Winoker v. Warfield

• Decision Date: 22 August 1911
• Citation: 71 S.E. 1051,136 Ga. 742
• Parties: WINOKER v. WARFIELD et al.
• Court: Georgia Supreme Court

71 S.E. 1051

136 Ga. 742

WINOKER v. WARFIELD et al.

Supreme Court of Georgia

August 22, 1911

Syllabus by the Court.

A railway company is liable for a tort committed by its agent in the business of the company and within the scope of the agent's employment. Applying this doctrine to the allegations of the petition, it was not open to general demurrer.

Error from Superior Court, Liberty County; P. E. Seabrook, Judge.

Action by Samuel Winoker against S.D. Warfield and another, as receivers of the Seaboard Air Line Railway Company. The petition was dismissed on general demurrer, and plaintiff brings error. Reversed.

In a suit brought by Winoker against the receivers of the Seaboard Air Line Railway, the substance of the petition here material was: The petitioner went to the freight warehouse of the railway company at Dorchester, a station on the railway line for the purpose of paying the freight charges due by him to the defendants on a lot of goods shipped to him over the line of the company to Dorchester. When he arrived at the warehouse, the station agent in charge thereof, and to whom he intended to pay such freight charges, was busy delivering freight to another person, and, while waiting for the agent to finish the business in which he was then engaged, the petitioner seated himself upon the steps of the platform in front of the warehouse, and entered into a conversation with a section foreman of the company. During this conversation the petitioner informed the section foreman that a short time previously petitioner had, with the consent of the railway officials, taken the place, for a few days, of the company's agent at Way's station on the company's line, and had, during the temporary absence of the agent at that station, performed his duties, including the selling of tickets to passengers. At this point in the conversation, one Walter Belk, "in the employment of said receivers as special agent," who was standing near by, "without petitioner having addressed a word to [him], *** said to petitioner that he [Belk] had told petitioner that petitioner must never come around any of the railroad offices again, and that, if he [Belk] ever caught petitioner in any of the railroad offices selling tickets, he [Belk] would kick petitioner out of them, and the said Belk then cursed petitioner [applying to him a vile name], *** and ordered petitioner to get down off of the steps whereon petitioner was sitting." Petitioner obeyed, whereupon Belk caught his shirt near the collar, again applying to him a vile name and ordered him to leave the grounds of the railway company at the same time pulling him across the tracks towards the edge of the company's right of way. "To this treatment petitioner protested, and told said Belk that he had no right to put him off the company's grounds, as he was there on business with the agent, and [that Belk] had no right to curse petitioner. The said Belk refused to desist but continued his hold on petitioner, and endeavored to pull petitioner across the remaining tracks of said railroad towards the edge of said right of way, and repeatedly called petitioner [a vile name], *** until finally petitioner replied to him by saying, 'You are another' [applying to Belk the same vile name], *** whereupon the said Belk knocked petitioner down," violently beating him, and inflicting serious wounds upon his head. "Petitioner says that, for...