Louisville & Nashville Railroad v. Lowe
Louisville & Nashville Railroad v. Lowe
Opinion of the Court
1. The defendants insist the petition is contra
2. The defendants further insist that the allegation that the “employees and crew” of the train should have seen the cows was not definite enough because it did not state which employees or crew should have done so or what authority they possessed. If the defendants wanted more certain information on this matter, they should have filed a special demurrer to this allegation. It is the office of a special demurrer to require the pleader to set out his cause of action with such definiteness, clarity and particularity as to enable the defendant to know the exact nature of the complaint and prepare himself to defend against it. Richmond & Danville R. Co. v. Mitchell, 95 Ga. 78 (22 S. E. 124); Georgia, Southern & Florida Ry. Co. v. Williamson, 84 Ga. App. 167, 175 (65 S. E. 2d 444).
3. The defendants further contend that the petition did not show that the defendants had breached any duty to the plaintiff because the cows were trespassing animals. The petition alleged that the defendants’ crew had ample time to see the cattle and that they should have stopped the train in an effort to avoid' striking them. When the engineer sees, or in the exercise of ordinary care could see, the animal on the tracks in front of the train, he is then charged with the duty to exercise reasonable diligence to check the train and avoid killing or injuring the animal. Southern R. Co. v. Eubanks, 117 Ga. 217 (43 S. E. 487); Augusta &c. R. Co. v. Carroll, 7 Ga. App. 138 (66 S. E. 403); Southern R. Co. v. Russell, 46 Ga. App. 772 (169 S. E. 245); Powell v. Rogers, 75 Ga. App. 165 (42 S. E. 2d 573).
Judgment affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.