Atkinson v. Dixie Greyhound Lines

• Decision Date: 29 January 1942
• Docket Number: No. 9929.,9929.
• Citation: 125 F.2d 237
• Parties: ATKINSON v. DIXIE GREYHOUND LINES, Inc., et al.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

125 F.2d 237 (1942)

ATKINSON v. DIXIE GREYHOUND LINES, Inc., et al.

No. 9929.

Circuit Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

January 29, 1942.

Ross R. Barnett, of Jackson, Miss., for appellant.

W. H. Watkins, Sr., of Jackson, Miss., for appellees.

Before FOSTER, HUTCHESON, and McCORD, Circuit Judges.

McCORD, Circuit Judge.

Lamar C. Atkinson brought suit jointly against Dixie Greyhound Lines, Inc., and Teche Lines, Incorporated, for wrongfully causing his seizure, arrest and imprisonment. The case was tried to a jury, and at the close of the evidence for the plaintiff the court granted the defendants' motion for a directed verdict, and entered judgment accordingly.

In January, 1940, Dixie Greyhound Lines, Inc., and Teche Lines, Incorporated, operated passenger busses running to and from Jackson, Mississippi, on regular schedules. The two companies maintained and used the same terminal depot in Jackson, and used the same ticket agent, the same telephone, and other jointly maintained conveniences.

Atkinson was employed in a grocery store in the City of Jackson. He and his family lived approximately seven miles south of the city, and each day when his work was over he usually went to the bus depot and boarded the 8:15 bus for his home. He testified that he had been riding to his home on the bus almost every night for three months; that on January 27, 1940, he worked at the store from seven in the morning until eleven-thirty that night; that after closing the store, he took a bag of groceries which he had purchased and went to the coffee shop of a downtown hotel to eat supper; that he ate supper and then walked from the hotel to the bus station, arriving there about 1:15 A. M.; that he was not sure when the next bus left, but was under the impression that he could get a bus about 1:45 A.M.; that when he arrived at the station, he went directly to the ticket office; that he had the bag of groceries in one hand, and put his other hand in his pocket and drew out a one dollar bill with which to purchase his ticket; and that the agent on duty was busy writing. Atkinson inquired of the ticket agent, "What time does the bus go?" The agent glanced up and said, "You have plenty of time. You have until 4:30." Appellant waited a short time, and as the agent kept writing he walked over and sat in one of the seats provided for waiting passengers. The waiting room contained more than fifty seats, and many of them were vacant at the time. Later on, Atkinson went upstairs to the balcony for the purpose of going to the men's lavatory. When he came out of the lavatory, he sat in one of the seats provided there for passengers.

Atkinson further testified that about two o'clock, and while he was sitting in one of the seats on the balcony, the ticket agent "comes by there and asks me what I was doing, what direction I was going in. I told him I was going south to Byron, and he asked me did I have a ticket. I said. `No, I haven't got a ticket but I am ready to get one now.' He said, `Well, you have until 4:30 in the morning to get it. The bus leaves at 4:30 in the morning. That is the next bus going south.' When he told me that, he turned away and just left me with the impression that I had until 4:30 the next morning to get my ticket."

About three o'clock in the morning two uniformed police officers came upstairs and began talking to a passenger who sat near Atkinson. The ticket agent came up and informed the officers that they were talking to the wrong man, and he then pointed to Atkinson and said that he was the one who had been loafing at the depot for about a week. The officers approached Atkinson and questioned him. Atkinson stood up, and as he attempted to pick up his sack of groceries, one of the officers seized him and the other officer searched him. He was told that he was under arrest, and the officers then led him down the stairs, through the waiting room, and ejected him from the station. After removing him from the station, the officers placed him in a car and took him to police headquarters. When Atkinson arrived at the police station, the two officers and the Desk Sergeant questioned him for several minutes. He was then placed in an adjoining room and held for two hours, and was released when an officer who knew him came in and identified him. Appellant then took his bag of groceries and walked back through the cold and the snow to the bus terminal. He found that the 4:30 bus had gone, and he then had to wait until about nine o'clock that morning when he caught another bus and went home to his family.

The evidence is without dispute that the ticket agent called police headquarters and requested officers to come to the depot and eject the appellant. The ticket agent testified:

"Q. I believe you testified,...