Arthur Walker v. Kansas City Southern Railway Company

JOHN R. BROWN, Circuit Judge:

Kansas City Southern Railway Company (KCS) appeals from a jury verdict awarding Arthur Walker damages as a result of a 1978 accident at a train crossing in Port Arthur, Texas. KCS argues that the magistrate’s instructions to the jury misstated Texas law and that he erred in failing to grant judgment notwithstanding the verdict. We reverse.

Car Meets Railway

On April 28, 1978, at approximately 11:00 p. m., Arthur Walker, a resident of Port Arthur, Texas, drove his car into the side of a slow-moving or stopped KCS freight train at a point on Thomas Boulevard where…