Robert M. Nordgren v. Burlington Northern Railroad Company, a Delaware Corporation

HANSEN, Circuit Judge.

This is an interlocutory appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b) from an order denying the Burlington Northern Railroad Company’s (BN) motion to aménd its answer to assert a state-law counterclaim for property damages. The question before us is whether the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA), 45 U.S.C. §§ 51-60, precludes BN from asserting a counterclaim for property damages in responding to an employee’s personal injury suit filed pursuant to FELA. We find no federal preemption and, accordingly, reverse and remand for further proceedings.

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