsupported claims or defenses,” with due regard being given to the rights of those opposing a claim or defense to demonstrate in the manner provided by Rule 56, prior to trial, that a claim or defense has no factual basis. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323–24 (1986); accord Bedford v. Doe, 880 F.3d 993, 996 (8th Cir. 2018). After all, if a nonmoving party

cannot assemble sufficient evidence to make out its claim, there is no genuine issue of material fact for a jury to resolve. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249 (1986); Celotex, 477 U.S. at 331 (Brennan, J., dissenting); see also Charles E. Clark, The Summary Judgment, 36 Minn. L. Rev. 567, 578 (1952) (explaining that a trial should not be “forced upon a litigant by one with no case at all”). On a motion for summary judgment, the movant bears the initial responsibility of

informing the district court of the basis for its motion and must identify the portions of the record that it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine dispute of material fact. Torgerson v. City of Rochester, 643 F.3d 1031, 1042 (8th Cir. 2011) (en banc); Bedford, 880 F.3d at 996. Since the burden of persuasion at trial in this case would be on Plaintiff—the nonmoving party here—Defendants may satisfy Rule 56’s burden of

production in one of two ways. Defendants may either produce evidence negating an essential element of Plaintiff’s case, or they may show that Plaintiff does not have enough evidence of an essential element of his claims to carry his ultimate burden of persuasion at trial. Bedford, 880 F.3d at 996. Put differently, if Plaintiff must prove X to prevail, then Defendants may either present evidence demonstrating that X cannot be

established or point to the record showing that Plaintiff lacks evidence from which a reasonable jury could find X. Id.; see also Celotex, 477 U.S. at 325 (making clear that “the burden on the moving party may be discharged by ‘showing’—that is, pointing out to the district court—that there is an absence of evidence to support the nonmoving party’s case”).1

The “initial burden on the movant is ‘far from stringent’ and ‘regularly discharged with ease.’” Bedford, 880 F.3d at 996 (quoting St. Jude Med., Inc. v. Lifecare Int’l, Inc., 250 F.3d 587, 596 (8th Cir. 2001)). Once Defendants have satisfied it, Plaintiff “must respond by submitting evidentiary materials” of specific facts showing the existence of a genuine issue for trial. Id. (quoting Torgerson, 643 F.3d at 1042). Plaintiff’s response must do more than raise some abstract doubt about the material facts, id., and he cannot

rest on mere denials or allegations, Gibson v. American Greetings Corp., 670 F.3d 844, 853 (8th Cir. 2012). Plaintiff must instead present enough evidence that a jury could reasonably find in his favor. Id.; Bedford, 880 F.3d at 996. Accordingly, the Court must determine whether Defendants have satisfied their initial burden and, if so, whether Plaintiff sufficiently responded. In doing so, the Court

will view the evidence and draw reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to Plaintiff, since he is the nonmoving party here. Ryno v. City of Waynesville, 58 F.4th 995, 1004 (8th Cir. 2023) (“Summary judgment is proper if, after viewing the evidence and drawing all reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the nonmovant, no genuine issue of material fact exists and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of

law.”); Scott v. Harris, 550 U.S. 372, 378 (2007) (explaining that when the parties’

1 A movant cannot discharge its summary judgment burden merely by asserting that the nonmoving party lacks evidence; rather, the movant must identify materials in the record demonstrating that the nonmoving party cannot establish an essential element of its claim. See Handeen v. Lemaire, 112 F.3d 1339, 1346–47 (8th Cir. 1997); Celotex, 477 U.S. at 328 (White, J., concurring). version of events differ, “courts are required to view the facts and draw reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the party opposing the summary judgment

motion” (internal quotations and alterations omitted)). II. Background Defendant Semi Trucking, LLC (“Semi Trucking”) was a motor carrier that employed Defendant German Perez Travieso as a driver. See 49 C.F.R. § 390.5. As a motor carrier, Semi Trucking was required to comply with applicable regulations promulgated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, a federal agency within

the Department of Transportation. On August 31, 2021, while working in the course and scope of his employment with Semi Trucking, Defendant Travieso was driving a 2014 Volvo VNL tractor-trailer northbound on U.S. Highway 61 in Missouri. While in Lincoln County, Defendant Travieso experienced an “emergency” that required him to pull over to the right-hand shoulder of the divided four-lane highway, where he parked

his tractor-trailer for about eight to ten minutes.2 While parked, Defendant Travieso did not place bidirectional reflective triangles outside the tractor-trailer. See 49 C.F.R. § 392.22(b).

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Richard Allen v. Semi Trucking, LLC, et al., (E.D. Mo. 2026).

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