Southern Pacific Transportation Co. v. United States

OPINION

MacBRIDE, Chief Judge.

This opinion addresses the question of whether the Southern Pacific Transportation Company, plaintiff herein, as part of its case in chief against the defendant, United States, must carry the burden of proving that it was free of any contributory negligence. The United States argues that this result is mandated by the application of the so-called Carmack Amendment, 49 U.S.C. § 20(11), with its attendant burdens of proof.

Briefly, the factual and procedural setting of this case is as follows. On April 28, 1973, eighteen bomb-laden boxcars exploded in the Antelope…