Western Union Telegraph Co. v. Campbell

• Decision Date: 01 June 1904
• Parties: WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH CO. v. CAMPBELL et al.<SMALL><SUP>*</SUP></SMALL>
• Court: Texas Court of Appeals

81 S.W. 580

WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH CO. v. CAMPBELL et al.^*

Court of Civil Appeals of Texas.

June 1, 1904.

Appeal from Nacogdoches County Court; Robt. Berger, Judge.

Action by W. O. Campbell and others against the Western Union Telegraph Company. From a judgment for plaintiffs, defendant appeals. Reversed.

This suit was brought by R. P. Watson, Minnie Campbell, and her husband, W. O. Campbell, against the Western Union Telegraph Company, to recover damages alleged to have been caused from its failure to deliver the following telegram: "Shreveport, La., May 29, 1903. To Mr. W. O. Campbell. Garrison, Texas: Meet Minnie and self at train to-night. R. P. Watson." Plaintiffs' petition alleged that "Minnie" is the daughter of R. P. Watson and the wife of W. O. Campbell; that at 3:30 p. m. of May 29, 1903, Mr. Watson, acting for himself and Minnie, delivered the message to defendant's agent at Shreveport, to be wired to Garrison, Tex., and there delivered to Mr. Campbell, and paid the company's agent 25 cents therefor; that he requested the agent to be careful that the message reach Mr. Campbell as soon as possible, for the reason that he and Campbell's wife were going to Garrison on the night train, and that it would be a late hour when the train would arrive, and they wished Campbell to be sure to get the telegram; that the agent told him that the message would be there on good time, and that he need not be uneasy about Campbell's not getting it; that the message was never received by Campbell, and, in consequence, he did not meet his wife and Mr. Watson at the train upon their arrival thereon at Garrison, but he had locked up his residence in town and gone to his father's, about a mile and a half from there, to spend the night; that a heavy rain fell in Garrison, Tex., that night, causing the streets to be very muddy and disagreeable, and on account of the defendant's not delivering the message Mrs. Campbell and Mr. Watson had to walk 250 yards from the depot to Mr. Campbell's dwelling house, which, when they reached there, they found locked, and, being unable to enter, they had to return, through the mud and chill of the night air, to the business part of the town, and put up at a hotel for the night; that in consequence of her exposure in going to and returning from her home Mrs. Campbell got her feet wet, and, having to retire without an opportunity to dry her feet, caught a severe cold, and on account thereof was confined to her room for some time on account of such exposure, to her damage in the sum of $950; that such exposure was the direct result of the company's not delivering the telegram to her husband; that, besides Mrs. Campbell's exposure to the inclement weather and her worry and toil in going through the mud to her home, she, having no night robe, was compelled to retire in her wet clothes and pay $1 hotel fare; that plaintiff R. P. Watson was compelled to take the same trips through the mud that his daughter was, and to pay $1 hotel fare, to his damage in the sum of $26, besides the 25 cents he had paid for the telegram. The petition closes with a prayer for judgment in the sum of $950 for Mrs. Campbell and for $26.25 in favor of Mr. Watson. The defendant answered by a general demurrer and special exceptions to the petition, and by a general denial, and by certain special pleas, which we deem unnecessary...