Texarkana Gas & Electric Light Co. v. Orr

• Decision Date: 09 June 1894
• Citation: 27 S.W. 66
• Parties: TEXARKANA GAS & ELECTRIC LIGHT CO. v. ORR.
• Court: Arkansas Supreme Court

27 S.W. 66

TEXARKANA GAS & ELECTRIC LIGHT CO. v. ORR.

Supreme Court of Arkansas.

June 9, 1894.

Appeal from circuit court, Miller county; Rufus D. Hearn, Judge.

Action by Thomas Orr, administrator of Edward Wallace, deceased, against the Texarkana Gas & Electric Light Company. Judgment for plaintiff. Defendant appeals. Affirmed.

This suit was instituted by appellee, administrator of the estate of Ed. Wallace, deceased, against the appellant company, in the Miller circuit court, at its November term, 1891, and the cause was tried at the November term, 1892, resulting in a verdict and judgment for plaintiff in the sum of $20 actual damages and $200 punitive damages against the defendant.

Abstract.

The cause of action is fully set forth in the complaint, which is as follows, to wit: "Comes the plaintiff, Thos. Orr, administrator of the estate of Edward Wallace, deceased, and complaining of the defendant, the Texarkana Gas & Electric Light Company, a corporation existing under and by virtue of the laws of the state of Arkansas, states that on the 23d day of August, 1891, defendant owned, maintained, and operated in the city of Texarkana, Arkansas, a system of electric lights, and that by means of wires the electric current was carried over, upon, and along the streets of Texarkana, Arkansas, from the power house to the various points of service in said city; that during the night of the 22d of August, 1891, or early on the morning of the 23d of August, 1891, said company's wires became disabled and out of repair, and, being either broken, or disengaged from their fastenings, fell to the ground, upon the sidewalk and crossing in the city of Texarkana, at the intersection of Broad street and Pine street in said city, and said defendant negligently permitted said wire to remain so grounded and lying upon said street crossing from about 12:30 o'clock a. m. until after daylight in the morning, when said street was thronged with passersby; that the deceased, Edward Wallace, while passing along said street about or a little after daylight, had his attention called to said obstruction lying upon said crossing, and being ignorant of the character of said wire, and presuming, and having a right to presume, that defendant would not permit a live wire to remain under the feet of passersby upon so crowded a thoroughfare, took hold of same, to cast it aside, out of the way of pedestrians, and was killed by the powerful current with which said wire was at the time charged. And plaintiff alleges that deceased came to his death by the gross negligence and wanton misconduct of defendant, its agents and employés, and that deceased came to his death without fault on his part, and to the damage of his estate in the sum of twenty thousand dollars. Wherefore, plaintiff prays damages in the sum of twenty thousand dollars, and his costs in and about this cause expended." The answer is substantially a denial of all the material allegations in the complaint. The evidence in the case is to the effect that during the night of the 22d day of August, 1891, there was an electrical storm in Texarkana, such as was never known in that locality before that time; that at that time the appellant corporation was operating its lamps and wires in that city for the purpose of furnishing lights to its inhabitants; that there was more or less of inexperience in the persons immediately in charge of the operation of the machinery at the power house; that there was an apparent want of that extra care and watchfulness on the part of those in control which the peculiar circumstances seem to have demanded; and that by reason of the terrific character of the storm, and its effect upon the machinery and wires, there was considerable demoralization among the employés then on duty. The testimony goes to show that some of the wires were broken and down between 12 o'clock and 2:30 o'clock a. m. of the night in question, while some of the testimony would seem to point to a later hour. At all events, no discovery of a "ground" seems to have been made at the power house earlier than about 2 o'clock a. m. "By `ground' is meant any connection between the line and the earth. This connection may be made by the line, or any of its connections, being broken, and the ends coming in contact with a tree or its limbs, or with the pole or roof of a house, or by another wire or rope or string being thrown over the line, and resting on the earth. To cause ground by the wire coming in contact with the pole or a tree or the roof of a house, there must be damp." It was shown by the testimony of experts that it is scarcely possible to ascertain the locality of a ground by the application of the most efficient tests, but that these tests are available to ascertain the fact there is a ground, and, to some extent, the nature of the ground. There is no complaint that proper tests were not applied on the occasion of the storm in question. In fact, the object of the application seems to have been attained by the person in charge of the machinery at the power house, for we find one witness, who seems to have been in a position to testify directly on the subject, testifying as follows: John Thurston testified: "I was at the electric plant, at work, — carrying in strips to fire with, — when Ed. Wallace was killed. Mr. Gafney, the engineer, that night sent me to the hotel to notify the superintendent that the alternating incandescent machine was badly grounded. I went and told him, — Mr. Randall. The superintendent told me to go ahead. He asked me what the trouble was, and I told him as stated, and he asked what time it was, and I replied, I did not know; and then he told me go back, and tell them to go ahead. I went back, and told Mr. Gafney." Cross-examination: "I went to work for the electric light company on the 14th of June, I...