Houghton v. Chicago & G.T.R. Co.
| Decision Date | 20 March 1894 |
| Citation | 58 N.W. 314,99 Mich. 308 |
| Parties | HOUGHTON v. CHICAGO & G. T. RY. CO. |
| Court | Michigan Supreme Court |
Error to circuit court, Genesee county; William Newton, Judge.
Action by Henry H. Houghton against the Chicago & Grand Trunk Railway Company for injuries received at a crossing. Judgment for plaintiff. Defendant brings error. Reversed.
Geer & Williams, for appellant.
R. C Johnson, (George R. Gold, of counsel,) for appellee.
The main question in this case is whether the plaintiff was guilty of contributory negligence under the undisputed facts in the case. He was a farmer returning home from Flint, his market town, riding upon two boards laid upon the wagon, in company with a boy. He approached defendant's track, at a point where he had a good view of the same for a half mile to the east, for 40 or 50 rods, until he reached a point 196 feet from the highway crossing, from which point to the railroad grounds the view of the track to the east was obscured by buildings. At a point 32 feet from the track it again became visible, ordinarily, but there was evidence, and the jury found specially, that upon this occasion a long train of freight cars was standing upon an intervening siding, which made it impossible to see the track,-except a very small portion of it, which became momentarily visible as he crossed the line of the right of way,-until the side track was crossed, when the horses, if not the front wheels of the wagon, would be upon the defendant's main track. At a distance of half a mile east was a cut where, and beyond which, a train could not be seen. The plaintiff had a steady team, and approached this crossing after dark knowing that a fast train was due about this time. He watched for the train and listened, as did also the boy, down to the point 40 or 50 feet from the track, where he saw that the freight cars prevented his seeing the road to the east. Two other vehicles crossed the track a short time before he reached it, the driver of one of which shouted to him to look out. It does not appear that he heard the warning, from which it is reasonable to suppose that this team was some distance ahead of him. The first carriage was said by one witness to have been several rods from the track when the accident occurred. There was proof tending to show that no bell was rung or whistle sounded, sufficient to justify the submission of these questions to the jury. Some witnesses testified to hearing the train. The ground was frozen, and the wagons made some noise. The plaintiff did not stop to listen at any point. As the horses stepped on the main track he noticed the light upon them, and whipped them, but was struck and severely injured before he got quite across. From a verdict of $11,000 in plaintiff's favor the defendant appeals.
Counsel for the defendant contend that the failure to stop and listen was contributory negligence, inasmuch as there was no point at which a train could be seen for the last 196 feet, except a very narrow space at the line of defendant's right of way, before the track was reached. The plaintiff said that his horses were walking part of the time, and trotting some, and it is perhaps a reasonable supposition that he was traveling about 3 or 4 miles an hour. The train is shown to have run from 45 to 60 miles an hour or about 15 times as fast as he traveled, which would make about 3,000 feet for the train to 200 feet for the wagon; about 700 feet more than half a mile that the train might travel after the plaintiff's view was obscured. So it is plain enough that, when the plaintiff passed behind the buildings, the train was not yet in sight, and unless we can say that it was reasonable for him to suppose he could get across before a train could cover the half mile from the cut, or because of the fact that teams ahead were crossing,...
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