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Grand T. W. R. Co. v. Consolidated Rail Corp.

Grand T. W. R. Co. v. Consolidated Rail Corp.

United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

June 4, 1984, Argued ; September 28, 1984, Decided

No. 83-1331

Opinion

 [*324]  MERRITT, Circuit Judge.

The sole issue on this appeal is whether we should exercise our discretion to review by declaratory judgment an order entered in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, adjudicating the merits of a claim for indemnification. Because we conclude the instant action is not an appropriate one for declaratory judgment, we vacate the District Court's order and dismiss the case.

Mr. Ronald S. Wozniak, an employee of Conrail, alleges that on October 30, 1977, while he was working as part of a Consolidated Rail Corporation crew engaged in the delivery of three rail cars to the Grand Trunk Western Railroad Company facility in Hamtramck, Michigan, he was struck by an object protruding from a Grand Trunk locomotive traveling on an adjacent set of tracks.  [**2]  On June 28, 1978, Mr. Wozniak filed a complaint in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, against Conrail and Grand Trunk. Mr. Wozniak's action against Conrail was based upon its alleged violation of the Federal Employer's Liability  [*325]  Act, 45 U.S.C. § 51, et seq.; his action against Grand Trunk was based upon its alleged common law negligence.

On February 9, 1979, Grand Trunk filed a counterclaim against Conrail for indemnification under a March 21, 1969, interchange agreement. On April 30, 1980, the Honorable Arthur Sullivan, Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, dismissed Grand Trunk's counterclaim because, "applying Michigan law to the Agreement in question, the Court finds that the Agreement contains highly malleable, ambiguous language which does not clearly set forth the intent of the parties to indemnify for the other's negligence." Grand Trunk has not appealed Judge Sullivan's decision regarding Grand Trunk's claim for indemnification in the Wozniak case which is still pending.

On August 19, 1981, Grand Trunk filed an action against Conrail in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan [**3]  seeking a declaratory judgment that the agreement in question requires that Conrail defend and indemnify Grand Trunk in the Wozniak case. The District Court granted Conrail's Motion for Summary Judgment on December 1, 1982, on the ground that Grand Trunk's indemnity claim was barred by res judicata or in the alternative by collateral estoppel as a result of Judge Sullivan's order which, the District Court found, had fully adjudicated the merits of the indemnity claim.

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746 F.2d 323 *; 1984 U.S. App. LEXIS 18144 **

GRAND TRUNK WESTERN RAILROAD COMPANY, a Michigan and Indiana corporation, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. CONSOLIDATED RAIL CORPORATION, a Pennsylvania corporation, Defendant-Appellee

Prior History:  [**1]   ON APPEAL from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

CORE TERMS

declaratory judgment, declaratory relief, declaratory, trial court, courts

Civil Procedure, Justiciability, Case & Controversy Requirements, Actual Controversy, Judgments, Declaratory Judgments, General Overview, Federal Declaratory Judgments, Appellate Review, Discretionary Jurisdiction, Appeals, Standards of Review, Discretionary Jurisdiction, Factors, Preclusion of Judgments, Res Judicata