Donato v. United Grain Corp.

The defendant Port of Tacoma appeals from a summary judgment order denying its motion for dismissal and granting the plaintiff's motion to hold the defendant Port a common carrier by railroad. On appeal the sole issue is whether or not the Port of Tacoma was a common carrier by railroad within the meaning of the Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA) when the cause of action accrued. We affirm the summary judgment order.

For purposes of this appeal the operative facts which gave rise to this lawsuit may be summarized as follows. Vincenzo Donato was struck and killed by a railroad car on June…