The Illinois Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision overturning a $3.9 million jury award against three different railroad companies. The plaintiff was 12 years old when he was injured trying to jump onto a moving train. The Court said that a train in motion represents an obvious danger.<\/p>\n
The Court, in a decision written by Justice Charles Freeman, found that lower courts should not have allowed the jury to determine the duty owed to the plaintiff by the defendants, and that the defendants were entitled to judgment notwithstanding the verdict.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis determination of defendants’ duty is a question of law for the court,\u201d Freeman wrote in the decision. \u201cIt has never been part of our law that a landowner may be liable to a trespasser who proceeds to wantonly expose himself to unmistakable danger in total disregard of a fully understood risk, simply for the thrill of the venture.\u201d<\/p>\n