Kansas City Southern Railway Company v. Cagle
| Decision Date | 23 April 1956 |
| Docket Number | No. 5203.,5203. |
| Citation | 229 F.2d 12 |
| Parties | KANSAS CITY SOUTHERN RAILWAY COMPANY, a corporation, Appellant, v. James H. CAGLE, Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Tenth Circuit |
Kelly Brown, Muskogee, Okl. (P. H. Hardin, Fort Smith, Ark., and John M. Wheeler, Tulsa, Okl., were with him on the brief), for appellant.
Pat Malloy, Tulsa, Okl. (William H. DeParcq and Charles Alan Wright, Minneapolis, Minn., were with him on the brief), for appellee.
Before BRATTON and HUXMAN, Circuit Judges, and CHRISTENSON, District Judge.
Writ of Certiorari Denied April 23, 1956. See 76 S.Ct. 697.
This was an action by appellee, James H. Cagle, against the appellant, the Kansas City Southern Railway Company, to recover damages for injuries suffered in attempting to effect a coupling of two box cars in a train being operated by appellant. It was instituted under the Coupler Provisions of the Safety Appliance Act of the United States.1 Appellee was employed by appellant as a brakeman and was engaged in the performance of his duties at the time he suffered the injuries complained of.
The complaint alleged that at the time of the accident he was engaged in certain switching operations; that in connection therewith a coupling was to be made between two cars; that while performing his services appellant violated the Act in moving and hauling a car when the drawbar was out of alignment and in such a condition that it would not couple automatically with the other car upon impact; that as a result it was necessary for him to manually align the drawbar so the coupling could be made and, while doing this, he suffered the injuries for which recovery was sought.
A trial was had to a jury. At the conclusion of appellee's evidence, appellant moved for an instructed verdict and again so moved at the conclusion of all the evidence. These motions were overruled and the case was submitted to the jury. It returned a verdict for appellee. A motion for a new trial and a supplemental motion for a new trial were overruled and judgment was entered upon the verdict.
While six assignments of error are urged, they in effect raise only two substantial issues. These are: (1) There was no evidence warranting the submission of the case to the jury; and (2) the court erred in overruling appellant's motion for a new trial and especially its supplemental motion for a new trial.
Appellee's evidence tended to establish these facts. At the time of the accident he was riding on the lead end of a car which was being backed in a southerly direction to couple with another car, referred to as the Rock Island car; that the drawbar on the car that appellee was riding on was in proper alignment and the knuckle on the coupler was open; that if the drawbar on the Rock Island car had been in line it would have been possible to couple automatically, but that the drawbar on the Rock Island car was so far out of line to the west that it was not possible to couple to it; that appellee had much experience in coupling cars and could tell on approaching a drawbar when it was out of line; that he signalled to the engineer to stop and went between the cars to pull the drawbar of the Rock Island car into line; that in doing so he suffered the injuries complained of for which recovery was sought and obtained.
The one fact upon which appellant was sought to be held liable was that it was operating a car on which the drawbar was so far out of line that it could not be coupled automatically by impact. Appellant states the question in its brief to be, "Was this one fact that the coupler was out of line a noncompliance with the Act?" We think the answer to this question must be in the affirmative.
A great number of cases have considered the scope and effect of the Coupler Provision of the Federal Safety Appliance Act. Space prevents even a listing of all the cases which have considered these provisions, let alone an analysis thereof. Without exception they have held that the Act requires that cars be so equipped that they will couple automatically by impact and can be coupled and uncoupled without the necessity of persons going between them.2 Without exception the cases have held that operating a car on which the drawbar is so far out of line as to prevent automatic coupling violates the Act and imposes absolute liability.3 This principle of law was restated by the Supreme Court in the late case of Affolder v. New York, C. & St. L. R. Co., 339 U.S. 96, 70 S.Ct. 509, 510, 94 L.Ed. 683, where the court again said: ...
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McCullough Tool Company v. Well Surveys, Inc., 6952-6956.
...and the evidence is of such a character that on a new trial it will probably produce a different result. Kansas City Southern Railway Company v. Cagle, 10 Cir., 229 F.2d 12, cert. denied, 351 U.S. 908, 76 S.Ct. 697, 100 L.Ed. 1443; Crow v. Dumke, 10 Cir., 142 F.2d 635. McCullough contends t......
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Devon Energy Prod. Co. v. Mosaic Potash Carlsbad, Inc.
...context that newly discovered evidence must be “of such a nature as would probably produce a different result.” Kan. City S. Ry. v. Cagle, 229 F.2d 12, 15 (10th Cir.1956); accord Joseph v. Terminix Int'l Co., 17 F.3d 1282, 1285 (10th Cir.1994); Graham v. Wyeth Labs., 906 F.2d 1399, 1416 (10......
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Leveck v. Consolidated Rail Corp.
...414, 59 Ill.Dec. 125, 431 N.E.2d 410; Coleman v. Burlington Northern, Inc. (8th Cir.1982), 681 F.2d 542; Kansas City Southern Ry. Co. v. Cagle (10th Cir.) 229 F.2d 12, cert. denied (1956), 351 U.S. 908, 76 S.Ct. 697, 100 L.Ed. 1443), without regard to negligence and irrespective of whether ......
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Lisek v. Norfolk and Western Ry. Co., 93-2785
...consensus. Finding the two conditions distinguishable (without explaining why), the Tenth Circuit held in Kansas City S. Ry. Co. v. Cagle, 229 F.2d 12, 14-15 (10th Cir.1955), cert. denied, 351 U.S. 908, 76 S.Ct. 697, 100 L.Ed. 1443 (1956), that a railroad was liable when cars failed to coup......