Southern Kan. R. Co. v. Rice

• Decision Date: 11 February 1888
• Citation: 38 Kan. 398,16 P. 817
• Parties: THE SOUTHERN KANSAS RAILWAY COMPANY v. BENJAMIN RICE
• Court: Kansas Supreme Court

16 P. 817

38 Kan. 398

THE SOUTHERN KANSAS RAILWAY COMPANY v. BENJAMIN RICE

Supreme Court of Kansas

February 11, 1888

Error from Johnson District Court.

ACTION brought by Benjamin Rice against The Southern Kansas Railway Company on October 31, 1885, to recover as damages the sum of one thousand dollars for being unlawfully assaulted and ejected from a passenger car by the conductor thereof, while returning from Kansas City, Missouri, to Olathe, in this state, the plaintiff at the time having a ticket to ride as a passenger in the car. Subsequently, the railway company filed an answer containing a general denial. Trial had at the March Term, 1886. The jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff and assessed his damages at one hundred and seventeen dollars and forty-six cents; and also made the following special findings of fact:

Questions submitted by plaintiff:

"1. Did the conductor act willfully and in a grossly negligent manner in putting the plaintiff off of the train? Ans.: He willfully put him off the train.

"2. Did the conductor act with a reckless disregard of the plaintiff's rights? A. Yes.

"3. Did the plaintiff state to the conductor that he had purchased his ticket the day before, and could the conductor have easily ascertained that fact from the passengers who were acquainted with plaintiff? A. In this case he could.

"4. How much do you allow plaintiff as exemplary damages? A. $ 71.75."

Questions submitted by defendant:

"1. How much do you allow plaintiff for pecuniary loss? A. 71 cents.

"2. Was plaintiff injured in person by the conductor? A. No.

"3. How much do you allow plaintiff for injury to his person? A. Nothing.

"4. Did plaintiff lose any time by reason of defendant's conductor refusing to honor his ticket, and if so, how much? A. No.

"5. How much do you allow plaintiff for loss of time? A. Nothing.

"6. How much do you allow plaintiff for inconvenience in going from his seat to the platform and back again? A. Nothing.

"7. Was plaintiff treated in an insulting or brutal manner by the conductor; and if so, state fully how? A. In an insulting manner.

"8. How much, if anything, do you allow plaintiff for injury to his feelings? A. $ 10.

"9. How much, if anything, do you allow plaintiff for expenses attorneys' fees, or time in prosecuting this case? A. $ 35."

The defendant filed a motion to set aside the verdict of the jury and for a new trial, which was overruled. Subsequently judgment was entered upon the verdict. The railway company excepted, and brings the case here.

Judgment affirmed.

Geo. R. Peck, A. A. Hurd, and Robert Dunlap, for plaintiff in error.

John T. Little, and Samuel T. Seaton, for defendant in error.

HORTON C. J. All the Justices concurring.

OPINION

HORTON, C. J.:

On October 29, 1885, Benjamin Rice, a colored man, purchased of the ticket agent of the Southern Kansas Railway Company, at Olathe, in this state, for fifty cents, a limited railroad ticket to Kansas City, Missouri, and return, good for three days, the date of issue being stamped on the back. On that day he was carried as a passenger by the railway company upon one of its passenger trains from Olathe to Kansas City. The "going coupon" of the ticket was torn off and taken up by the conductor of the train. On the next day, October 30th, Rice, desiring to return to Olathe, boarded one of the passenger trains of the company, which left Kansas City about ten o'clock P. M., and when the conductor called upon him for his fare, presented the "return coupon" of the ticket, which he had purchased the day before. The conductor took it to the light, and after examining it, handed it back to Rice, saying it was not good, and informed him that he could not honor it. Rice insisted that the ticket was good, and said to the conductor that he had purchased the ticket the day before, and that he, the conductor, had carried him upon the ticket to Kansas City on that day. Another passenger also stated to the conductor at the time, that he had seen Rice purchase the ticket on the 29th. The conductor replied that he could not honor the ticket, and subsequently took hold of Rice's coat-collar and led him out of the car. Rice had no money to pay any extra fare, and when he was off the car, or about to get off, a friend gave him seventy-five cents, which he gave to the conductor, who returned him five cents, punched a receipt for his fare, and permitted him to ride to Olathe.

On the part of Rice, it is contended that the ticket he presented showed plainly on its back that it was stamped at Olathe on the 29th of October; that he told the conductor that he did not have any money to pay any more fare; that he was quietly in his seat as a passenger when ordered by the conductor to leave the train; that he did not make any forcible resistance to the orders of the conductor, but that the conductor took him out of the car and off upon the steps of the platform.

On the part of the railway company it is claimed that the ticket had been folded up and creased at the date; that the conductor took it to the light and examined it carefully; that the date was obliterated; that the ticket looked so old and worn that the conductor believed it had expired; that he informed Rice that the ticket was not good and that he could not ride upon it, but would have to pay fare; that when the train reached Holliday the conductor inquired of Rice what he was going to do; that Rice then refused to pay fare or get off the train; that the conductor then took hold of Rice's coat-collar and led him to the platform of the station, or to the last step of the car; that then a friend told Rice to come back and he would give him money to pay his fare, and the conductor permitted Rice to take his seat and ride to his destination; that when Rice was informed that he would have to pay his fare or leave the car, it was his duty to do one or the other; that he should have paid his fare and relied upon his remedy to recover it back; that if he could not do this he should have quietly left the train and not provoked or made necessary an assault; that therefore he should have recovered only seventy-one cents, that amount being the sum assessed by the jury for his pecuniary loss. The railroad company asked instructions which tended to limit the amount of damages that Rice was entitled to recover to the exact fare paid by him, with interest thereon. The court refused to give these instructions, but directed the jury, among other things, as follows:

"I instruct you that if you find the plaintiff presented to the conductor for his passage a limited ticket, good only for three days from the date of its sale, and that the conductor from the mutilated and worn condition of the ticket, was unable to read the date on the ticket, and honestly believed that the ticket was an old one, and not good, and for this reason, and without any unnecessary force or indignity to the plaintiff, required him to pay his fare or get off, and did upon refusal and failure to...