Knapp v. Northern P. Ry. Co.

• Decision Date: 13 January 1910
• Citation: 56 Wash. 662,106 P. 190
• Parties: KNAPP v. NORTHERN PAC. RY. CO.
• Court: Washington Supreme Court

106 P. 190

56 Wash. 662

KNAPP v. NORTHERN PAC. RY. CO.

Supreme Court of Washington

January 13, 1910

Department 2. Appeal from Superior Court, Yakima County; E. B. Preble Judge.

Action by Lewis J. Knapp against the Northern Pacific Railway Company. From a judgment in favor of plaintiff, defendant appeals. Reversed.

Geo. T Reid and Englehart & Rigg, for appellant.

H. J Snively and William M. Thompson, for respondent.

PARKER J.

This is an action to recover damages for personal injuries alleged to have resulted to plaintiff from the negligence of the railway company in putting plaintiff off its train while he was in a state of intoxication and while the train was in motion.

By his complaint plaintiff alleges, in substance, that on April 19 1907, he became a passenger on defendant's train at North Yakima to go to the station of Mabton; that he became intoxicated upon the train to an extent that he was not able to know what he was doing, which the officers and employés in charge of the train knew or could have ascertained by casual and ordinary inspection; that he went to sleep prior to reaching Mabton, and was asleep and intoxicated, and was not aware that he had reached that station upon the train arriving there; that, when the train pulled out of that station, one or more of the employés or officers in charge of the train awakened him and took and accompanied him to the platform of the car while the train was running, he still being intoxicated and not conscious of what he was doing, or the risk he was taking, or of the fact that the train was moving, so carelessly and negligently put and assisted him off the train, and so carelessly and negligently permitted and advised him to alight therefrom in his intoxicated condition that he was dashed violently to the ground and thereby injured. The nature and extent of plaintiff's injuries need not be noticed, since no question arises thereon. The railway company's answer is, in substance, a denial of the acts of negligence charged against it, with an allegation of plaintiff's own negligence as the cause of whatever injury he sustained, to which allegation plaintiff replied denying the same. At the conclusion of a trial before the court and a jury, the defendant moved the court to take the cause from the jury and render judgment in its favor upon the ground that the evidence was not sufficient to submit to the jury the question of its negligence, and that it affirmatively appeared therefrom that the injury to plaintiff was caused by his own negligence and without fault of defendant, which motion was denied, and exception was taken, when the cause was submitted to the jury and a verdict rendered against defendant. Thereafter defendant moved for judgment notwithstanding the verdict upon substantially the same grounds as for judgment, at the close of the evidence, which was denied, when exception was taken, and judgment rendered accordingly, from which defendant has appealed.

The only question to be determined is: Was the evidence sufficient to sustain the verdict and judgment? We have carefully read the evidence, all of which is brought here by statement of facts for our review. Let us first notice respondent's own version of his condition and also how he got off the train. He says: 'I had been drinking considerable that day. I drank considerable on the train. I remember leaving here (Yakima), and about the last I remember was pulling into Toppenish, * * * and then fell off to sleep. * * * I was drinking most all the way down there.' Then 'the first thing I remember there was somebody punched me in the back and I fell on the ground, * * * and looked up and saw the train crew looking at me. * * * I don't know whether there was two or three there. * * * And also there was some people looking out the window at me.' This the evidence shows happened as the train was leaving Mabton, where he was to get off. The evidence is silent as to how fast the train was going, but it...