Bugg v. Kirkland
Bugg v. Kirkland
Opinion of the Court
David Kirkland procured a verdict and judgment against B. L. Bugg, receiver of the Atlanta, Birmingham & Atlantic Railway Company, for damages alleged to have been caused to the plaintiff’s sawmill by a fire set out by engine number 60 of the railway company. The petition as amended alleged that said sawmill was located about one foot south of the right of way of the railway company; that the defendant had piled, or permitted to be piled, a quantity of fat lightwood between its tracks and the sawmill, and had negligently allowed a large quantity of highly inflammable trash to accumulate on the right of way up to and around the pile of lightwood; and that the de
There was evidence that the train of the defendant company, when it passed the sawmill on the occasion of the fire, was running up-grade and was “exhausting;” that “an engine is more liable to throw more sparks when it is exhausting than when not;” that “the purpose of that netting [introduced by the defendant company] is to keep an engine from throwing fire and setting grass or anything else afire where a spark might go through to set fire. That is not the best kind in general use,—it is not closely woven,— that netting should not be in an engine,—that netting would permit sparks to go through there and set fire to anything.” Also, that “live sparks will go through that netting when the engine is in operation.” There was evidence that on previous occasions fire had started just after the passing of the defendant company’s train which was equipped with the same kind of netting used by the defendant company on the occasion of the fire in question. The evidence also shows that the defendant company had permitted trash to accumulate on its right of way; that “the fire was burning from the railroad back south through the mill
There was sufficient evidence to authorize the jury to find that the engine of the defendant company was not properly equipped, and that on this occasion it was throwing sparks and set fire to the plaintiff’s mill. The motion for a new trial shows no cause for a reversal of the judgment of the trial court.
Judgment affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.