Bollier v. Missouri Pacific Railroad
Bollier v. Missouri Pacific Railroad
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court was delivered by
Plaintiff sued defendant for damages on account, of delay in transporting a carload of barley from Towner, Colo., to Kansas City, Mo.
From the jury’s special findings of fact and statements of plaintiff’s counsel, it appears that the car left Towner on October 18, and arrived in Kansas City Saturday evening, October 25; and that it
Jury trial; special findings of fact; general verdict for defendant; motion for new trial denied; judgment for defendant; appeal.
Plaintiff contends that the general verdict was inconsistent with the special findings and that he was entitled on those findings to a. judgment for $98.75 or a new trial.
Defendant challenges plaintiff’s right of appeal.
Since on no interpretation of the evidence disclosed by the record did plaintiff have any excuse for suing for a sum in excess of $100, and his only contention here is that he should have had judgment for $98.75 or a new trial, it rather clearly appears that this court has no jurisdiction of this appeal. (R. S. 60-3303.) Of course, if a plaintiff has a bona fide claim for a sum of money in excess of a hundred dollars with some evidence which, although controverted and of questionable trustworthiness,, would support that claim, he would have a cause of action which might find its way to this court for review (Robinson v. Lamoureaux, 71 Kan. 850, 80 Pac. 595; Cardwell v. Railroad Co., 90 Kan. 707, 136 Pac. 244), but he cannot lay the ground for an appeal to this court by suing for $110 on a mere ten-dollar claim, nor by suing for $160.47 on a claim which by no construction of the evidence would support a judgment in excess of $98.75. Here there is no complaint of exclusion of evidence, which, if favorably considered, would have warranted a judgment for an amount which could be reviewed by this court.
However, if we disregard the jurisdictional question and examine the special findings, it is only at first blush that they seem inconsistent with the general verdict, and then only because they do not elicit all the controlling facts which are manifestly reflected in the general verdict. Some of the findings read:
“Q. 7. State what date the ear should have arrived at destination? A. [Friday], October 24, 1924, at 5:15 p. m.”
“Q. 5. What was the market value of the barley per bushel on the day it should have arrived at destination? A. No. 4, 86 to 89 cents.”
“Q. 6. State what date the car arrived at destination. A. Saturday, October 25, 1924.”
“Q. 3. What was the market value of the barley per bushel when it arrived at destination? A. No. 4, 77 to 82 cents.”
“Q. 9. State what date the car was delivered to the defendant? A. October 27, 1924, a. m.”
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.