5th Circuit Reinstates Negligence Claim Against Honeywell by Widow of Railroad Laborer

NEW ORLEANS — The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed summary judgment for the employer of a railway worker who died when he entered a railroad tank car with unsafe oxygen levels, but reinstated a negligence claim against Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON), which leased the car and was allegedly responsible for its condition.

The appellate court said in a per curiam opinion March 19 that on remand the trial court should determine whether a tort duty established by the contract between Honeywell and the tank car’s owner was breached, and whether it was a cause of Shannon Sampson’s …