Hanson v. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Co.
Hanson v. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Co.
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court was delivered by
M. 0. Hanson sued the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company for damages, alleged to have been occasioned by the company’s employees.
This evidence was sufficient to make a prima facie case of liability on the part of the defendant, if the men who were instructed to keep the cattle of the two shippers separate were in fact employees of the railroad company. There was testimony that one of them assisted in dividing the cattle the next morning and opened the gate at the stockyards as they were being driven out. With the evidence already stated, this was probably sufficient to justify an inference that he was an agent of the company. (Olson v. Bank, 78 Kan. 592, 96 Pac. 853; Heinz v. Light Co., 81 Kan. 261, 105
The suggestion is made in behalf of the defendant that the plaintiff “voluntarily” chased the cattle around in an effort to separate them, and should abide by the consequences of his own act. According'to the evidence, however, this handling of the cattle was made necessary by the fault of the. company’s employees in failing to keep them separate.
It was shown that a complete separation of the cattle was not accomplished, Barg getting two of the plain-, tiff’s animals, and the plaintiff two of his, of less value. The plaintiff was not entitled to a recovery on this feature of the case. He was not deprived of the ownership of the two steers belonging to him which were loaded into Barg’s car. They were taken to Barg’s farm, about.a mile and a half from his own. The railway company might have been liable for the expense of making an exchange, but as none was effected or attempted the adjustment of the difference .in value was a matter between the two owners.
Complaint is made _ of the questions asked of the plaintiff on cross-examination with respect to a written contract of shipment, but as the contract itself was not admitted no prejudice could have resulted.
The judgment is reversed and a new trial ordered.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- M. O. Hanson v. The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- SYLLABUS BY THE COURT. 1. Shipping Stock—Intermingling of Cattle—Damages. Where the employees of a railroad company, in unloading cattle from a train, to be fed and watered, intermingle the animals of two shippers, in violation of directions to keep them separate, the carrier is liable on account of loss of weight and other injuries which naturally result from the handling of the cattle thereby made necessary in order to effect their separation. 2. -Agency—Evidence of Authority. The evidence held to support a finding that a person to whom such directions were given was an agent of the railway company. 3. - Cattle Exchanged—Damages. A shipper who under-such circumstances has received several inferior cattle of the other owner in place of his own, can not recover damages from the railroad company on account-of the exchange, where he has made no attempt to avail himself of a subsequent opportunity to correct it.