Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville Railway Co. v. Brown
Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville Railway Co. v. Brown
Opinion of the Court
Plaintiff (appellee) sued to recover the value of a horse alleged to have been killed by a train of cars on defendant’s railway. The complaint Was in two paragraphs. In one it was alleged that the railroad, at the point where the horse entered upon said track and right of way, was not securely fenced; in the other, that the horse was purposely killed. The latter paragraph was dismissed. The answer was a general denial. There Was a verdict in favor of appellee for $125, and judgment thereon. With the general verdict, the jury returned answers to interrogatories.
The errors assigned are, the overruling of the demurrer to the first paragraph of complaint; overruling appellant’s motion for a judgment on the special findings notwithstanding the general verdict; overruling appellant’s motion for a new trial.
The first specification of error — the sufficiency of the complaint — is not discussed, and is therefore waived.
It is contended by appellant that the theory of the complaint is that the horse entered upon the track through an insufficient fence, and that the special findings show that the horse entered upon the right of way over a cattle-guard placed in the south line of the highway, and that there is therefore a fatal variance between the complaint and the facts so found. This claim is made upon the assumption that the action is based upon §5323 Burns 1901 (Acts 1885, p. 224). The action, however, is based upon §§5312-5318 Burns 1901, and is not governed by said act of 1885, which does not affect the liability of said company for killing animals. Jeffersonville, etc., R. Co. v. Dunlap, 112 Ind. 93; Jeffersonville, etc., R. Co. v. Peters, 1 Ind. App. 69; Louisville, etc., R. Co. v. Hughes, 2 Ind. App. 68; Ohio, etc., R. Co. v. Wrape, 4 Ind. App. 108; New York, etc., R. Co. v. Zumbaugh, 17 Ind. App. 171. In section four of said act of 1885, the liability of railroad companies for stock killed upon their roads is declared to be the same as if said act had not been passed.
A complaint against a railroad company to recover for the killing of a horse that entered upon the right of way, and was killed at a point on said right of w'ay “where the same was not securely fenced in,” is sustained by proof that the horse entered upon the right of way over a cattle-guard that was not sufficient to turn stock. Louisville, etc., R. Co. v. Etzler, 3 Ind. App. 562; Ohio, etc., R. Co. v. Neady, 5 Ind. App. 328; Wabash R. Co. v. Ferris, 6 Ind. App. 30; New York, etc., R. Co. v. Zumbaugh, supra.
Appellant refers to the proposition laid down in the decisions, that the presumption of law is that stock entered upon the right of way at the-place where it is found dead, and that in the case at bar appellee’s horse was found out upon the public highway about five feet east of the railway and north of the center of the road, and that, until appellee overcame the presumption that it was killed in the highway, appellant was entitled to a verdict. There was proof from which the jury could find that the horse’ entered upon the right of way over the cattle-guard, walked down the track some distance, turned, and started back
Judgment affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.