CSX Transportation, Inc.

Winston Payne brought this action against his former employer, CSX Transportation, Inc., under the Federal Employers' Liability Act ("FELA"), alleging that CSX negligently exposed him to asbestos, diesel fumes, and radioactive materials in the workplace causing his injuries. The jury returned a verdict finding (1) that CSX negligently caused Payne's injuries (2) that CSX violated the Locomotive Inspection Act or safety regulations regarding exposure to asbestos, diesel fumes, and radioactive materials and (3) that Payne's contributory negligence caused 62% of the harm he suffered. The jury found that "adequate compensation" for Payne's injuries was $8.6 million. After the jury returned its verdict, the trial court, sua sponte, instructed the jury, for the first time, that, under FELA, its finding that CSX violated a statute or regulation enacted for the safety of its employees meant that plaintiff would recover 100% of the damages found by the jury. The court sent the jury back for further deliberations. It shortly returned with an amended verdict of "$3.2 million @ 100%." Six months after the court entered judgment on the $3.2 million verdict, it granted CSX's motion for a new trial, citing "instructional and evidentiary errors." The case was then assigned to another trial judge, who thereafter granted CSX's motion for summary judgment as to the entirety of the plaintiff's complaint. The second judge ruled that the causation testimony of all of plaintiff's expert witnesses was inadmissible. We hold that the trial court erred in instructing the jury, sua sponte, on a purely legal issue, i.e., that the jury's finding of negligence per se under FELA precluded apportionment of any fault to the plaintiff based upon contributory negligence, an instruction given after the jury had returned a verdict that was complete, consistent, and based on the instructions earlier provided to it by the trial court. We further hold that, contrary to the trial court's statements, the cou