Ansteth v. Buffalo Ry. Co.

Decision Date26 February 1895
Citation39 N.E. 708,145 N.Y. 210
PartiesANSTETH v. BUFFALO RY. CO.
CourtNew York Court of Appeals Court of Appeals
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE

Appeal from superior court of Buffalo, general term.

Action by Howard J. Ansteth, by guardian, against the Buffalo Railway Company, for personal injuries. From a judgment of the general term (30 N. Y. Supp. 197) affirming a judgment for plaintiff, defendant appeals. Affirmed.

Andrews, C. J., and Gray, J., dissenting.

STREET CAR-INJURY TO BOY STEALING RIDE.

Where a street-car conductor, by a sudden gesture and ejaculation, frightens a boy of 10 years, who is stealing a ride on the platform, and thereby causes him to fall from the car while it is in motion, the company is liable for the boy's injuries. 30 N. Y. Supp. 197, affirmed.

Porter Norton, for appellant.

Adolph Rebadow, for respondent.

HAIGHT, J.

This action was brought to recover damages for injuries sustained by the plaintiff in alighting from one of defendant's cars on Plymouth avenue, in the city of Buffalo, on the 21st day of October, 1892. The plaintiff was a boy 10 years of age, and was at the time of the accident stealing a ride upon one of the defendant's cars. He stood, as he testified, upon the step of the front platform, with one hand upon the handle of the dashboard, and the other upon the handle on the corner of the car. While standing in this position, the conductor passed through the car out upon the front platform, and with one hand reached out towards him (the witness indicating), and cried, ‘Hey!’ At this he let go of the handle upon the dashboard, fell from the step, and his body swung around against the side of the car, he still holding to the handle upon the corner, and in that position remained while the car proceeded 10 or 15 feet. He then dropped, falling by the side of the car in such a manner that the wheels passed over one of his legs. Upon the trial motions for nonsuit and for direction of verdict were made and denied.

In Clark v. Railroad Co., 40 Hun, 605, affirmed 113 N. Y. 670, 21 N. E. 1116, the plaintiff was a boy of the age of 13 years. He caught onto the forward end of the caboose of a moving freight train. One of the company's employés saw him, and dashed a cup of water in his face, causing him to fall from the car in such a manner as to have his knee crushed by one of the wheels. It was held that he could recover. In McCann v. Railroad Co., 117 N. Y. 505, 23 N. E. 164, a boy, in crossing the street whereon were two tracks of the defendant's road, in order to get out of the way of a truck passing upon the street, jumped onto the rear platform of a car which had stopped at the crossing, and, as he was passing across the platform, the conductor kicked at him, and, to avoid the kick, he jumped from the car, landing on the other track, without looking, and was struck by a car moving upon that track. It was held that a nonsuit was improper. In Hogan v. Railroad Co., 124 N. Y. 647, 26 N. E. 950, a boy 12 years of age was stealing a ride upon the rear platform of one of the defendant's cars, which was managed by the driver alone. A number of boys had jumped onto the car for the purpose of stealing a ride, but, at the command of the driver, they all got off, except the decedent, who continued to...

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13 cases
  • Njewadda v. Showtime Networks, Inc.
    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court
    • 29 d2 Janeiro d2 2019
    ...a chair lift and as a result infant plaintiff became frightened and hysterical with consequential injuries]; Ansteth v. Buffalo Ry. Co. , 145 N.Y. 210, 39 N.E. 708 [1895] [boy who was "stealing a ride" upon a train became frightened when a conductor came toward him with an outstretched hand......
  • Bolin v. Chi., St. P., M. & O. Ry. Co.
    • United States
    • Wisconsin Supreme Court
    • 7 d5 Dezembro d5 1900
    ...of a box car in the face of apparent imminent danger of being thrown from his position. It is just as much unlike Ansteth v. Railway Co., 145 N. Y. 210, 39 N. E. 708, where the injured person was a lad 10 years of age and was so terrified that he dropped from a car upon which he was riding ......
  • Scurti v. City of New York
    • United States
    • New York Court of Appeals Court of Appeals
    • 17 d4 Junho d4 1976
    ...222 N.Y 79, 118 N.E. 219), with trespassers being further subdivided into discovered and undiscovered trespassers (Ansteth v. Buffalo Ry. Co., 145 N.Y. 210, 39 N.E. 708; cf. Lo Casto v. Long Is. R.R. Co., 6 N.Y.2d 470, 190 N.Y.S.2d 366, 160 N.E.2d 846). Defendants were divided into owners a......
  • Bjornquist v. Boston & A.R. Co.
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — First Circuit
    • 21 d5 Junho d5 1918
    ... ... unnecessarily dangerous, the proximate cause of the injury, ... and done for the purpose of removing the plaintiff from the ... car. ' Ansteth v. Buffalo Ry. Co., 145 N.Y. 211, ... 39 N.E. 708, 45 Am.St.Rep. 607 ... The ... defendant contends that there was no evidence from ... ...
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