April 30, 2018

 The Court of Appeal of California, Second Appellate District, Division Five has ruled that an exclusion on an insurance policy for expected or intended injuries did not bar coverage from damages that resulted from a fatal head-on collision between a Metrolink commuter train and a Union Pacific freight train that occurred in Los Angeles in 2008. The case is Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's v. Connex R.R. Llc, No. B276373, 2018 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 2695 (Apr. 19, 2018).

 In what was considered to be the largest commuter rail disaster in California State history, 25 pedestrians were killed and 135 were injured after a commuter train and a freight train collided on the tracks. The lawsuits settled for over $200 million, which is the maximum allowable recovery under federal law for a single rail collision.