Hale v. Bonner

• Decision Date: 30 October 1891
• Parties: HALE v. BONNER <I>et al.</I>
• Court: Texas Supreme Court

17 S.W. 605

HALE v. BONNER et al.

Supreme Court of Texas.

October 30, 1891.

Appeal from district court Gregg county; FELIX J. McCORD, Judge.

Action by Mattie Hale against Bonner and Eddy, receivers of the International & Great Northern Railroad Company, to recover damages for failure to deliver promptly her deceased husband's corpse. From a judgment sustaining a demurrer to her petition plaintiff appeals. Reversed.

Todd & Rowell and L. S. Schluter, for appellant. Gould & Camp, for appellees.

GAINES, J.

The appellant brought this suit in the court below to recover of the appellees, as receivers of the International Great Northern Railroad Company, damages for a failure to deliver promptly the body of her deceased husband under a contract with her for its carriage from San Antonio to Jefferson. She alleged in her petition, in substance, that her husband died at Boerne; that at the time they were sojourning at that place on account of his health, but that their home was in Jefferson; that she caused his body to be inclosed in a metallic casket, and conveyed to San Antonio, where she immediately entered into contract with the agent of defendants for its carriage to Jefferson, by paying for and procuring a first-class passenger ticket to that place, known and marked as a "corpse" ticket; and that at the same time she procured tickets for herself and attendants over the same line to the same place. It was also alleged that on the 12th day of the same month the body was delivered to the agents of the defendants, and placed on board the train; that she took the same train, and arrived at an early hour the next morning at the depot at Jefferson, where her relatives and many friends were in waiting to accompany her dead husband to her home; but that, to her great mortification and distress of mind, she then ascertained that the casket containing the body had not arrived. It was further averred that, as she subsequently ascertained, the body, instead of having been sent forward by the train upon which she was carried, as should have been done, was, through the negligence of the defendants' agents or servants, placed in a box-car, and left upon the side track at Palestine, an intermediate station, that did not reach Jefferson until the 14th day of the month; and that on account of its advanced state of decomposition, resulting from the delay, "it was with great difficulty, and much additional pain and distress of mind, that her and his friends could...