Hammon v. Midland Valley Railroad
Hammon v. Midland Valley Railroad
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court was delivered by
This was an action to recover for the loss of a barn and its contents alleged to have been destroyed by fire negligently set out by the defendant in the operation of its railroad. The property was insured in the Fidelity-Phoenix Fire Insurance Company, and it paid to W. E. Hammon, the owner, the amount of the insurance, $1,711.60, a sum less than the value of the property destroyed, and by reason of its interest the insurance company joined Hammon in bringing the action. Upon a trial the jury awarded Hammon the recovery of $1,784.40 and $1,711.60 to the Insurance Company, the amount it had paid on the insurance policy. The defendant appeals.
The controversy was before the court in an earlier appeal. (Hammon v. Railroad Co., 106 Kan. 787, 189 Pac. 909.) In that case, as well as Otey v. Railroad Co., 108 Kan. 755, 197 Pac. 203, the origin of the fire and the responsibility of the railroad company therefor were considered and determined. There is no longer any good ground for contention as to the responsibility of the defendant for
The testimony regarding the terms of the lease would have warranted an award to Hammon for the value of the barn, but the court instructed the jury that plaintiff could only recover for the value of the use of the same. While there is some complaint by the defendant as to the value of the use, a reading of the testimony shows that there is no good ground for the objection.
Complaint is made of an instruction stating in substance that plaintiff had an insurable interest in the barn, and that if defendant, caused the burning of it the plaintiff would be entitled to recovery for the use of the same for the unexpired term of his lease. It is said that as plaintiff asked a recovery for the destruction of the barn it was a departure to permit him to recover for the loss of its use. Proof that the loss was partial instead of entire can hardly be regarded as a departure.
Other complaints are made as to instructions defining a preponderance of evidence and the burden of proof, but nothing substantial is found in them. Defendant requested an instruction to the effect that certain instruments had been introduced purporting to show that sums of money had been paid to Hammon by the insurance company and that the values of property named in these papers could not be taken as any evidence of the value of the property in question in this action. It appears that the same question was raised when the instruments were introduced, and the court
Other objections are made to the- language of the instructions, but we do'not discover material error in any of them.
'Finding no reversible error in the record, the judgment is affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.