Tribal Jury Returns $250 Million Judgment Against Burlington Northern
CROW AGENCY, Mont. (AP) -- Burlington Northern Railroad Co. was hit Tuesday with

Date: Wed, 7 Feb 1996 01:02:31 -0500

 a $250 million verdict from a Crow Nation Tribal Court jury for a 1993 
grade-crossing accident that killed three tribe members.

The judgment came in a lawsuit filed in the tribal court by the heirs of Regina 
Bull Tail, 17, and her mother, Beverly Red Wolf, 54.

The size of the judgment shocked officials of the rail line, a subsidiary of 
Fort Worth, Texas-based Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp.

``We are shocked and astounded by the verdict, which we firmly believe is wholly
 unjustified and the product of proceedings that lacked any semblance of 
fundamental fairness,'' said Jeffrey R. Moreland, senior vice president for 
legal affairs.

The tribal jury consisted of six enrolled members of the Crow Tribe, one of them
 a nephew of one of the plaintiffs.

Moreland vowed to appeal the judgment to the Crow Tribal Appellate Court, and if
 still unsuccessful, to ask a U.S. District Court in Billings, Mont., to set 
aside the verdict.

The accident occurred at a rural crossing on the Crow reservation in southern 
Montana around mid-morning on Nov. 22, 1993. The crossing was marked by signs 
but no flashers.

A car driven by Regina Bull Tail was struck by a Burlington Northern locomotive 
moving at 41 mph, killing the driver, her mother and a 15-year-old passenger.

The railroad argued that the teen-age driver was intoxicated, with a 
blood-alcohol level of 0.18 percent. Generally, legal intoxication is defined by
 a 0.1 percent blood-alcohol content.

Burlington Northern officials said they do not expect any significant effect on 
the railroad's financial condition.

AP-WS-02-06-96 2138EST