Supreme Court of Missouri, 1861

Miles v. Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad

Miles v. Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad
Supreme Court of Missouri · Decided January 15, 1861 · Ewing, Napton, Scott
31 Mo. 407

Counsel

Slack, for appellant., Mullins, for respondent.

Miles v. Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad

Opinion of the Court

Napton, Judge,

delivered the opinion of the court.

The petition in this case is defective. It is impossible to conjecture on what grsiund the liability of the company is placed. Negligence and wilfulness are charged, and it is also alleged that the road was not fenced and that there were not cattle-guards at the crossings, but where the accident occurred is not stated. The evidence merely showed the *409killing of a cow by the locomotive. The instructions asked by the defendant were not the law. Negligence and unskilfulness on the part of the company’s agents were not essential to a recovery if the accident happened where there was no fence and where there was no crossing, or where the crossing was not protected by a cattle-guard. How this was does not appear.

Judgment reversed and cause'remanded;

Judge Ewing concurs. Judge Scott absent.

Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.