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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF TENNESSEE, AT JACKSON

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FILED

December 18, 1998 ) THEO JENNINGS, ) Shelby County Circuit Court Cecil Crowson, Jr. ) No. 76115-6 T.D. Appellate C ourt Clerk Plaintiff/Appellant. ) ) VS. ) C.A. No. 02A01-9803-CV-00056 ) ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD ) COMPANY, ) ) Defendant/Appellee. ) ) ______________________________________________________________________________ From the Circuit Court of Shelby County at Memphis. Honorable George H. Brown, Jr., Judge

James D. Causey, CAUSEY, CAYWOOD, TAYLOR, McMANUS & BAILEY, Memphis, Tennessee Jerry E. Hinchey, H. Chris Christy, JONES & GRANGER, North Little Rock, Arkansas Attorneys for Plaintiff/Appellant.

Harold W. McLeary, Jr., Estelle C. Gaerig, SHUTTLEWORTH, SMITH, WILLIAMS, SABBATINI & HARPER, Memphis, Tennessee Attorneys for Defendant/Appellee.

OPINION FILED: AFFIRMED AND REMANDED

FARMER, J. CRAWFORD, P.J., W.S.: (Concurs) TATUM, Sr. J.: (Concurs)

Plaintiff Theo Jennings appeals the trial court's order entering summary judgment in favor of Defendant/Appellee Illinois Central Railroad Company. We affirm the trial court's judgment based on our conclusion that, even when viewed in the light most favorable to Jennings, the evidence fails to support a cause of action against the Railroad under the Federal Employer's Liability Act.

On July 11, 1995, Jennings was injured while working as a trackman for the Railroad. As part of his job duties, Jennings used a maul hammer to drive spikes into railroad ties. On that day, when Jennings hit a spike with the maul, the wooden maul handle broke off at the iron head of the maul. The iron maul head struck Jennings in the knee, resulting in a disabling injury to Jennings. A subsequent inspection of the maul handle revealed that the handle had broken because it was "dry rotted."

Jennings brought this action against the Railroad under the Federal Employer's Liability Act (FELA). See 45 U.S.C.A.

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Tennessee Law