Nunez v. BNSF Railway Co.

Dist. Ct. did not err in granting defendant-railroad’s motion for summary judgment in action alleging that railroad crossing gave insufficient warning of approaching train that killed plaintiff’s decedent, after decedent’s car had stalled on tracks. Testimony by decedent’s children that reflected their incompetent attempts as lay witnesses to reconstruct timing of train horn to lowering of crossing gate at accident site was insufficient to create triable issue regarding defendant’s negligence, and plaintiff’s experts could not vouch for accuracy of children’s test results to generate any inference of negligence on part of defendant or to support any claim that event recorder at crossing site was inaccurate. Moreover, event recorder at crossing site indicated that warning lights, bells and descending gates occurred at least 30 seconds prior to train entering subject crossing.