Wingate v. Postal Telegraph & Cable Co.

• Decision Date: 13 April 1944
• Docket Number: 15640.
• Parties: WINGATE v. POSTAL TELEGRAPH & CABLE CO.
• Court: South Carolina Supreme Court

30 S.E.2d 307

204 S.C. 520

WINGATE v. POSTAL TELEGRAPH & CABLE CO.

No. 15640.

Supreme Court of South Carolina

April 13, 1944

Hagood Rivers & Young, of Charleston, for appellant.

J C. Long and Brantley Seymour, both of Charleston, for respondent.

OXNER Justice.

This is an action for damages on account of an alleged false arrest. The trial resulted in a verdict for plaintiff. The only question raised by the exceptions is whether the trial Judge erred in refusing defendant's motions for a nonsuit and directed verdict.

The respondent, Mrs. Wingate, owned and operated a grocery store in the City of Charleston. During the early part of the evening, on May 23, 1940, she sent two young men in her Buick car to a place of business in Charleston for two bags of rice. This car was a 1938 model, bearing license No. E-2092 and was formerly owned by Myers Funeral Home, of Georgetown, South Carolina. Mrs. Wingate purchased it from a used car dealer in Charleston several weeks before, but, according to the police records, it was still registered in the name of the former owner. These two young men were unable to get the rice, as the place was closed. They returned the car to Mrs. Wingate and went home.

In the course of this trip, they drove on Bay Street, where the office of appellant, Postal Telegraph and Cable Company, is located. According to their testimony, they did not stop on Bay Street, but in slowly passing jokingly "hollered at" a messenger boy of appellant, who was on the street outside the office, and told him to "go ahead to work." One of these men had formerly been a messenger boy for appellant, and stated that while he knew most of the boys he did not know this particular messenger boy. A somewhat different version of this occurrence was given by the messenger boy, Robert Jones, who at the time was about seventeen years old. He testified that when he was near the office of appellant, two to four men, whom he did not know, passed along the street in a Buick car and "hollered" across the street, saying "take that damn message in." He said the car stopped and backed about two feet. He further testified that after going into the office to deliver a message, he came back and secured the license number of the car. Fearing that he might be molested further, he said that he went to the police station on his own initiative, reported the incident, giving the license number of the car, and requested the police officers to investigate the matter. In his direct testimony this messenger boy denied mentioning this particular occurrence to anyone connected with appellant. On cross-examination he admitted that he mentioned it to someone in the office but did not recall who it was.

The foregoing incident occurred around 8 p.m. A detective on duty at the office of the police department testified that a messenger boy, who stated that his name was Robert Jones, came to the office about 9:05 p.m., and complained that four men in a Buick car, License No. E-2092, had followed him and near appellant's office "stopped him and tried to take a telegram from him." The boy stated to this detective that they ought to be arrested and that was "what he came there for." The radio log of the police records showed that at 9:08 p.m. a message was sent to all radio cars to "pick up for detective department" a 1938 Buick sedan, bearing the above-mentioned license number.

Early the following morning respondent, not knowing anything of the occurrence the night before, drove her car to the market. According to her testimony, just as she reached the market, a uniformed police officer, whom she had known for years, jumped on the car and said: "Whoever is in the car is under arrest *** you are the one I am looking for." She replied that she had not done anything, whereupon the officer said: "I have got orders from the desk to pick up car 2092, and the one driving it." Respondent says that by this time a crowd had gathered around the car. The officer got on the running board and directed her to drive to the police station, and, standing on the side of the car, rode with her to the corner of Anson and Calhoun Streets. At this point the officer alighted from the car, instructed her to go to the police station, and phoned to the police department that she was on the way.

Respondent further testified that she drove to the police station and the officer in charge seemed to be unfamiliar with the matter. He referred her to the chief of the detective department, who was temporarily out of the office. She then went and got the two young men who were in her car the night before and came back to the police station, at which time the chief of the detective department was present. After a brief discussion, this officer released all of them.

In company with these two young men respondent then went to the manager of appellant's Charleston office. She testified that she asked the manager "about this boy Robert, the boy that worked for him, and he said, yes, the boy came to his office, and he told the boy to get the number of the car and pick up the people that was in it." The following is also taken from her testimony:

"Q. State just what the manager of the Postal Telegraph Company said? A. He said the boy came in and complained, and he said he told him to go and have the car picked up, and the people. Q. Told him to go where and have it picked up? A. Go down to the police station."

The officer who made the alleged arrest of respondent testified that he had orders to pick up this car and that while directing school traffic, he saw it pass and followed it to Market Street, where he told respondent, whom he had known for many years, "I am not going to arrest you, but we had orders to pick up car with license Number E-2092, and I will ask you to go to the police station and straighten it out." This officer stated that respondent was agreeable to going and that, with her permission, he rode with her to the corner of Calhoun and Anson Streets, where he got off and phoned to the police station that he had picked up the car, that Mrs. Wingate was in it, and that she was coming to straighten it out.

One of appellant's witnesses, Mr. Richards, testified that at the time complained of he was manager of appellant's Charleston office, with hours from 8 a.m. to 5 or 6 p.m.; that a Mr. Jennings was the night manager; and that Jennings informed him that some one had molested one of the night boys, but he did not recall whether Jennings told him that the incident had been reported to the police department. This witness admitted that respondent and the two boys came to see him on the morning of the alleged arrest, but denied making the statement to respondent that he directed the boy to go to the police station and have the car and the people in it picked up.

The motions for nonsuit and directed verdict were upon the grounds, (1) that there was no evidence of an arrest of respondent, and (2) that there was no evidence...