Crouch v. Kansas City Southern Ry. Co.

Decision Date24 January 1910
Citation141 Mo. App. 256,124 S.W. 1077
PartiesCROUCH v. KANSAS CITY SOUTHERN RY. CO.
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals

Appeal from Circuit Court, Vernon County; B. G. Thurman, Judge.

Action by Lucy E. Crouch against the Kansas City Southern Railway Company. From a judgment for plaintiff, defendant appeals. Affirmed. Case transferred to the Supreme Court.

Cyrus Crane and H. C. Clarke, for appellant. Scott & Bowker, for respondent.

BROADDUS, P. J.

This is an action for damages for the destruction of plaintiff's meadow, alleged to have been destroyed by fire set by the negligence of defendant. The petition is in three counts covering three distinct fires. The jury returned a verdict in favor of plaintiff and defendant appealed. The petition alleged, and the evidence showed, that the fire completely destroyed the roots of the grass, and it is so conceded by defendant. The court instructed the jury that the measure of plaintiff's damages was the rental value of the land and the cost of reseeding. The question raised on the appeal is one of law.

This court has decided that the measure of damages in such cases is the rental value of the land and the cost of re-seeding. Adam v. Railroad, 122 S. W. 1136; Knight Bros. v. Railroad, 122 Mo. App. 38, 98 S. W. 81; Doty v. Railroad, 136 Mo. App. 254, 116 S. W. 1126; Mattis v. Railroad, 138 Mo. App. 61, 119 S. W. 998. The St. Louis Court of Appeals holds otherwise: That the damage in such cases is to the land itself, and that the measure for such damage is the difference between the value of the land with the crop standing and growing thereon and its value after the destruction of the crop. Wiggins v. Railroad, 119 Mo. App. 492, 95 S. W. 311; Wiggins v. Railroad, 129 Mo. App. 369, 108 S. W. 574; Carter v. Railroad, 128 Mo. App. 57, 106 S. W. 611.

In Railroad v. Jones, 59 Ark. 105, 26 S. W. 595, it is held that: "The measure of damages is the cost of re-seeding and the rental value until it is restored." And it is so held in Railroad v. Hixon, 110 Ind. 225, 11 N. E. 285, and in Vermilya v. Railroad, 66 Iowa, 606, 24 N. W. 234, 55 Am. Rep. 279. Where the damage was to forest trees which were part of the realty the Supreme Court holds that the measure was the difference between the value of the trees before the fire and after the fire. Atkinson v. Railroad, 63 Mo. 367. In Matthews v....

To continue reading

Request your trial
13 cases
  • Venie v. South Central Enterprises, Inc.
    • United States
    • Missouri Court of Appeals
    • 22 March 1966
    ...It does not appear, therefore, that strawberries are perennial in the same sense as the grass dealt with in Crouch v. Kansas City Southern Ry. Co., 141 Mo.App. 256, 124 S.W. 1077, aff'd Couch (Crouch) v. Kansas City Southern Ry. Co., 252 Mo. 34, 158 S.W. 347, 46 L.R.A.,N.S., 555, the alfalf......
  • Jones v. Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Company
    • United States
    • Kansas Court of Appeals
    • 3 May 1915
    ... ... PAUL RAILROAD COMPANY, Appellant Court of Appeals of Missouri, Kansas CityMay 3, 1915 ...           Appeal ... from Sullivan Circuit ... Mo.App. 623; Hogan v. Railroad, 150 Mo. 51; ... Melvin v. Mound City, 172 S.W. 483. Parties in ... appellant court are bound by the positions ... ...
  • Beaty v. N. W. Elec. Power Co-op., Inc.
    • United States
    • Missouri Court of Appeals
    • 7 April 1958
    ...Mo.App. 254, 116 S.W. 1126; Mattis v. St. Louis & S. F. Railroad Co., 138 Mo.App. 61, 119 S.W. 998; and Crouch v. Kansas City Southern Railroad Co., 141 Mo.App. 256, 124 S.W. 1077. The Crouch case was transferred to the supreme court because it was in conflict with the above opinions of the......
  • Couch v. Kansas City Southern Railway Company
    • United States
    • Missouri Supreme Court
    • 28 June 1913
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT