P alleged that, on July 6, 2013, James was walking adjacent to railroad tracks owned by D. James was listening to music on his cellular telephone through earbuds and was unaware that D’s train was approaching him from behind. P alleged that Crowder, the train's conductor, and Epstein, the train's engineer, had a chance to avoid the accident, as they saw James while he was several hundred yards in front of the train. P claimed that neither Crowder nor Epstein took any steps to alert James or avoid a collision. James was struck by a part of the train and killed immediately. Ds (CSX, Crowder, and Epstein) demurred, claiming that James's contributory negligence was evident on the face of the complaint and, therefore, P's claim was barred. Ds further claimed that P's use of the last clear chance doctrine was misplaced, because James's negligence was ongoing at the time he was struck. The court sustained the demurrer, and P appealed.

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