Judge Orders UP to Pay Company
Omaha-based Union Pacific and Entergy Corp. said Friday they support the partial ruling in a lawsuit against the railroad.
U.S. District Court Judge Lyle E. Strom in Omaha ruled that Union Pacific breached its delivery contract with Entergy by not delivering enough coal.
Liquidation damages are the amounts specified in the coal contract that the railroad was supposed to pay to Entergy if it failed to deliver the required amounts of coal.
nion Pacific has been sued by several companies over failures to deliver cargo during the last half of 1997 and the first half of 1998.
During that time, the railroad's lines were clogged with freight and trains were unable to pick up and deliver according to their shipping schedules.
he rail line's traffic volume has since returned to nearly normal after substantial changes in shipping practices. Some of the shipping claims have been settled, with Union Pacific paying out millions of dollars.
In his partial ruling, Strom turned down Entergy's request that the UP contract should be canceled because of the coal delivery failure. He also ruled that Entergy cannot seek damages related to the cost of alternate fuel supplies.
trom also turned down Union Pacific's request that the lawsuit be dismissed.
n a statement, the railroad said the parties in the lawsuit have not determined how much it will pay to Entergy for the liquidation damages. There are other issues in the case that are still subject to future rulings by the court, Union Pacific said.
