STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
10085
IN ASSEMBLY
June 12, 2014
___________
Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Steck, Fahy,
McDonald, Santabarbara) -- read once and referred to the Committee on
Transportation
AN ACT to amend the railroad law, in relation to creating a private
right of action of injured persons
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 53-c of the railroad law, as added by chapter 845
2 of the laws of 1972, is amended to read as follows:
3 § 53-c. Obstructing farm and highway crossings. 1. Any officer or
4 employee of a railroad corporation who shall intentionally obstruct, and
5 any owner, officer or employee of a railroad corporation who shall
6 intentionally cause to be obstructed any farm or highway crossing with
7 any locomotive, train or car for a longer period than five consecutive
8 minutes is guilty of a violation which shall be punishable by a fine of
9 not more than one hundred dollars or imprisonment for not more than
10 fifteen days or by both such fine and imprisonment. Notwithstanding the
11 foregoing provisions of this section or any local ordinance to the
12 contrary, no owner, officer or employee of a railroad corporation who
13 obstructs, or causes to be obstructed, any farm or highway crossing
14 shall be subject to any civil, criminal or other penalty where such
15 person has no control over the situation causing the obstruction or
16 where the locomotive, train or car cannot be moved without endangering
17 the safety of the passengers, the public or freight.
18 2. Any person who has been injured by reason of a violation of this
19 section may bring a private right of action for damages together with
20 reasonable attorney fees.
21 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
22 have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15490-01-4
