(Download) "Hickson Corp. v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co." by Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals * eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Hickson Corp. v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co.
- Author : Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
- Release Date : January 03, 2001
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 68 KB
Description
This is a diversity case involving multiple parties that arose after an arsenic spill from a railroad tank car in a Chattanooga rail yard. After a lengthy trial, the jury found Hickson Corporation, the owner of the arsenic being transported, liable to Norfolk Southern Railway Company, the rail carrier transporting the arsenic when it leaked, and awarded damages to Norfolk Southern. This appeal focuses primarily on a damages dispute between Hickson and Norfolk Southern. Hickson claims that the district courts judgment awarding $6,725,000 in contract damages and an additional $1,120,000 in negligence damages to Norfolk Southern is in error because Norfolk Southern did not prove any contract damages separate from negligence damages. In essence, Hickson contends that the damages arise from the same injury, and Norfolk Southern received an impermissible double recovery. Specifically, Hickson contends that the wording of the verdict form and the subsequent interpretation of the jurys answers to the special interrogatories on that verdict form by the district court caused Norfolk Southern to be awarded duplicative damages. We see this, at bottom, as an election of remedies problem, caused, or at least exacerbated by, a confusing verdict form. Although Norfolk Southern was entitled to put forth alternative theories of liability, it is clear that there was only one injury to Norfolk Southern arising from the leak. Allowing Norfolk Southern to recover both contract and negligence damages for the same injury gave Norfolk Southern an impermissible double recovery. After the jury found Hickson liable to Norfolk Southern under both the contract and negligence theories, the district court should have required Norfolk Southern to elect between contract and negligence damages. We therefore remand the case for a retrial on damages only.