Irvin W. Wettlaufer and Joan Wettlaufer v. Mt. Hood Railroad Company

77 F.3d 491 NOTICE: Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3 provides that dispositions other than opinions or orders designated for publication are not precedential and should not be cited except when relevant under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, or collateral estoppel. Irvin W. WETTLAUFER and Joan Wettlaufer, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. MT. HOOD RAILROAD COMPANY, Defendant-Appellee No. 95-35016. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted Jan. 8, 1996. Decided Feb. 6, 1996. Before: NOONAN, LEAVY, and HAWKINS, Circuit Judges. 1 MEMORANDUM * FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS 2 On September 9, 1990, plaintiffs Irvin and Joan Wettlaufer boarded as passengers defendant Mt. Hood Railroad Company's train, which runs from Hood River to Parkdale, Oregon, and back. Shortly after departing from the Parkdale station, the train's engine decoupled from the passenger cars, thereby activating the engine's emergency brakes and bringing the engine to a stop. The passengers cars then collided with the engine. The Wettlaufers were on the third passenger car. Irvin Wettlaufer claimed that the abrupt stop caused his body to move forward, with his knee striking a vertical bar inside the…