Erie Co v. Szary, 355
| Citation | 253 U.S. 86,64 L.Ed. 794,40 S.Ct. 454 |
| Decision Date | 17 May 1920 |
| Docket Number | No. 355,355 |
| Parties | ERIE R. CO. v. SZARY |
| Court | United States Supreme Court |
Messrs. Theodore Kiendl, Jr., of Brooklyn, and William C. Cannon, of New York City, for petitioner.
[Argument of Counsel from pages 86-88 intentionally omitted] Mr. John C. Robinson, of New York City, for respondent.
Action for damages under the Employers' Liability Act (Comp. St. §§ 8657-8665), for the loss of a leg in the railroad company's service. The verdict and judgment were for $20,000. The contest in the case is whether the injury was received in interstate or intrastate service.
The judges below concurred in the judgment but disagreed upon the grounds of it. Judges Hand and Hough concurred on the authority of the Collins Case, 259 Fed. 172, 170 C. C. A. 240, though Judge Hand did not sit in it, and Judge Hough dissented from its judgment.
As we have just affirmed that case, if it is not distinguishable from the case at bar, the latter must also be affirmed. A distinction is not asserted, but both cases are attacked. In our opinion in the Collins Case we have reviewed most of the cases upon which the company relies in this, and whether their principle applies depends upon the facts. We collect them from the testimony and represent them as the jury had a right to consider them, omitting conflicts.
Sand is necessary to an engine and must be used dry. Szary and two others were employed in its preparation, which was done in what is called the 'sand house,' a small structure standing in the yards of the company alongside of the tracks. The drying was done in four large stoves which it was the duty of Szary and his associates to attend. Soft coal was the heating means and the resulting ashes were dumped in an ash pit, to do which a track had to be crossed.
On the night of the accident, January 5, 1917, Szary began his duties at 6 o'clock, and sanded about seven engines whose destinations were other states. He sanded the last engine at 9 o'clock, and after doing so, he removed the ashes from the stove and carried them to the ash pit in a pail according to his custom, in doing which he was compelled to cross one of the tracks. He emptied the pail and left it on the ground while he went to the engine room to get a drink of water, and when returning for the pail and crossing the track he was hit by an engine. He had looked and saw no engine and heard no signal. He described the night as 'very dark and...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Louisville & N.R. Co. v. Jolly's Adm'x
......Zachary, . 232 U.S. 248, 34 S.Ct. 305, 58 L.Ed. 591, Ann.Cas. 1914C,. 159; Van Buskirk v. Erie R. Co. (C.C.A.) 279 F. 622;. New York C. & H. R. R. Co. v. Carr, 238 U.S. 260, 35. S.Ct. 780, ... provisions of the act. In Erie Railroad Co. v. Szary, 253 U.S. 86, 40 S.Ct. 454, 455, 64 L.Ed. 794, the. plaintiff was employed in the railroad yards ...551, 36 S.Ct. 185, 60 L.Ed. 431;. Minneapolis & St. L. R. Co. v. Winters, 242 U.S. 355, 37 S.Ct. 170, 61 L.Ed. 358, Ann.Cas. 1918B, 54;. Wabash Ry. Co. v. Hayes, 234 U.S. 86, 34 S.Ct. ......
-
Burnet v. Coronado Oil Gas Co
...52 S. Ct. 151, 76 L. Ed. 304, overruling Erie R. Co. v. Collins, 253 U. S. 77, 40 S. Ct. 450, 64 L. Ed. 790, and Erie R. Co. v. Szary, 253 U. S. 86, 40 S. Ct. 454, 64 L. Ed. 794; Gleason v. Seaboard Air Line Ry. Co., 278 U. S. 349, 357, 49 S. Ct. 161, 73 L. Ed. 415, in part overruling Fried......
-
Boyer v. Pa. R. Co., 48.
...§§ 725-729, 760-766, 775-777; Erie R. Co. v. Collins, 253 U. S. 77, 40 S. Ct. 450, 64 L. Ed. 790; Erie R. Co. v. Szary, 253 U. S. 88, 40 S. Ct. 454, 64 L. Ed. 794, the last two cases having been reversed on another point, A distinction is to be observed where the employment is in the origin......
-
Hough v. Rock Island Railway Co., 32855.
...233; Railroad Co. v. Zachary, 232 U.S. 248, 34 Sup. Ct. 305; Railroad Co. v. Winfield, 244 U.S. 170, 37 Sup. Ct. 556; Railroad Co. v. Szary, 253 U.S. 86, 40 Sup. Ct. 454; Railroad Co. v. Di Danato, 256 U.S. 327, 41 Sup. Ct. 516; Railroad Co. v. Burtch, 263 U.S. 540, 44 Sup. Ct. 165; Railroa......