Paul Parker v. Bnsf Railway Company

FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

PAUL W. PARKER, as Personal No. 22-35695 Representative of the Estate of Curtis John Rookaird, D.C. No. 2:14-cv-00176- Plaintiff-Appellant, RAJ v.

BNSF RAILWAY COMPANY, a OPINION Delaware corporation,

Defendant-Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington Richard A. Jones, District Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted En Banc March 19, 2025 San Francisco, California

Filed May 15, 2025

Before: Mary H. Murguia, Chief Judge, and Susan P. Graber, Kim McLane Wardlaw, John B. Owens, Danielle J. Forrest, Jennifer Sung, Holly A. Thomas, Salvador Mendoza, Jr., Roopali H. Desai, Anthony D. Johnstone and Ana de Alba, Circuit Judges.

Opinion by Judge Graber SUMMARY *

Federal Railroad Safety Act

The en banc court affirmed the district court’s judgment after a bench trial in favor of BNSF Railway Co., the defendant in a retaliation action under the Federal Railroad Safety Act. Conductor Curtis Rookaird alleged that BNSF fired him in retaliation for engaging in…