Supreme Court Report

Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →

Michael Pratt, Administrator of the Estate of Eric J. Pratt, Deceased v. National Railroad Passenger Corporation, dba Amtrak, et al.

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, No. 16-2538 · judgment September 7, 2017


Certiorari denied · January 16, 2018
Pre-decision estimate: 2% cert probability

Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.

Questions presented

  1. Did the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, relying on the United States Supreme Court decision in Scott v. Harris, 550 U.S. 372 (2007), err in finding that there was insufficient evidence to raise a genuine issue of material fact based on failure to provide an adequate horn warning prior to the train striking and killing Mr. Pratt.

  2. Did the Second Circuit Court of Appeals err in finding that the United States Supreme Court decision in Scott v. Harris, holds that video evidence is dispositive of factual issues even where there is a contention that what it depicts differs from what actually happened based on the testimony of all eyewitnesses.

  3. Did the Second Circuit Court of Appeals err in finding that the existence of video evidence negates the requirement in a summary judgment proceeding that the facts and inferences to be drawn from the underlying facts contained in the materials presented must be viewed in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion. Fed. Rule Civ. Pro. 56(c).

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Robert Christopher Sullivan
Sullivan Law, LLC

For respondent
Robert Benjamin Hemley
Gravel & Shea PC

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Proceedings

  1. Jan 16 2018
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Dec 27 2017
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/12/2018.
  3. Dec 14 2017
    Waiver of right of respondent National Railroad Passenger Corporation d/b/a Amtrak, et al. to respond filed.
  4. Dec 06 2017
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due January 8, 2018)