On May 21, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court (acting at the request of all parties) dismissed a proceeding raising an important issue in tort suits filed by injured railroad employees. The parties agreed that, before seeking final resolution in the High Court, they will ask the Montana Supreme Court to hear their dispute. WLF filed an amicus curiae brief in April, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to invalidate Montana rules that unfairly hamstring railroads in their efforts to defend personal-injury suits. WLF argued that FELA (the federal law governing railroad-worker injury claims) is an exclusive remedy and preempts the bad-faith tort system that Montana courts have superimposed on the claims process established by Congress. WLF argued that when Congress adopted FELA it intended to preempt the entire field of railroad injury claims and thus that the state-law claims routinely recognized by Montana courts are barred by the U.S. Constitution. WLF will refile its brief in the Montana Supreme Court.
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