Casey v. St. Louis Transit Co.

Decision Date10 June 1907
Citation205 Mo. 721,103 S.W. 1146
PartiesCASEY et al. v. ST. LOUIS TRANSIT CO.
CourtMissouri Supreme Court

Action by John Casey and another against the St. Louis Transit Company. Judgment for plaintiff, and defendant appeals. Case ordered certified to Supreme Court. Reversed.

See 91 S. W. 419.

Boyle, Priest & Lehmann, Geo. W. Easley, Glendy B. Arnold, and Geo. T. Priest, for appellant. H. A. Yonge, Ernest E. Wood, and Brown, Harding & Brown, for respondents.

VALLIANT, J.

Plaintiffs' minor son was struck and killed by a street car of defendant, and they bring this suit to recover damages. The petition charges negligence on the part of defendant's servants in their management of the car, and also negligence on the part of defendant corporation in the matter of equipment of the car. These different alleged acts of negligence were all embraced in one count. The petition concluded with a statement that in the death of their child they were damaged in the sum of $4,500 for which sum they ask judgment. At the trial there was evidence tending to sustain the charge of negligence on the part of the servants, but none of negligence on the part of the corporation itself, and the instructions given at the request of the plaintiffs were predicated on the former, and not on the latter. The court instructed the jury that, if they should find for the plaintiffs, they should assess their damages at $4,500. There was a verdict for the plaintiffs for that sum, and judgment accordingly. The defendant appealed to the St. Louis Court of Appeals, where the judgment was reversed and the cause remanded; but, the judges of that court deeming the decision in conflict with a decision of the Kansas City Court of Appeals, the cause was certified to this court.

The vital question in the case is: Can the plaintiffs avail themselves of the right of action given in section 2864, Rev. St. 1899 [Ann. St. 1906, p. 1637] and yet by their petition limit their recovery to an amount less than the sum of $5,000, which that section specifies that the defendant "shall forfeit and pay for every person or passenger to dying?" The question is one of more than private personal interest to the parties to this suit, because it involves the question...

To continue reading

Request your trial
72 cases
  • Cummins v. Kansas City Public Service Co.
    • United States
    • Missouri Supreme Court
    • 22 Diciembre 1933
    ...given in favor of the party aggrieved." [Casey v. St. Louis Transit Co., 116 Mo.App. 235, 91 S.W. 419, approved by Supreme Court in 205 Mo. 721, 103 S.W. 1146.] This principle was referred to in the Grier case (286 Mo. c. 542, 228 S.W. 454), as follows: "The provisions giving the penalty, t......
  • Cooper v. Kansas City Public Service Co.
    • United States
    • Missouri Supreme Court
    • 12 Mayo 1947
    ...statute (Sec. 3652, R.S. 1939), and was not entitled to recover under the compensatory statute (Sec. 3654, R.S. 1939). Casey v. St. Louis Transit Co., 205 Mo. 721; Wallace v. Woods, 340 Mo. 452, 102 S.W.2d Borrson v. M.-K.-T.R. Co., Mo. Sup., 161 S.W.2d 227; Cummins v. Kansas City Pub. Serv......
  • Hegberg v. St. Louis & San Francisco Railroad Company
    • United States
    • Missouri Court of Appeals
    • 6 Mayo 1912
    ... ... error assigned. 3 Elliot on Railroads (2 Ed.), sec. 1296, p ... 720; Furber v. Bolt & Nut Co., 185 Mo. 301; ... Conovski v. Transit Co., 207 Mo. 263; Willikin ... v. Com. Co., 202 Mo. 637; Kennedy v. Railroad, ... 128 Mo.App. 297. (2) The evidence convicts the respondent of ... section 5425. These are purely statutory rights and must rest ... each upon its own statute. [ Casey v. St. Louis T ... Co., 205 Mo. 721, 724, 103 S.W. 1146; Casey v. St ... Louis T. Co., 116 Mo.App. 235, 91 S.W. 419.] If the ... servants and ... ...
  • Fitzpatrick v. Kansas City Southern Ry. Co.
    • United States
    • Missouri Supreme Court
    • 4 Enero 1941
    ... ... excessive, unwarranted and unreasonable. Gaston v. St ... Louis Pub. Serv. Co., 223 Mo.App. 770, 20 S.W.2d 559 ... (3) The court erred in giving to the jury, ... Co., 140 Mo. 35; Honea v. St. Louis, ... I. M. & S. Ry. Co., 245 Mo. 621, 151 S.W. 119; Casey ... v. St. Louis Transit Co., 205 Mo. 721, 91 S.W. 419; ... State ex rel. Dunham v. Ellison, ... ...
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT