William O. Bongard - Press
Minnesota Lawyer honored a select group of attorneys for their 2008 Attorneys Of The Year awards. Bill Bongard was a honoree because he, along with four other plaintiff's lawyers, played hardball with railroad companies who ignored or broke the rules during litigation. These lawyers represented four families for their children's death in a railroad crossing accident in 2003.
$24 million Train Accident Verdict
It’s extremely gratifying to garner a $6 million verdict for the family of someone who died due to the negligence of someone else. It’s even better that it’s the largest-known verdict — $24 million all together — for families of emancipated, unmarried children in the state of Minnesota.
But, the best part is knowing that an opponent who chose to ignore the rules is facing tough sanctions. There’s a fine line between zealous representation and what some call “hardball” or “Rambo litigation.” In this case, that line was crossed. Many, many times.
So say a group of five Twin Cities lawyers who represented four families following their children’s deaths after a Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company (“BNSF”) train crashed into their car on Sept. 26, 2003.
During a six-week trial last spring in Anoka County, discovery continued contemporaneous to the proceedings because the defendants had failed to produce documents, some of which ultimately proved to be fraudulent.
That’s just the beginning when describing the difficulties plaintiff counsel encountered during discovery.
Sharon L. Van Dyck, of the Van Dyck Law Firm PLLC, who represents the family of Corey Chase, recalls at least a dozen lengthy motion hearings, each with probably a dozen issues within them, for Judge Ellen Maas to decide.
NSF argued the gates and lights were down, and that the driver, age 20, went around them, causing the accident. However, the railroad was never able to produce downloaded data from two event recorders at the scene of the collision and nearby bungalow that could’ve definitively backed that claim. In addition, a laptop storing the download was lost, but then rediscovered — with altered data.
Paul Godlewski, who also represented the Chase family, says the real significance of the case is its potential for the enactment of state and federal laws requiring railroads to seal immediately the bungalow at all railroad grade crossing accidents, to allow access only with law-enforcement approval, and to present immediately all downloaded data to law enforcement.
The case’s lead counsel was Robert Pottroff, of Manhattan, Kansas, who concentrates on train collision cases and whose expertise was invaluable, agree all local counsel on his team who are sharing the Attorney of the Year distinction. “I’ve never seen a guy work harder,” says William O. Bongard, of Sieben, Grose Van Holtum & Carey Ltd., who represents the family of Harry Rhoades Jr.
Although the case is far from over – postverdict motions and an appeal are a certainty – Bongaard says the verdict did bring some closure to his clients.
“I’ve had cases that were tough and hard-fought, but none comes close to this,” says Van Dyck. “I often wonder what would’ve happened if our clients didn’t have a group of lawyers with the skills, experience and money to fund their case, who were willing to fight back against the defense tactics. [The defendants] probably would’ve stonewalled them, and ultimately gotten away with it. Meanwhile, one family would’ve continued thinking their son was responsible for his own death and the deaths of three others.”
