Lemons v. Cloer
Tennessee Court of Appeals
206 S.W.3d 60 (2006)
- Written by Serena Lipski, JD
Facts
In March 2000, a school bus driven by Rhonda Cloer (defendant), a Georgia resident, crossed railroad tracks without stopping first and was hit by a freight train operated by CSX (defendant). Seven children were on the bus, and three died after being taken to a Tennessee hospital. Amber Pritchett, a Georgia resident and the daughter of Sharon Lemons and Ralph C. Pritchett (the parents) (plaintiffs), both Georgia residents, was one of the children who died. The school bus was owned by Murray County School District (the district) (defendant), a Georgia school district. The CSX engineer and conductor were Tennessee residents. All the children on the bus lived in Georgia near the Tennessee state line. The school bus had to take a route through Tennessee to pick up the children, and the railroad crossing where the accident occurred was in Tennessee. The parents sued the district among others in Tennessee state court. The district moved for partial summary judgment, arguing that Georgia law capped the district’s total damages for the accident at the total coverage provided by its vehicle liability-insurance policy, which was $300,000. No such cap would apply under Tennessee law. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the district, and the parents appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Susano, J.)
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