Louisville Ry. Co. v. Flannery
Louisville Ry. Co. v. Flannery
Opinion of the Court
Opinion op hie court by
— Affirming.
' Tile father of Arthur Flannery drove his wagon in front of a fruit store on Jefferson street and left it standing as close to the sidewalk and as far from the street car track in the- middle of the street as he could, considering’ 'the position of other vehicles that.
The only error assigned is the failure, of the trial court to give the following instruction: “The court instructs the jury that if they believe from the evidence that the wagon in question was a sufficient distance from the track for the defendant’s car to pass the same in safety, and that the front part arid ’step of said oar did pass said wagon in .safety, arid that afterwards, and while said car was passing said wagon, said wagon changed its position by reason of the horse moving or otherwise, and thus brought said wagon so close to the said car that the rear of the car
The motorman saw the little boy in the wagon before attempting to pass it. He knew, or must have known, that the boy was not old enough to appreciate or understand that he was in any danger, and that his tender years made him indifferent to his request to move the wagon out of the way. He also knew that the iboy was the only occupant of the wagon, and further knew that the -closeness of the wagon to- the track made it doubtful if the car would pass without striking it. With full knowledge of all these facts, it Was the duty -of the motorman under the circumstances to have stopped his oar until the wagon was moved to a place of safety. If the wagon had been so far from the track that the car could have passed it with reasonable safety, or, in other words, so far that an ordinary or slight movement of the horse would- not have thrown it in contact with the car, and, after the front of the car had passed the wagon, the rear of the car collided with it .on account of the negligence of the driver of the wagon or the restlessness of the horse, the instruction offered would have been appropriate. But, when a motorman sees a vehicle so close to the track that it appears to bim doubtful if it can be passed in safety, the company will not be excused because the horse -attached to the vehicle by a slight movement throws the wagon in such a position that the car will strike it. Here
There is no conflict in the view of the law and that expressed in the cases of the Louisville Railway Company v. Meglemery, 78 S. W. 217, 25 Ky. Law Rep. 1587; Lexington Railway Company v Woodward, 106 S. W. 853, 32 Ky. Law Rep. 653; Lexington Railway Company v. Van Laden, 107 S. W. 740, 32 Ky. Law Rep. 1047; Louisville Railway Company v. Garr
In the casés mentioned the court held that the instruction approved not only presented' the railway company's theory of the case, but contained a correct exposition of the law. The instruction offered in this case, while based on facts sufficient to authorize it, and doubtless stating the company’s defense, does not properly present the law of the case as we understand it. An instruction should not only be based on the facts developed by the evidence, but contain a correct statement of the principles of law applicable to the facts. In each of the cases mentioned the exoneration cf ithe company from liability depended upon the fact that the motorman was exercising ordinary c-arc to prevent the accident, and that it was caused by the negligence of the injured party. Here the motorman was not exercising ordinary care, nor was there any fault upon the part of the injured boy. indeed, we might well say under all the circumstances that the accident was due to- the inexcusable negligence of the motorman.
"Wherefore the judgment of the lower court is affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.