IL: Railroad Had No Duty to Child Trespasser

Last week, the Supreme Court of Illinois handed down Choate v.  Indiana Harbor Belt RR Co., in which the company was held to have no duty to a 12-year-old boy who was trespassing on the railroad’s right-of-way when he was injured.  Mark Weber, who was kind enough to send me the case, summarized the takeaway point.  The case does not make new law, but it demonstrates the trend toward narrower liability, especially for older children engaged in clearly dangerous acts (attempting to jump onto a train). 

The opinion is here.

–CJR