Trial Activity

Natividad Obregon And Cynthia Obregon, Individually And As Next Friends Of Monique Obregon, Minor; Jose Alonzo Garza, Jr.,Individually And As Representative Of The Estate Of Jose Alonzo Garza, III, Deceased; And Ida Sanchez, Individually And As Representative Of The Estate Of Jose Alonzo Garza, III, Deceased v. Union Pacific Railroad Company And John Kandis, in the 319th Judicial District Court of Nueces County, Texas

Eduardo Roberto Rodriguez, Jaime A. Saenz, and R. Patrick Rodriguez of the firm defended Union Pacific Railroad and its employee in this crossing accident death case. Trial began on June 7, 2004. Before trial, Defendants had partially settled with the driver of the vehicle which had collided with the train, such that the only remaining Plaintiffs were those entitled to sue for the death of the vehicle's passenger, although Defendants' claims against the driver as a Responsible Third Party remained in the case. The trial court granted a directed verdict on Plaintiffs' claim that the Railroad had allegedly negligently delayed in upgrading the crossing from crossbucks only. This left only a claim that the train's horn had not been blowing. The case settled for a confidential amount on June 17, 2004, shortly after the Railroad presented the investigating officer as a witness. That witness testified that based upon his investigation, he concluded that the train's whistle had blown.