Martin v. Southern Ry. Co.

• Decision Date: 11 May 1911
• Parties: MARTIN v. SOUTHERN RY. CO.
• Court: South Carolina Supreme Court

71 S.E. 236

89 S.C. 32

MARTIN v. SOUTHERN RY. CO.

Supreme Court of South Carolina

May 11, 1911

Appeal from Common Pleas Circuit Court of Greenville County; John S Wilson, Judge.

"To be officially reported."

Action by Ben P. Martin against the Southern Railway Company. From a judgment for defendant, plaintiff appeals. Affirmed.

The following is the second paragraph of the complaint:

"That on the 10th day of December, 1908, the plaintiff became a passenger on one of defendant's trains at Easley, one of defendant's stations, in Pickens county in the state aforesaid, to go to Crosswell, about six miles from Easley in the direction of Greenville, for the purpose of attending to some business in the neighborhood of Crosswell. The plaintiff gave the ticket collector, the agent of the defendant, 50 cents, and told the said agent to stop the train at Crosswell, and let plaintiff off so that plaintiff could attend to plaintiff's business there. The said agent gave plaintiff 5 cents back, and passed on, the plaintiff thinking that the said agent would give the balance of the change back later, but said agent never did give back the balance of said change. The said agent failed to have the said train stopped at Crosswell and plaintiff was, therefore, carried on to Greenville, one of defendant's stations, in the said city in state and county aforesaid, a distance of 12 miles from Easley; the regular fare from Easley to Greenville being only 30 cents."

The following is the charge of the court on the issue of damages:

"Now what are damages in law? He sues for damages. It is a sum of money assessed by a jury on finding for the plaintiff or successful party in an action as compensation for the injury done him by the opposite party. Damages may be classed under two general heads, compensatory and vindictive, the former--that is, compensatory damages--when they are allowed as measuring the actual loss, and are allowed as amends therefor. Vindictive damages exceed the loss sustained and given as a kind of punishment to the defendant, with a view of preventing a similar wrong in the future. That is the latter kind of damages, and they are also called exemplary or punitive damages.

"Now, in this case, the principal allegation is for vindictive, punitive, or exemplary damages, claiming that the plaintiff's rights have been invaded and invaded willfully-- not only negligently, but willfully, intentionally, and hence the plaintiff says that he is entitled not only to his actual damages, whatever he lost, but is entitled to exemplary, vindictive, or punitive damages as I have defined it to you, as a kind of punishment to the defendant, to deter the defendant from committing similar acts in the future against others. That is the meaning of vindictive, exemplary, or punitive damages.

"Now, in this case, the complaint is based on alleged willfulness and wantonness. The complaint says that the damage done to the plaintiff was done willfully, wantonly, and negligently, with a reckless disregard of the plaintiff's rights. Now, I charge you that must be proven by the greater weight of the evidence before you can find anything for the plaintiff, and you must find by the greater weight, or preponderance of the evidence, that the injury, if any at all, was as alleged in the complaint. Let me read that to you again, because, if there were any other injuries, any other words, or any other acts took place other than are embraced in the allegations of the complaint, you cannot find damages on that account. You are confined to the allegations of the complaint. I will repeat that to you--what the complaint says. [Court read complaint.]

"So, that is the allegation now, and you must find before you can find for the plaintiff from the greater weight of the evidence that that took place--anything else--you heard some discussion here as to what was said. That is not alleged in the complaint, and you have got nothing to do with that. Any abusive language he has not sued for, that, if there was any damage done at all, it must be done as alleged in the complaint. And parties when they come into court, they must go by the pleadings. I charge you another thing, that every one in a case of negligence, where the negligence occurs in any case--if a party is injured by the negligence of a railroad company, and he is damaged in any way, the law says if he can in a reasonable way minimize the injury in any way. ***

"Now, you heard a lot said about punitive damages. This suit is based principally on that, and allege punitive, vindictive, or exemplary damages. When are punitive

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