Silva v. Union Pacific Railroad Co.

Opinion

WOOLARD, J. *

Teenager Lucas Silva was killed when he was hit by a train owned and operated by defendant Union Pacific Railroad Company (Union Pacific). His parents, plaintiffs Jose and Lupe Silva, filed a wrongful death action. Identified in the complaint as “significant factors in the death of [the] deceased” were “negligent operation” of the train and the failure “to maintain fences protecting the public from the train tracks [.sic].”

The heart of Union Pacific’s litigation strategy has been the preemption of state common law liability by virtue of the extensive federal regulation of…