Metrolink: $200 million to settle LA rail disaster
Lawyer Blogs
Southern California's Metrolink system and Connex Railroad filed court papers Wednesday accepting the maximum $200 million in liability for a 2008 head-on collision between a commuter train and a freight that killed 25 people and injured more than 100.
The sum is the maximum for a train accident under federal law, said Keith Millhouse, board chairman of the Southern California Regional Rail Authority.
"The rationale is this is the maximum that could be recovered in any event and will expeditiously get the maximum compensation to the victims and their families," Millhouse said.
Investigators believe the commuter train's engineer was texting when he ran a red light and collided head on with a Union Pacific freight train in the Chatsworth area of the San Fernando Valley on Sept. 12, 2008.
Engineer Robert Sanchez, who was among those killed, was provided by Connex.
The court, which has to approve the settlement, would distribute the fund to victims.
The filing noted that 109 lawsuits, almost all involving passengers, are pending in Los Angeles County Superior Court and asked that all passenger claims be consolidated into the federal proceeding.
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Grounds for Divorce in Ohio - Sylkatis Law, LLC
A divorce in Ohio is filed when there is typically “fault” by one of the parties and party not at “fault” seeks to end the marriage. A court in Ohio may grant a divorce for the following reasons:
• Willful absence of the adverse party for one year
• Adultery
• Extreme cruelty
• Fraudulent contract
• Any gross neglect of duty
• Habitual drunkenness
• Imprisonment in a correctional institution at the time of filing the complaint
• Procurement of a divorce outside this state by the other party
Additionally, there are two “no-fault” basis for which a court may grant a divorce:
• When the parties have, without interruption for one year, lived separate and apart without cohabitation
• Incompatibility, unless denied by either party
However, whether or not the the court grants the divorce for “fault” or not, in Ohio the party not at “fault” will not get a bigger slice of the marital property.