Rice v. Union Pacific Railroad Co. (E.D. Ark.) (June 2012), aff’d (8th Cir. 2013)

In Rice v. Union Pacific Railroad Co., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed a trial verdict in favor of Gunderson Rail Services, our client. Union Pacific had filed an indemnity action against Gunderson seeking to shift responsibility for the settlement and defense of an incident arising out of a railroad accident. The underlying accident involved a back injury to a Union Pacific employee who slipped in the mud in Gunderson’s yard. Ultimately, the case settled for $1.15M. Union Pacific and Gunderson each paid one half of the settlement and proceeded to trial on Union Pacific’s claim that it was entitled to complete indemnity, making Gunderson pay the entire settlement. After trial, the court held that both Union Pacific and Gunderson shared equally in responsibility for the costs of defense and settlement. Union Pacific appealed, claiming that the trial court erred in ignoring evidence that supported specific sections of the indemnity agreement that would shift all liability to Gunderson. The appellate court disagreed, holding that Union Pacific had failed to prove that those sections applied and affirming the verdict in the trial court. Joe P. Pozen co-chaired the trial and briefed the appeal.