Indiana High Court Rules Against Track Worker

An Indiana court has ruled that the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District is a “political subdivision” of the state.

The Indiana Supreme Court made the finding in upholding a lower court ruling involving a case in which a track worker filed a claim for damages after he injured his shoulder while driving spikes.

NICTD operates the South Shore Line commuter service between Chicago and South Bend, Indiana.

The injury to the track worker occurred in Illinois and the injured worker, Clarence Lowe, of Hobart, Indiana, has originally sued NICTD in an Illinois court.

After that court dismissed the claim because NICTD did not give consent to being sued in Illinois, Lowe filed a notice of tort claim in Indiana in October 2018.

The issue in the case decided by the Indiana high court was whether NICTD was a “political subdivision” of the state.

If so, then claims against it must be filed within 180 days of the date of the injury. However, Lowe filed his notice of tort claim 263 days after he had been injured.

In his petition to the Indiana Supreme Court, Lowe argued that federal law enabled him to sue NICTD within 270 days of an injury.

That contention was rejected by the Indiana Court of Appeals, which dismissed Lowe’s lawsuit against NICTD because it had not been filed within 180 days of his injury.

Indiana High Court to Review NICTD Status

The legal status of the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District will be reviewed by the Indiana Supreme Court.

The case stems from a lawsuit filed by a Hobart, Indiana, man who was injured while working on a South Shore Line track maintenance project.

NICTD oversee the South Shore, which operates commuter trains between Chicago and South Bend, Indiana.

A lower court had ruled that NICTD is an arm of the state for some matters but not for others. In the latter, NICTD is a political subdivision of the state just as is a city.

The lawsuit in question challenges NICTD holding both statuses at the same time.

The plaintiff had initially filed suit in Illinois then sought to file suit in Indiana but missed the filing deadline.

NICTD argues that the lower-court decision be upheld because its unique status has been recognized in Indiana and Illinois courts for decades.

Indiana High Court Favors NS in Grade Crossing Case

An Indiana court has ruled in favor of Norfolk Southern and against a county that sought to fine the railroad for blocking grade crossings of public streets.

The Indiana Supreme Court in a unanimous ruling  invalidated efforts under a state law to fine railroads that block crossings of public streets for more than 10 minutes.

In its ruling, the court said the state law, which had been adopted in 1972, was a direct regulation of railroads that is preempted by the federal Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act.

NS was cited by Allen County officials 23 times between December 2014 and December 2015.

Although judges in county courts had ruled in favor of the railroad in those cases, the state appealed to the Indiana high court.

The court said the state might be able to obtain recourse for blocked crossings through the Surface Transportation Board’s Rail Customer and Public Assistance Program.