Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company v. Floyd

• Decision Date: 08 December 1955
• Docket Number: No. 7076.,7076.
• Citation: 227 F.2d 820
• Parties: ATLANTIC COAST LINE RAILROAD COMPANY, Appellant, v. Wylie L. FLOYD, Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit

227 F.2d 820 (1955)

ATLANTIC COAST LINE RAILROAD COMPANY, Appellant, v. Wylie L. FLOYD, Appellee.

No. 7076.

United States Court of Appeals Fourth Circuit.

Argued October 21, 1955.

Decided December 8, 1955.

Douglas McKay and Julius W. McKay, Columbia, S. C. (E. Ellison Walker, and McKay, McKay, Black & Walker, Columbia, S. C., on the brief), for appellant.

Thomas J. Lewis, Jr., Atlanta, Ga., and R. K. Wise, Columbia, S. C. (Thomas J. Lewis and Lewis & Lewis, Atlanta, Ga., on the brief), for appellee.

Before PARKER, Chief Judge, DOBIE, Circuit Judge, and BRYAN, District Judge.

DOBIE, Circuit Judge.

Wylie L. Floyd (hereinafter called Floyd) instituted against Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company (hereinafter called Atlantic), a civil action in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of South Carolina.

Floyd's complaint charged under its first count that the injuries resulted proximately from Atlantic's violation of the Federal Safety Appliance Act and under its second count from negligence under the Federal Employers' Liability Act. Atlantic pleaded a general denial to both counts of the Complaint and also contributory negligence and willfulness on the part of Floyd. The case was tried before the United States District Judge, and a jury. On the issues submitted, the jury found no violation of the Safety Appliance Act, 45 U.S.C.A. § 1 et seq., but negligence under the Federal Employers' Liability Act, 45 U.S.C.A. § 51 et seq., and damages of $48,500.00. Motions for Direction of Verdict, for Judgment Non Obstante Veredicto, and in the alternative for a new trial were duly made. The Court heard the last two motions together and overruled the motion for a judgment n. o. v. but granted a new trial unless Floyd should remit the sum of $12,500.00 from the verdict rendered. In due course Floyd remitted $12,500.00 from the verdict and Atlantic has appealed to us from the resulting judgment of $36,000.00.

Floyd, a switchman for Atlantic, about 2:30 A.M. on December 14, 1953, was engaged in shifting freight cars in the railroad yards at Florence, South Carolina. A cut of about 25 cars was being moved from one place known as the new or big yard to the local yards where they were to be allocated to trains according to respective destinations. The weather was bad and intermittent heavy showers of rain would occur. Floyd and Bell, the conductor of the switching crew, worked together, starting from the head car in the string and proceeding to the rear. Bell was on the left side of the track, Floyd on the right. The cars were each marked for destination and Floyd would call to the conductor opposite the respective markings which the conductor would note on his work book. In addition it was Floyd's duty to inspect each car to determine whether the respective brakes were off so that the movement could go forward in due course.

After the first stop of the train, Floyd states that he walked forward on the right side of the train, and claims he heard some noise or squeak that might indicate "a brake dragging * * * a hand brake." Thinking he had located the origin of the noise he got on the train two car lengths from the rear to cross between a box car and a gondola to test the brakes on the box car, and to loosen them if on. The brake mechanism was on the left rear of the box car and the same was true of the gondola car. His lantern disclosed the top of the buffer plate on the front of the gondola was broken out, so instead of stepping there as he said he might have done he stepped along the corrugated edge of the gondola and by holding to the top of that car safely crossed to the left side where he saw and felt the brake mechanism was properly loose.

Floyd states that he then decided to test the brakes on the left rear of the gondola and started back to cross between the cars to the right side in order to get on the ground and then cross between the rear of the gondola and the car behind it to inspect the gondola brake. It was raining heavily and his story is that as he was recrossing from left to right with his right foot on the corrugated end of the gondola the train came to a sudden stop, the jar of which caused his foot to slip into the path of the coupler mechanism between the coupler horn and the striking plate where it was crushed when the slack between the box car and the gondola was taken up by the stopping of the engine. His foot was fastened until the engine started...