New! H2O now has access to new and up-to-date cases via CourtListener and the Caselaw Access Project. Click here for more info.

Main Content

Casebook Read Credits
Torts - Fall 2015 Reading Group
Resource 13 . 2 . 1
16 minutes

People Express Airlines, Inc. v. Consolidated Rail Corp.

Samantha Bates,
Jonathan Zittrain

Should courts support a negligence cause of action where the injury is purely economic? If so, how far should courts extend the boundaries of the negligent actor's liability? The defendants' negligence led to the risk of a tank car exploding. The business operations of plaintiff's airline--which was within a one-mile radius of the tank car--was interrupted due to a forced evacuation by municipal authorities. Ultimately, no explosion resulted and there was no property damage suffered by the plaintiff. However, plaintiff sued the defendants on the theory that their negligence resulted in economic loss due to the disruption of plaintiff's business activities.

This book, and all H2O books, are Creative Commons licensed for sharing and re-use with the exception of certain excerpts. Any excerpts from the Restatements of the Law, Principles of the Law, and the Model Penal Code are copyright by The American Law Institute. Excerpts are reproduced with permission, not as part of a Creative Commons license.