Ex Parte Johnson

Bertha Johnson, as administratrix of the estate of Larry Johnson, Jr., filed a wrongful death action seeking damages against CSX Transportation, Inc. (CSX), and Joel A. Barnett, the operator and the engineer of a train that struck a motor vehicle in which Larry Johnson, Jr., was traveling. Larry Johnson, Jr., was killed in the collision; the collision occurred on October 29, 1992, in Calera, Shelby County, Alabama. Mrs. Johnson filed her action in Jefferson County; she petitions this Court for a writ of mandamus directing the Honorable Claude Hughes, judge of the Circuit Court of Jefferson…