Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
BNSF Railway Company, et al. v. Montana Eighth Judicial District Court, Cascade County, et al.
Paid petition · Supreme Court of Montana, No. OP 18-0693 · judgment March 12, 2019
Before the decision, about 1.9× the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a petition filed soon after the judgment below, a business petitioner, and counsel who has filed here before.
Question presented
The Federal Employers Liability Act (“FELA”), 45 U.S.C. § 51, establishes a “comprehensive” and “exclusive” federal framework governing railroads’ liability for their employees’ on-the-job injuries. N.Y. Cent. R.R. Co. v. Winfield, 244 U.S. 147, 151 (1917). In Montana, however, a self-insured employer who is sued under FELA owes additional state-law duties to the plaintiff, beyond those established by FELA, that exist in no other jurisdiction. If the employer’s FELA liability is reasonably clear, Montana law requires that it immediately advance the plaintiff’s wages and medical expenses during the pendency of the suit, and that it enter into a “prompt, fair, and equitable settlement.” If the employer fails to satisfy these state-law duties because, for example, it chooses to contest the merits of the plaintiff’s FELA claim, the employer is subject to a follow-on bad-faith suit under Montana law that exposes the employer to additional liability not authorized by FELA. The question presented is: Whether FELA preempts bad-faith claims under Montana law that seek to impose state-law liability based on the litigation conduct of a self-insured employer sued under FELA.
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Andrew S. Tulumello
Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
For respondent
Deepak Gupta
Gupta Wessler LLP
Proceedings
- May 21 2019Petition Dismissed - Rule 46.
- May 17 2019Stipulation to dismiss the petition for a writ of certiorari pursuant to Rule 46 filed.
- Apr 30 2019Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including June 24, 2019, for all respondents.
- Apr 25 2019Brief amicus curiae of Association of American Railroads filed.
- Apr 25 2019Motion for leave to file amicus brief filed by Washington Legal Foundation.
- Apr 25 2019Motion to extend the time to file a response from May 24, 2019 to June 23, 2019, submitted to The Clerk.
- Apr 23 2019Blanket Consent filed by Respondent, Montana Eighth Judicial District Court, Cascade County, et al.
- Apr 08 2019Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including May 24, 2019.
- Apr 03 2019Application (18A1006) for a stay, submitted to Justice Kagan.
- Apr 03 2019Letter from applicants received.
- Apr 03 2019Application (18A1006) denied by Justice Kagan.
- Apr 02 2019Motion to extend the time to file a response from April 25, 2019 to May 24, 2019, submitted to The Clerk.
- Mar 29 2019Blanket Consent filed by Petitioners, BNSF Railway Company, et al.
- Mar 22 2019Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due April 25, 2019)