Louisville, New Orleans & Texas Ry. Co. v. Durfree

Mississippi Supreme Court October 15, 1891

Louisville, New Orleans & Texas Ry. Co. v. Durfree, 69 Miss. 439 (Miss. 1891)

Cooper

Opinion of the Court

Cooper, J.,

delivered the opinion of the court.

The appellant company should congratulate itself upon the very fortunate escape it has secured from a verdict for substantial punitive damages, which, on the facts, might well have been awarded by the jury:

Mr. Durfree was justified in momentarily expecting that *444tbe servants of the company would remove the obstructing train- from across the highway, so that he might pursue Ms journey home; and it does not lie with the company to say that he should have yielded to its unlawful and arrogant conduct, and sought shelter against the inclemency of the weather.

The judgment is affirmed.

Reference

Cited By: 2 cases
Status: Published
Syllabus: Railroads. Obstructing highway. Negligence. Damages. One detained by a train at a highway crossing is justified in momentarily expecting that the obstruction will be removed, as the law requires; and if, as the result of being detained unreasonably in inclement weather he is made sick, he may recover damages of the railroad company. It does not lie with defendant to say that jdaintiff should have yielded to its unlawful conduct and sought shelter.