Phoenix Railway Company v. Lee Landis

• Decision Date: 22 December 1913
• Docket Number: No. 61,61
• Parties: PHOENIX RAILWAY COMPANY, Plff. in Err., v. LEE H. LANDIS, Administrator of the Estate of George W. Sanders, Deceased
• Court: U.S. Supreme Court

231 U.S. 578

34 S.Ct. 179

58 L.Ed. 377

PHOENIX RAILWAY COMPANY, Plff. in Err.,

v LEE H. LANDIS, Administrator of the Estate of George W. Sanders, Deceased.

No. 61.

Argued November 12, 1913.

Decided December 22, 1913.

Messrs. Charles Cowles Tucker, Louis H. Chalmers, Edward Kent, A. B. Browne Alexander Britton, and Evans Browne for plaintiff in error.

Messrs. J. M. Jamison and John Mason Ross for defendant in error.

Mr. Justice Hughes delivered the opinion of the court:

This action was brought by the administrator of the estate of George W. Sanders against the Phoenix Railway Company to recover damages for negligence causing the death of the intestate. Judgment in favor of the administrator was affirmed by the supreme court of the territory. 13 Ariz. 80, 108 Pac. 247, 13 Ariz. 279, 112 Pac. 844.

The first assignment of error is to the effect that the court below misconstrued the statute under which the action was brought. Rev. Stat. (Ariz.) 1901, &Par2764-2766. The ruling was upon the sufficiency of the complaint, and the court followed Southern P. Co. v. Wilson (1906) 10 Ariz. 162, 85 Pac. 401, and De Amado v. Friedman, (1907) 11 Ariz. 56, 89 Pac. 588, which held that the action was for the benefit of the estate, and that it was not necessary for the plaintiff to allege or prove the existence of beneficiaries, or the amount of damages suffered by them.

In the first case cited, the history of the legislation was reviewed and the conclusion was rested upon the terms of the statute of 1901, as compared with the earlier act. The court has frequently stated that it is disposed to accept the construction which the territorial court has placed upon a local statute. Sweeney v. Lomme, 22 Wall. 208, 213, 22 L. ed. 727, 728; Fox v. Haarstick, 156 U. S. 674, 679, 39 L. ed. 576, 578, 15 Sup. Ct. Rep. 457; Northern P. R. Co. v. Hambly, 154 U. S. 349, 361, 38 L. ed. 1009, 1014, 14 Sup. Ct. Rep. 983; Copper Queen Consol. Min. Co. v. Territorial Bd. of Equalization, 206 U. S. 474, 479, 51 L. ed. 1143, 1146, 27 Sup. Ct. Rep. 695; Lewis v. Herrea, 208 U. S. 309, 314, 52 L. ed. 506, 508, 28 Sup. Ct. Rep. 412; English v. Arizona 214 U. S. 359, 361, 53 L. ed. 1030, 1032, 29 Sup. Ct. Rep. 658; Santa Fe County v. New Mexico, 215 U. S. 296, 305, 54 L. ed. 202, 207, 30 Sup. Ct. Rep. 111; Albright v. Sandoval, 216 U. S. 331, 339, 54 L. ed. 502, 508, 30 Sup. Ct. Rep. 318; Clason v. Matko, 223 U. S. 646, 653, 56 L. ed. 588, 593, 32 Sup. Ct. Rep. 392. The applicable considerations gain in force where, as in this case, the construction of the statute, deliberately established and followed, has been reaffirmed upon the eve of statehood, and we are of the opinion that the ruling of the supreme court of the territory of Arizona should not be disturbed.

The next contention is that the court below should have reversel the judgment of the trial court because of inconsistent instructions to the jury. After charging the jury that if they found for the plaintiff they should award such damages as should fairly compensate the estate of the deceased for the loss sustained by reason of his death, not exceeding the amount fixed by the statute, the trial court gave a further instruction that it was 'not necessary on the part of the plaintiff to show the precise money value of the life of the deceased, or the exact amount of damages suffered by the beneficiaries, in order to sustain a recovery for substantial damages.' It is urged that the latter instruction was inconsistent with the former, and impliedly submitted a distinct basis of recovery; that is, the loss to beneficiaries. It appeared in evidence that the decedent left a wife and two adult children, and that his wife, at least, had enjoyed the benefit of his support. The court below, while conceding that the term 'beneficiaries,' in the light of its construction of the statute, was 'technically inappropriate,' was of the opinion that the action was tried throughout upon the theory that the damages to be awarded were such as were suffered by the estate, and that, no considering the course of the trial and the instructions given to the jury just prior to, and immediately following, the one in question, it could not be said that the language complained of might have confused or misled the jury. We concur in this view and find in this assignment of error no ground for reversal.

It is said further that the court erred in holding that the plaintiff was entitled to recover substantial damages for the benefit of the estate 'without evidence showing or tending to show that deceased had ever saved or would have saved any portion of his earnings.' We have not been referred to any ruling to this effect. No such instruction was given to the jury, and the record does not disclose any request for an instruction which was refused by the trial court. The argument, in substance, is that the verdict was without sufficient basis in the evidence. It cannot be said, however, that there was no evidence to go to the jury, and, as we are limited to those questions which may be appropriately raised on writ of error, an objection that the verdict is against the weight of evidence, or that the damages allowed were excessive, cannot be considered in this court. Act of April 7, 1874, chap. 80, § 2, 18 Stat. at L. 27; Wilson v. Everett, 139 U. S. 616, 35 L. ed. 286, 11 Sup. Ct. Rep. 664; AEtna L. Ins. Co. v. Ward, 140 U. S. 76, 91, 35 L. ed. 371, 376, 11 Sup. Ct. Rep. 720; New York, L. E. & W. R. Co. v. Winter, 143 U. S. 60, 75, 36 L. ed. 71, 80, 12 Sup. Ct. Rep. 356, 8 Am. Neg. Cas. 690; Herencia v. Guzman, 219 U. S. 44, 45, 55 L. ed. 81, 82, 31 Sup. Ct. Rep. 135.

The trial court charged the jury that it might 'take into consideration the income and earning capacity of the deceased, his business capacity,...