The Louisville And Nashville Railroad Co. v. Crunk
| Decision Date | 20 April 1889 |
| Docket Number | 13,337 |
| Citation | 21 N.E. 31,119 Ind. 542 |
| Parties | The Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company v. Crunk |
| Court | Indiana Supreme Court |
Petition for a Rehearing Overruled June 27, 1889.
From the Vanderburgh Circuit Court.
Judgment affirmed, with costs.
S. B Vance, J. M. Shackelford and W. J. Wood, for appellant.
A. P Hovey, G. V. Menzies and W. Loudon, for appellee.
This is an action by the appellee against the appellant for damages resulting from injuries to the appellee by reason of the negligence of appellant's employees in failing to stop a passenger train at a railway station a sufficient length of time to allow appellee to get off in safety, and in suddenly accelerating the speed of the train when appellee was in the act of stepping off.
As some question is made as to the negligence charged in the complaint, we state the principal averments, which are as follows: That the defendant, before and at the time of the grievances complained of, was, and now is, the owner of a railroad known as the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, running from the city of Evansville, Indiana, by and through the city of Mt. Vernon, Indiana, and other cities and towns, to the city of St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, and with their locomotive engines and trains of cars, moved and propelled by steam, were at said time engaged in carrying and conveying passengers over said railroad for hire, and said defendant, on the 13th day of December, 1885, agreed and undertook for hire to carry over their said railroad, as a passenger, one George Naas from said city of Mt. Vernon to said city of St. Louis; that said Naas was at said time, from long protracted sickness, so weak and infirm in body as to be unable to rise from his bed without assistance, of which sickness and infirmity of the said Naas the defendant at the time aforesaid had due notice; that, by reason of said infirm and feeble condition of said Naas, it was at said time necessary for him to be carried from the station of the defendant at Mt. Vernon and placed upon the cars of the defendant for the purpose of commencing said journey to St. Louis; that the plaintiff, with other friends of said Naas, undertook to assist in carrying said Naas at said time from the station of the defendant at Mt. Vernon and to place him upon the cars, at the time ready for the reception of passengers at said place, the defendant at the time agreeing with and promising said Naas, of which agreement and promise the plaintiff had knowledge before he took upon himself said charge and burden aforesaid, that the defendant would stop its locomotive engine and cars at said station a sufficient length of time not only to permit the said Naas to be carried aboard the said cars by the plaintiff and other friends of said Naas, but also a further time sufficient for the plaintiff and other assistants to leave the cars in safety; that, upon the arrival of said defendant's train of passenger cars at their station at Mt. Vernon on said day, none of the defendant's servants, agents or employees aided, or offered to aid, in carrying said Naas on board of the said defendant's cars, and thereupon the plaintiff, with the assistance of two other friends of said Naas, relying upon said promise and agreement of said defendant so made with said Naas, and by him theretofore communicated to plaintiff, forthwith proceeded, in the presence and view of the defendant's agents and servants who had charge and control of said train, to carry, and did with the utmost dispatch carry, said Naas from said station and place him upon one of the cars of the defendant, to be by the defendant carried as a passenger over its said railroad to said city of St. Louis, in pursuance of its agreement; that, upon placing said Naas on board of said car, the plaintiff and said other assistants immediately thereafter proceeded to leave said car without delay; that the defendant caused its said locomotive engine and train of cars to be slowly moved forward at the instant the plaintiff and the other assistants began leaving said car; that said other assistants stepped from said car upon defendant's platform at said station while said cars were slowly moving forward as aforesaid, without difficulty and without injury; that he, the said plaintiff, was following so closely behind said other assistants when they so stepped off that he could easily have laid his hand upon them, and was making reasonable haste in getting off said car, as the defendant then and there well knew, but at the instant he was in the act of stepping off the lower step of the platform of said car upon the platform of said station, the defendant negligently and wrongfully caused the motion of said car to be suddenly and greatly accelerated, by reason whereof the plaintiff was, without any fault or negligence on his part, thrown violently upon and from the platform of said station, and upon the track of the defendant's railroad, and the said cars of the defendant, without any fault or negligence on his part, ran upon and over his right foot and ankle, crushing the bones thereof to such an extent as that four of his toes had to be amputated. Then follow further allegations as to the nature and extent of the injury.
There was a demurrer filed to the complaint, and overruled, and that ruling is assigned as error, but it is not discussed by counsel and is therefore waived.
The appellant filed a motion to require the appellee to make the complaint more specific, by stating and showing what agent or employee of the defendant caused the motion of the cars to be suddenly and greatly accelerated, and what acts of such agent caused the motion of the cars to be suddenly and greatly accelerated; also, that he be required to show how, or in what respect, such acts of said agent were negligent and wrongful. The motion was overruled, and this is complained of as error. The motion was properly overruled. The pleading must be construed in the light and knowledge possessed by mankind of the manner and by whom passenger trains are run and operated, and the allegations of the complaint are to be treated as relating to and meaning the employees and agents of the defendant running and operating the train of cars, and are sufficiently certain and specific. Furthermore, the plaintiff is not bound to plead facts which are peculiarly within the knowledge of the defendant.
The appellant moved for judgment in its favor on the special findings, notwithstanding the general verdict; this motion was overruled, and the ruling assigned as error.
The answers to interrogatories showed the following facts: That the plaintiff went upon the train to assist Naas, at the request of the family; that the train was in motion before plaintiff left the car in which Naas was seated, and when he was upon the platform for the purpose of leaving the train, and that plaintiff knew it was in motion; that the train was moving at the rate of four and one-half miles an hour when plaintiff got on the lower step for the purpose of alighting from the train.
The answers to the fourth and fifth interrogatories are conflicting. The fourth interrogatory and answer are to the effect that neither the conductor nor engineer, in charge of the train and engine, knew that plaintiff was on the steps of the car, or that he purposed leaving the train, or that he was in the act of alighting from the train at the time he did attempt to leave it. Interrogatory five and answer are to the effect that the conductor knew that the plaintiff was on the train when it started and that he purposed leaving the train before he had left it. This leaves the interrogatories showing this state of facts, viz.: That plaintiff went upon the train to help Naas, at the request of Naas' family; that the train was in motion before he left the car, and continued in motion until plaintiff got on the step for the purpose of leaving, and that he knew the train was in motion; that when he was upon the lower step for the purpose of alighting from the train, the train was moving at the rate of four and one-half miles an hour, and that the conductor knew plaintiff was on the train, but did not know he was upon the steps of the car, or was in the act of alighting, when he made the attempt to leave the train.
The answers to interrogatories did not entitle the appellant to judgment. It is only where there is a direct conflict between the general verdict and the interrogatories and answers thereto, and where the facts found by the answers to the interrogatories entitle the party in whose favor they are to a judgment, that a motion for judgment on the answers to interrogatories, notwithstanding the general verdict, will be sustained. McClure v. McClure, 74 Ind. 108; Grand Rapids, etc., R. R. Co. v. McAnnally, 98 Ind. 412.
In the case of Baltimore, etc., R. R. Co. v. Rowan, 104 Ind. 88, 96, 3 N.E. 627, it is held that all reasonable presumptions are indulged in favor of the general verdict, while nothing will be presumed in favor of the special findings. Under these well settled principles, which have been universally adhered to by this court, there was no error in overruling appellant's motion for judgment on the answers to interrogatories, notwithstanding the general verdict. All the facts established by the answers to the interrogatories might be true, and yet the appellee entitled to recover.
It is insisted by counsel for appellant that the answers to interrogatories show that the train of defendant was in motion before the plaintiff left the car in which said Naas was...
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