Ashe v. Southern Ry. Co.
| Decision Date | 13 March 1915 |
| Docket Number | 9026. |
| Citation | 84 S.E. 716,100 S.C. 187 |
| Parties | ASHE v. SOUTHERN RY. CO. |
| Court | South Carolina Supreme Court |
Appeal from Common Pleas Circuit Court of Lancaster County; C. M Efird, Special Judge.
Action by W. N. Ashe against the Southern Railway Company. From an order overruling a demurrer to the second defense of the answer, plaintiff appeals. Affirmed.
The pleadings and exceptions were as follows:
The complaint of the plaintiff herein would respectfully show to the court:
(1) That the defendant, Southern Railway Company, now is, and was, at the times hereinafter stated, a corporation created and existing under the laws of the state of Virginia, and as such is a common carrier of freight and passengers, in said state and county, having a railroad system in said county and throughout South Carolina.
(2) That on or about February 4, 1913, the defendant ran a passenger train from Rock Hill, S. C., to Columbia, S. C. said train being the regular passenger train of the defendant, but on said date said train had a reduced passenger rate, or excursion rate for a round trip ticket between said points, also all other points on said road to Columbia, S. C., and return.
(3) That said reduced rates or round trip tickets was advertised by posters, circulars, in the newspapers, and in other ways and methods usually employed by the defendant to advertise its special trains, and excursion rates and trains.
(4) That the plaintiff about an hour previous to the arrival of said train, according to its schedule time, went to the station at Rock Hill, S. C., a regular passenger station of the defendant, and there made due and proper effort to secure a round trip ticket or proper ticket to Columbia, S. C., and return to Rock Hill, S. C.; but there was no ticket agent, or other official of the defendant, at said station from whom this plaintiff could secure a proper ticket, or any ticket at all.
(5) That, upon the arrival of the said train, the plaintiff stated to the conductor thereof his inability to secure a ticket, and the said conductor immediately ordered said train to start, whereupon the plaintiff boarded the said train and then tendered to the defendant its agents and servants the proper and correct fare for a round trip or excursion ticket from Rock Hill, S. C., to Columbia, S. C., and return, as advertised by said defendant.
(6) That defendant refused to accept the money or fare thus tendered by the plaintiff, and after leaving the station of Chester, S. C., the agents of the defendant ejected and expelled the plaintiff from said train.
(7) That plaintiff was ejected from said train in the presence of the passengers, and others, and in consequence was humiliated, delayed in his travel, insulted by the conductor or other agents, abused, and otherwise damaged $3,000.
(8) That the defendant, its agents and servants, acted willfully wantonly, recklessly, and negligently in ejecting and expelling the plaintiff from said train.
Wherefore the plaintiff demands judgment for $3,000.
Answer.
The defendant above named, by way of amendment to its former answer herein, further answering the complaint herein, alleges, for a second defense:
(1) That, at or about the time stated in the complaint, the defendant had on sale at its station at Rock Hill, S. C., special excursion tickets, which were sold at a greatly reduced rate of fare on account of the National Corn Exposition then being held in the city of Columbia, S. C., which said excursion tickets were coupon tickets, one of which was for the going trip, and the other for the return trip, and, in connection with the sale of said tickets, the defendant then sold an admission coupon to said National Corn Exposition, which was of the value of 50 cents, being the amount required to be paid for admission there into.
(2) That, at the same time, the defendant was operating in the morning two trains passing through the said town of Rock Hill, S. C., to the said city of Columbia, S. C., one of said trains being No. 31, which was due to arrive at the said station of Rock Hill at a very early hour in the morning, and which said train was a through passenger train from the city of Washington, D. C., to the city of Jacksonville, Fla. That the other train mentioned was a local train running from the city of Charlotte, N. C., to the city of Columbia, S. C., which was run specially for the purpose of handling and caring for the local travel between said city of Charlotte, N. C., and the city of Columbia, S. C.
(3) That, on the morning of the 4th of February, 1913, an unusual and unprecedented number of passengers presented themselves at defendant's station at Rock Hill, S. C., who desired to purchase said coupon excursion tickets for the purpose of attending the National Corn Exposition at Columbia, S.C. That it required a longer time to prepare and sell such coupon excursion tickets with the admission coupon, than it did to sell straight, full-fare tickets, and, owing to the very large number of persons desiring to purchase said coupon excursion tickets, the defendant's agent was not able to prepare and sell such excursion coupon tickets to all the passengers who applied for the same before the arrival of train No. 31, being the through train above mentioned; and the failure of plaintiff to procure an excursion ticket and admission ticket was due entirely and solely to the causes above mentioned, and not to any negligence, willfulness, wantonness, or recklessness upon the part of this defendant, or any of its agents and servants.
(4) That, as this defendant is informed and believes, the plaintiff, instead of waiting for the local train, went on board defendant's said through train No. 31 without having purchased either an excursion coupon ticket, or a full-fare ticket, entitling him to ride thereon, and, upon request being made for transportation between Rock Hill, S. C., and Columbia, S. C., the plaintiff tendered the defendant's agent or ticket collector on said train, and offered to pay to him for transportation only the price of one of said excursion tickets, and thereupon it was explained that defendant's agent or ticket auditor had no power or authority to accept for such transportation of plaintiff the amount so tendered, and requested plaintiff to pay the full fare, and assured him that the difference would be refunded to him upon application; but the plaintiff declined and refused to pay the full and legal rate of fare for transportation as a passenger from Rock Hill, S. C., to Columbia, S. C., and thereby, as the defendant is informed and believes, became a trespasser upon defendant's said train.
(5) That upon the plaintiff's continued refusal to pay the usual full, legal rate of fare for transportation from Rock...
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