Yazoo & M. V. R. Co. v. O'Keefe
Yazoo & M. V. R. Co. v. O'Keefe
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the court.
This is an appeal from a judgment of the circuit court for one thousand five hundred dollars in favor of the ap-pellee, growing out of the appellee being carried by the station of his destination. The appellee, the plaintiff, at the time he was carried by his station was a minor six years old. The father of the plaintiff went to the ticket agent at Rome, Miss., and stated to him that his child was inexperienced,and was not used to traveling alone, and asked the ticket agent if it would be safe to send the minor child to Blaine, Miss., in care of the conductor, and the ticket agent informed him that it would be. Thereupon plaintiff’s father purchased the ticket, carrié'd the ticket and the child to the train, and placed the child in charge of the conductor; the conductor promising to put the child off at Blaine, and taking the child to a seat and telling
This court has held in several cases that the conductor is generally without authority to make agreements to give special attention to particular passengers, on the ground that it is contrary to public policy for him to discriminate between passengers, and that such agreements are generally without the scope of his authority. Railroad Co. v. Kendrick, 40 Miss. 374, 90 Am. Dec. 332; Railroad v. Statham, 42 Miss. 607, 97 Am. Dec. 478; Sevier v. Railroad, 61 Miss. 8, 48 Am. Rep. 74; Gage v. Railroad, 75 Miss. 17, 21 So. 657. It is not generally the duty of the conductor to make contracts for the railroad company as to the carriage of passengers; that duty is generally confided to the station agent or ticket agent. We think, however, that the ticket agent has authority to brake contracts for the railroad company as to the carriage of passengers. Such contracts are within the scope or apparent scope of his powers and duties. The railroad company is not required to accept for carriage small children unattended, or sick persons unattended, or any person unattended who is not conlpetent to take care of himself, but the railroad company has power to contract specially to carry such persons, and if they do so contract and carry such persons they owe them such reasonable care and attention as the circumstances call for. Weightman v. Railroad, 70 Miss. 563, 12 So. 586, 19 L. R. A. 671, 35 Am. St. Rep. 660; 5 Amer. & Eng. Enc. L. 538; Croom v. Railroad Co.: 52 Minn. 296, 53 N. W. 1128, 18 L. R. A. 602, 38 Am. St. Rep. 557.
Instructions for the plaintiff, Nos. 1, 3, and 7, are complained of, and it is insisted that they told the jury, in substance, that, if they believed the ticket agent promised that the conductor would put the boy off at his destination, and the conductor also promised the same thing, and if they believed it was within the scope of the authority of these employees to bind the railroad company by an agreement or promise made by the agent and conductor, then that the defendant railroad company would be liable for the conductor’s failure to put the boy off. We have examined these instructions, and we think they are not erroneous and that they come within the principles above announced. We do not think these instructions assumed facts that are ant in evidence.
In our judgment the verdict should be limited to three hundred dollars, and, if the appellee will enter a remittitur of all in excess of three hundred dollars, the judgment will be affirmed; otherwise it will be reversed and remanded for a new trial.
Affirmed, uñth remittitur.
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- 1. Cabeieks. Carrier not required to accept unattended child of tender years, hut, if it does so, is liable for neglect of duty; if carrier seeks to limit ticket agent’s power to contract, limitations-must he posted or brought to passenger’s attention. The carrier of passengers is not required to accept, unattended, a child of tender years needing special attention, but it may do so, and, if it does, it is liable for injury caused by its neglect of duty. The ticket agent generally has power to make contracts for the carrier for the carriage of passengers, and such contracts are within the scope of his apparent duties. If the carrier seeks to limit his powers, it must have its rules limiting the agent’s powers posted in its passenger depots, or else it must call the passenger’s attention to the limitation, or bring it to his attention, to prevent liability for breach of a special contract by its ticket agent. 2. Carriers. Instructions as to liability for carrying child past destination in violation of special contract held not erroneous. In a suit for damages for failure to put a child off at its destination, under a special contract so to do, to instruct the jury that, if the jury believed the ticket agent agreed that the conductor would put the child off at its destination, and that the conductor promised the same thing, and if they believed that it was within the scope of the authority of these employees to bind the railroad company by an agreement or promise made by the conductor and ticket agent, that then the defendant would be liable for the conductor’s failure to put the child off, is not erroneous, where the evidence sustains such facts. The fact that the conductor was without authority to make a special contract would be immaterial, where the ticket agent had such power and did make such contract. It merely imposed on the plaintiff the necessity of proving more than was needed under the law, it being sufficient to prove that the ticket agent had power to and did make such contract, and that the carrier breached its duty thereunder. 3. Appeal awd Error. Carriers. Where verdict is excessive, appellate court may reverse and remand or affirm on remittitur; one thousand five hundred dollars held excessive for carrying child past destination, frightening it, and causing it to contract cold. .Where, on a trial for carrying a child of tender years heyonds its destination in violation of a special contract, the verdict is grossly excessive, the court may reverse and remand the cause, or it may affirm on condition that plaintiff will enter a remit-titur to a named amount, deemed sufficient by the appellate court. The evidence examined, and verdict in this case held excessive.