Slater v. Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railway Company
| Decision Date | 23 July 1920 |
| Docket Number | 21,766 |
| Citation | 178 N.W. 813,146 Minn. 390 |
| Parties | ARTHUR F. SLATER v. CHICAGO, ST. PAUL, MINNEAPOLIS & OMAHA RAILWAY COMPANY |
| Court | Minnesota Supreme Court |
Action in the district court for Ramsey county to recover $50,000 for injuries received while in defendant's employ. The answer set up a settlement with plaintiff, for the sum of $11,500. The case was tried before Michael, J., who at the close of the testimony granted defendant's motion for a directed verdict. From an order denying his motion for a new trial, plaintiff appealed. Affirmed.
Federal Safety Appliance Act -- running board -- obstruction caused by trespasser.
The Federal Safety Appliance Act, which requires cars operated in interstate commerce to be equipped with secure running boards, was not violated where it appears that a trespasser without the knowledge of the railroad or its servants displaced an ice bunker cover so that it projected upon the running board causing plaintiff, a brakeman, to trip over it, the running board itself remaining all the time mechanically perfect and secure.
Samuel A. Anderson, for appellant.
Richard L. Kennedy and Donald Evans, for respondent.
Action by a brakeman to recover damages for injuries received while employed in moving an interstate train for defendant, a railway company. When the evidence was in, the court directed a verdict in favor of defendant, and plaintiff appeals from an order denying his motion for a new trial.
The sole ground of negligence alleged against defendant was a defective and insecure running board on a refrigerator car in the train, the defect not being in the running board itself, but because the cover of the ice bunker had been displaced so that it protruded upon the running board. The answer denied negligence and set up as defenses contributory negligence, assumption of risk and a settlement and release. The reply alleged that the settlement and release was procured by fraud.
The train in question left St. Paul, this state, after dark on December 19, 1917, destined for Sioux City, Iowa. Plaintiff was the head brakeman. Between 3 and 4 o'clock the next morning, soon after the station at Kasota had been passed, plaintiff, provided with a lantern, undertook to reach the engine by walking on the running boards on top of the cars, and, in stepping from the running board of an ordinary freight car to that of a refrigerator car ahead, he tripped upon an obstruction on the latter and fell between the cars in such a manner that the wheels on the left side of the train severed both feet above the ankles. While at the hospital defendant's agent obtained a settlement and release for $11,500. Plaintiff invested the money in real estate and mortgages. The chief reason assigned by the trial court for directing a verdict was that plaintiff, having the undisputed funds obtained by the settlement within his control, could not maintain the suit without offering to restore the same to defendant.
We need not determine whether the reason assigned by the learned trial court for directing the verdict was valid, nor is it necessary to consider whether the evidence would warrant a jury in setting aside the release, for a majority of the court are convinced that there is no proof of liability or actionable negligence against defendant. Plaintiff's testimony leaves it uncertain whether he stepped upon or beside the running board of the refrigerator car, but we shall assume that the jury could have found that he placed his foot on the running board and tripped over an obstruction thereon. The evidence is undisputed that the running board was secure and in perfect condition. At the rear end of this refrigerator car, as located in the moving train, and between the running board and the left side of the car, is the ice box, or bunker, with an opening extending from about six inches from the running board to within a few inches of the side of the car, or about three feet. It is about two feet wide. The walls of the opening extend a few inches above the roof of the car. A cover with a rim fits around the extended walls of the bunker. One end of the cover, when in place, extends about two inches under the running board and the other end is fastened by a hasp and curved pin near the edge of the roof, where the supper rung or handhold of the side ladder runs down. The evidence leaves it clear that a tramp or trespasser boarded the train at some point on the route before...
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