Beaty Chevrolet Company v. Norfolk Southern Railway Company

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR FULL-TEXT PUBLICATION
File Name: 07a0054n.06
Filed: January 23, 2007
No. 05-5973
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT
BEATY CHEVROLET COMPANY,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
HYB, INC.; HARPER VEHICLES, LLC,
Plaintiffs,
v.
NORFOLK SOUTHERN RAILWAY COMPANY,
Defendant-Appellee.
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ON APPEAL FROM THE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT
COURT FOR THE EASTERN
DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE
M E M O R A N D U M
O P I N I O N
BEFORE: MARTIN, NORRIS, AND GIBBONS, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM. Beaty Chevrolet Company appeals from a grant of summary judgment to
defendant Norfolk Southern Railway Company. Jurisdiction is grounded upon diversity of
citizenship. Plaintiff contended that a chemical spill from defendant’s railroad equipment
approximately five miles distant damaged its property. However, as the district court properly noted,
plaintiff’s evidence at best pointed to the possibility that defendant’s conduct caused the damage,
and that was insufficient to prove causation under Tennessee law.
Having had the benefit of oral argument and having carefully considered the record on
appeal, the briefs of the parties, and the applicable law, we are not persuaded that the district court
erred in granting summary judgment to defendant. Because the reasoning which supports judgment
for defendant has been articulated by the district court, the issuance of a detailed written opinion by

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No. 05-5973
Beaty Chevrolet Co. V. Norfolk Southern Railway Co.
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this court would be duplicative and serve no useful purpose.
The district court is AFFIRMED upon the reasoning employed by that court in its
Memorandum Opinion filed on May 18, 2005.

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