Rhodes v. Illinois Central Gulf Railroad

Following a jury trial, defendant, Illinois Central Gulf Railroad (ICG), was found liable for the death of Carl Rhodes. The jury awarded plaintiff, Cora Lee Rhodes, special administrator of the estate of Carl Rhodes, $1,568 million in damages. On appeal, defendant asserts that the trial court erred in determining as a matter of law that it owed Rhodes a duty of ordinary care. We affirm the circuit court’s judgment for the reasons that follow.

The issue in this case is whether the defendant railroad owed plaintiff a duty to exercise ordinary care for his safety after the railroad’s agents…