Ellis v. Southern Ry. Co

Citation52 S.E. 228,72 S.C. 465
PartiesELLIS . v. SOUTHERN RY. CO. et al.
Decision Date18 October 1905
CourtUnited States State Supreme Court of South Carolina

52 S.E. 228
72 S.C. 465

ELLIS .
v.
SOUTHERN RY. CO. et al.

Supreme Court of South Carolina.

Oct. 18, 1905.


1. Master and Servant—Torts of Servant— Personal Liability.

Where the wrongful act of a servant is the proximate cause of an injury, he is liable to a person injured, whether such wrongful act be one of nonfeasance or misfeasance.

[Ed. Note.—For cases in point, see vol. 34, Cent Dig. Master and Servant §§ 1235, 1236.]

2. Same—Agent of Master.

An agent of a railroad company, in exclusive charge of the management of the company at the time of an alleged injury, is not liable for an injury inflicted by the servants employed by him for the company to operate its trains; they being, not the agents of the defendant, but of his principal.

[Ed. Note.—For cases in point, see vol. 34, Cent Dig. Master and Servant § 1211.]

Appeal from Common Pleas Circuit Court of Hampton County; Klugh, Judge.

Action by I. D. Ellis, administratrix of W. J. Ellis against the Southern Railway Company and P. I. Welles. From an order overruling a demurrer to the complaint Welles appeals. Reversed.

The following is the complaint:

"The complaint of the above-named plaintiff, L. D. Ellis, as administratrix of estate of W. J. Ellis, and in her own behalf and in behalf of the children of the said W. J. Ellis, deceased, respectfully shows to this court: "(1) That at the times hereinafter mentioned the defendant Southern Railway Company was and is now a railway corporation, duly chartered and existing under and by the laws of the state of South Carolina, and as such is and was operating a railway from the town of Batesburg, in the county of Lexington, and through the counties of Aiken, Barnwell, and Hampton, to the station of Hardeeville, in Hampton county, and elsewhere in this state, and as said railway corporation so operating was engaged in the hauling of freight and passengers for hire to and from said points and elsewhere in this state, and the defendant P. I. Welles was at the time hereinafter mentioned the agent and servant of the said codefendant and as such was in exclusive charge of the operation and management of the said Southern Railway Company, and still is operating the said railway in behalf of his codefendant, the Southern Railway Company, and as such agent so operating the said railway was and still is liable for acts and doings of the railway company aforesaid.

"(2) That on or about the 3d day of March, 1902, at about 4 o'clock of the morning of that day, W. J. Ellis went to a station on the railway of defendant the Southern Railway Company known as Furman, in Hampton county, S. C, where the said railway crosses one of the public highways of said county of Hampton, for the purpose of getting on one of the passenger cars owned and operated by the defendant, the Southern Railway Company, on its said railway, and becoming a passenger thereon, intending to go to his place of business at Summer-field, Fla.; and that soon after getting to said station the regular train of cars, then due to arrive at said station on defendant's railway, appeared in sight with an exceedingly dim headlight on the locomotive attached to said passenger cars of said defendant's company, whereupon and immediately afterwards the said W. J. Ellis lighted with fire some combustible material, and gave across the railway track aforesaid the usual and customary signal for the train of cars aforesaid to stop, whereupon the agent and servants of defendant's railway company aforesaid in charge of said passenger cars and locomotive on the railway track of defendant's company aforesaid, gave with the whistle on the locomotive attached to the passenger cars aforesaid the usual and customary signal to stop, but instead of stopping the said passenger cars aforesaid, as they were in duty bound to do, the agents, servants and employes of the...

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