Union Stock Yards Co. v. Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad

Background

A terminal company was required to pay damages to one of its own employees who was injured because a railcar’s defective brake was not discovered. The Nebraska court had already decided that the terminal company was negligent for failing to inspect the car before the employee used it. The dispute here asks whether the terminal company may make the railroad company repay those damages because the railroad delivered the car.

Reasoning

The Court framed the question as whether one wrongdoer can recover from another when both failed in the same duty. It explained the general rule: a wrongdoer cannot seek indemnity from another wrongdoer. The opinion noted exceptions where one party’s active wrongdoing created the dangerous condition—examples included a property owner who created a public hazard, a company that placed unsafe equipment in public space, or a manufacturer who warranted defective machinery. The Court found those exceptions inapplicable because the railroad and the terminal company were guilty of the same kind of neglect: both failed to inspect the car.

Real world impact

Because both companies omitted proper inspection, the Court denied the terminal company the right to shift its loss to the railroad. The decision leaves each negligent party bearing its own share of liability when their failures are of the same character. The Court did not resolve broader questions about who would be liable to the injured employee if sued directly, and it relied on the established Nebraska judgment against the terminal company.