Dist. Ct. did not err in dismissing plaintiff-railroad’s action under section 10903 of Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act, arising out of incident in which plaintiff claimed that defendants damaged its railroad tracks by performing drainage work near said tracks that caused said tracks to become buried and unusable. Section 10903, which regulates abandonment of rail lines, did not give plaintiff private right of action, even though plaintiff had argued that section 10903 allowed it to sue defendants because their actions forced it to abandon said tracks, since section 10903 created obligations, but not rights for, rail carriers. Ct. further noted that plaintiff had potential cause of action against defendants under state-law tort claims. Also, Dist. Ct. did not err in granting defendants’ motion for summary judgment with respect to plaintiff’s negligence per se claim, where Dist. Ct. treated plaintiff’s negligence per se claim as forfeited because it represented new argument that changed complaint’s factual theory by asserting that defendants injured plaintiff by dumping dirt on said tracks, while negligence claim in complaint was based on contention that defendants had removed dirt near tracks. (Dissent filed.)
Federal 7th Circuit Court
Civil Court
Railroads