St Louis, Iron Mountain Southern Railway Company v. Wynne

Citation224 U.S. 354,56 L.Ed. 102,32 S.Ct. 493,56 L.Ed. 799
Decision Date15 April 1912
Docket NumberNo. 103,103
PartiesST. LOUIS, IRON MOUNTAIN, & SOUTHERN RAILWAY COMPANY, Plff. in Err., v. T. J. WYNNE
CourtUnited States Supreme Court

Messrs. W. E. Hemingway and E. B. Kinsworthy for plaintiff in error.

[Argument of Counsel from pages 354-356 intentionally omitted] Messrs. Robert E. Wiley and Powell Clayton for defendant in error.

[Argument of Counsel from pages 356-358 intentionally omitted] Mr. Justice Van Devanter delivered the opinion of the court:

A statute of the state of Arkansas (Laws of 1907, act 61), relating to the liability of carriers by railroad for live stock killed, wounded, or injured by their trains, contains this provision:

'And said railroad shall pay the owner of such stock within thirty days after notice is served on such railroad by such owner. Failure to do so shall entitle said owner to double the amount of damages awarded him by any jury trying such cause, and a reasonable attorneys' fee. And provided further, That if the owner of such stock killed or wounded shall bring suit against such railroad after the thirty days have expired, and the jury trying such cause shall give such owner a less amount of damage than he sues for, then such owner shall recover only the amount given him by said jury, and not be entitled to recover any attorneys' fees.'

The owner of two horses which were killed within the state by a train of a railway company served upon the company a written notice demanding damages in the sum of $500. The company refused to pay the demand, and after the expiration of thirty days the owner brought suit in a court of the state to recover his damages, alleged in the complaint to be $400. A trial to a jury resulted in a verdict for the owner, assessing his damages at the amount sued for, and the court, deeming the statute applicable, gave judgment for double that amount and for an attorneys' fee of $50. The company objected that the statute, as thus applied, was repugnant to the due process of law clause of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, but the objection was overruled, and on appeal to the supreme court of the state the judgment was affirmed. 90 Ark. 538, 119 S. W. 1127, 17 A. & E. Ann. Cas. 631. The case is here on a writ of error to that court.

It will be perceived that, while before the suit the owner demanded $500 as damages, which the company refused to pay, he did not in his suit either claim or establish that he was entitled to that amount. On the contrary, by the allegations in his complaint he confessed, and by the verdict of the jury it was found, that his damages were but $400. Evidently, therefore, the prior demand was excessive and the company rightfully refused to pay it. And yet, the statute was construed as penalizing that refusal and requiring a judgment for double damages and an attorneys' fee. In other words, the application made of the statute was such that the company was subjected to this extraordinary liability for refusing to pay the excessive demand made before the suit.

We think the conclusion is unavoidable that the statute, as so construed and applied, is an arbitrary exercise of the powers of...

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