Leake v. Gulf & Ship Island Railroad

Mississippi Supreme Court October 15, 1907

Leake v. Gulf & Ship Island Railroad, 91 Miss. 398 (Miss. 1907)

46 So. 68

Whitfield

Opinion of the Court

Whitfield, C. J.,

delivered the opinion of the court.

It was manifest error on the part of the court below to give the peremptory instruction. The question as to whether any miscreant did misplace the switch, as well as the other questions involved should have been determined by the jury on the testi*407mony. See, for the principle controlling the matter, the very accurate note to Robertson v. Dodge, 81 Am. Dec., at pages 268-270.

Reversed and remanded.

Reference

Full Case Name: Walter B. Leake v. Gulf & Ship Island Railroad Company
Status: Published
Syllabus: Railroads. Passengers. Injuries. Collision. Peremptory instruction. Credibility of witness. In a suit by a passenger for injuries suffered in a collision between a railroad train running at an unlawful speed and cars standing on a side track, caused by a misplaced switch, the defense of the railroad company being that the switch was misplaced by a miscreant, a peremptory instruction should not be given for defendant because the engineer of the colliding train testified that just as his engine came near the switch he saw an unknown man throw it and run away, there being evidence tending to discredit his statement.