Senate Bill No. 563

(By Senators D. Miller, Helmick, Ross)

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[Introduced February 19, 1996; referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend article seven, chapter fifty-five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section eighteen, relating to actions for injuries; and limiting liability of nonprofit sponsors of special passenger excursion trains.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article seven, chapter fifty-five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section eighteen, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 7. ACTIONS FOR INJURIES.
§55-7-18. Limiting liability of nonprofit sponsor of special passenger excursion trains; exemption from civil liability in certain cases; exceptions; definitions.
(a) (1) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the liability of a nonprofit sponsor of a special passenger excursion train, the owner or operator of a special passenger excursion train, and the railroad or rail authority over whose tracks the special passenger excursion train is operated, for all claims, whether for compensatory damages or punitive damages, arising from a rail incident or accident occurring in West Virginia and involving a special passenger excursion train, shall not exceed five million dollars.
(2) This section shall not limit the liability of a person whose intentional misconduct causes a rail incident or accident.
(b) The nonprofit sponsor of a special passenger excursion train shall maintain insurance coverage of not less than five million dollars per occurrence with the nonprofit sponsor and the railroad or rail authority over whose tracks the special passenger excursion train is operated, as named insureds. The insurance shall not have a self-insured retention or deductible greater than one hundred thousand dollars. A nonprofit sponsor shall provide evidence of the coverage upon demand of the West Virginia commissioner of highways or by the railroad or rail authority over whose tracks the special passenger excursion train is to be operated.
(c) As used in this section:
(1) "Nonprofit sponsor" means a nonprofit corporation other than a railroad or rail authority whose purpose includes the historic preservation of documents, memorabilia, and equipment associated with the railroad industry, and public education regarding the history, current functions, and future of railroad transportation and which is exclusive to religious, scientific, literacy or educational within the meaning of 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3) as amended; and
(2) "Special passenger excursion train" means a train offered by a nonprofit sponsor to the public for operation over a common carrier railroad or railroad authority.
(d) Nothing in this section may be construed as requiring a railroad or rail authority to permit the operation of a special passenger excursion train over its tracks.




NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to limit the liability of the nonprofit sponsor of a special passenger excursion train to $5,000,000.00.

This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.