Appeals Judge Wary of Conductor’s Trial Win in Service Dog Case

A federal appeals court judge pushed back on a Union Pacific Railroad Co. conductor’s argument that the company’s compliance with safety regulations prohibiting him from bringing his service dog to work is a question of fact to be decided by a jury.

The district judge overseeing the case, not jurors, should resolve how the law is applied in the dispute, Judge James B. Loken said during oral argument at the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit Tuesday. An Arkansas district judge didn’t err when he examined federal safety regulations and vacated a $250,000 jury award against Union ...