UP CLAIMS TRESPASS, NUISANCE A lawsuit stemming from coal service disruptions in 2005 took another step forward this week when Union Pacific Railroad charged that coal owned by an Arkansas utility was responsible for track damage that led to the delays. The Omaha, Nebraska, railroad, which ships tens of millions of tons of coal from southern Campbell County every year, added trespass and nuisance counts to a growing list of claims against Little Rock-based Entergy Arkansas. Entergy, which has been joined as a defendant in the suit by several other Arkansas and Texas plant affiliates, is suing the railroad for failing to fulfill a contract to ship 10 million tons of coal to two Arkansas power plants the utility owns. In documents filed this week in an Arkansas Circuit Court, the railroad said that by having coal dust fall from its rail cars leaving North Antelope Rochelle and other Campbell County mines, the utility was partly to blame for derailments and delays that sent a massive shock through rail system in 2005 and 2006. Squarely in the middle of the suit are a pair of May 2005 derailments that occurred on the joint line south of Gillette. BNSF Railway, which owns and maintains the 120-mile stretch of rail but allows Union Pacific to operate there, has flagged coal dust as the culprit for deteriorating bed conditions that led to the derailments. “By causing (and continuing to cause) coal dust to be deposited in the ballast along the Joint Line and Main Line rights of way through shipment of their coal, Defendants have entered land that is owned by and the possession of UP without its consent,” the railroad alleged. Entergy also “failed to remove any of the coal dust that they caused to be there and that contributed to the (derailments and track work),” the railroad added. The move was another step the railroad is taking in a lawsuit which is meant, in part, to avoid paying fees and making up deliveries the utility says it is owed after it failed to receive the proper coal shipments. The railroad, though, says that since the utility owns the coal being shipped in the cars, they are liable for the damage that led to tens of millions of dollars of maintenance and delays. “Coal dust really deprived the railroad, in this case UP, not only from revenue but a shared increase in maintenance costs to repair the railroad,” Mark Davis, a railroad spokesman said Friday. “What this lawsuit is really about is UP’s breach of its contract to Entergy Arkansas and its rate payers,” said O.H. Storey, vice president and deputy counsel for Entergy. - Peter Gartrell, The Gillette (WY) News-Record
Whose fault is it that those cars UP used did not properly retain their loads? Hmmmm.... Sounds to me like the railroad was negligent. :zip: Boxcab E50
I love watching major corporations act like 4-year old children...gotta love the American legal system!! John
I'd be curious to see how the "dust supressant treatment" plays into this. I'm not sure it is required by environmental laws but perhaps additional treatment is an option not taken by the power companies. Might be something like this: railroad salesman recommends (additional?) dust control treatment and power plant declines due to cost, figuring only the material loss into the equation and not the impact it will have on the railroad infrastructure or the environment othewise. Railroad is now saying "told you so". They might even have a point. And regardless, it still might be worth trying given the bad PR that power companies are enjoying right now.
What the flipping flying.......... I did NOT just read what I thought I read. And THIS is the same RR who was extorting money from model RR firms over trademark fees? Which RR was operating these trains? Which RR had these cars being pulled by their locomotives, operted by their crews, over their railroad? ANd how is it now, after oh, 160 years of moving coal by rail, coal dust is a problem? Did the rocket scientists at UP ever consider, perhaps, using dust screens on each car, much like what local rock haulers have over their loads to keep stray rocks from flying out & hitting a windshield? Probably not, since that involves something not seen in corporate America too often- common sense. This whole asinine legal move by Omahaha is reeking from a lack of common sense. So we know now Brenda Mainwaring is in the legal department. HAve the boys in Ft. Worth reverted to this silly-a$$ maneuver yet? Or Haverty & Co. in KCS? WHy didn't long-time coal-haulers like L&N, C&O, B&O, Clinchfield, and other long-gone fallen flags use this tactic? Geez o flipping Pete.............(insert long string of profanities here)
I wonder how many tons were left along tracks? Maybe the power company should file a massive loss claim against UP. That could add up.... Well, back to watching the kiddies spatting in their sand box. Ridiculous. Boxcab E50
Yes, some of these lawsuits really do just get ridiculous. I end up preparing documentation for lawsuits having to do with construction disputes sometimes, and things can get downright petty. When you are dealing with, say, a project completion delay where each month is costing an additional $50,000, you can kind of see why everyone descends into four-year-old style nitpickery. Still, I have seen people spend upwards of a quarter of a million dollars trying to sort out who is responsible for paying for half a million dollars in repairs, delays, interest, damage, etc. I sometimes wonder if UP is actually serious about running a railroad. Sometimes they seem like their own worst enemy.
Agreed. Unless it was some specific act that the power company did, caused to happen, or failed to do, I don't see how UP has a case. OTOH, don't other power companies have coal dust falling from their coal cars too? Are they also destroying track?
They didn't sue. By the by, this is all tied together with the attempt by the trucking industry to re-regulate the railroads and kill off their competition.
quick common sense... From the time the coal enters the cars to the time the coal leaves the cars, the coal is the responsibility of Union Pacific Railroad. Regardless of how much coal is put into the cars at the beginning of the trip, Union Pacific signed a contract that said they needed to Deliver 10 million tons of coal TO the power plants. Since Union Pacific [legally] assumed liabity for the coal and responsibility of the coal when they agreed to supply and move the cars, then it was their responsibility to protect their own property and prevent coal dust and coal from flying out of the cars and damaging roadbed and operating equipment. Their failure to do so is not the fault of the customers. Union Pacific further had the opportunity to charge the power companies for devices or tenchonology to reduce coal dust and other such nuances upon the time of drafting the contract to deliver ten million tons of coal. It is not the responsibility of the utility companies to tell Union Pacific how to move coal over the railroad. It is not the responsibility of the utility companies to remind Union Pacific that devices or tenchology is needed to reduce coal dust and particle loss over the route of the railroad. I'm sorry, I simply cannot see how the Union Pacific Legal team continues to survive - but I am willing to be they Hate their Job - their bosses keep telling them "What do you mean its our fault??? MAKE IT THEIR FAULT!!!" I think I also know why their legal team sticks to copyright litigation...
I like the trespassing claims.. The "defendant entered without permission"... It's friggin' coal dust!!!! Riiiiiiiiiiggggghhhhhtttttttttt....... Waitaminnit, "BNSF Railway, which owns and maintains the 120-mile stretch of rail but allows Union Pacific to operate there..." This is ludicrous. :thumbs_down: :thumbs_down:
It's seeing events such as this unfolding, which serves to keep alive a negative public perception... :sad: Boxcab E50
Hmmm...so BNSF owns the track?? Then BNSF could rightfully charge UP with littering as well as vandalism...and since they are competitors in the same business...ewww... If UP is smart, they do trhee things...one, they susspend the legal team...to somewhere like greenland where nobody can reach them, they offer to partially rebuild/upkeep the BNSF line they fouled up, and finally, they complete their contract withthe power companies and give the contract to someone else at the end of the term!! Becasue that's what they will have to do ANYWAY, in addition to any "Damages" they have to payout for lost time due to court litigation.
I think there was a recent derailment in CO involving beer cars. Under UP's twisted logic, BNSF could send Coors a bill for the ROW damage and clean-up. Simple case of greed: UP over-committed and under-delivered, all while neglecting leased ROW to maximize profit.
'Tis a strange world where the operating department of a railroad is dwarfed by its legal department...................
