Lincoln Traction Co. v. Moore
Lincoln Traction Co. v. Moore
Opinion of the Court
The Lincoln Traction Company, the plaintiff herein, owned and operated a street railway on the highway running east and west on the north side of Lincoln Park, adjacent to the city of Lincoln, on the 29th day of April, 1899. On the afternoon of that day Jesse. D. Moore, the defendant herein, was driving a double team hitched to a light road wagon going east over that road; the traction company’s street car rounded the curve on its way west, when the team was about four hundred feet away. From the evidence it appears that the car was going slowly, and when the motorman saw the team was becoming frightened he turned the electric current off and slowed up still more. Some of the witnesses say he stopped the car, and some of them testified that the car was either stopped or was creeping along very slowly toward the team. The horses were traveling in a walk, and when they got nearly to the car they suddenly jumped to one side into the ditch. In attempting to hold them and control their movements, Moore place his foot against the dashboard of the wagon to brace himself; the pressure broke it off, causing him to slide partly out of the wagon; his foot struck the ground, his leg was broken, the team escaped from his control and ran away. The testimony further shows that the injuries which he thus sustained were quite severe and perhaps permanent. Upon his recovery, he commenced this action in the district court for Lancaster county to recover for the damages caused by his injuries; the trial resulted in a verdict and judgment in his favor for $3,000, and the traction company prosecute error therefrom. The petition on which the cause was tried contained the following allegations of negligence:
“The plaintiff alleges that, on the said date aforesaid,*424 while he was driving on said highway, one of the said electrical cars negligently driven by defendant, as aforesaid, came at a high rate of speed toward plaintiff, who was driving his team of horses attached to a bnggy on said highway, and his team of horses aforesaid became frightened at said, electrical car so operated and ran away, throwing plaintiff from the buggy on to the ground, dragging him a great distance and inflicting great injuries to the person of this plaintiff.” Plaintiff says: “That on the said 29th day of April, 1899, he was traveling eastward in a buggy drawn by two horses upon said public highway leading from the hospital for the insane toward the city of Lincoln; while traveling along said public highway about three hundred feet west of First street, and on what would be a westerly continuation of Yan Born street, his team became frightened at defendant’s electric car, run by defendant in a careless, reckless and negligent manner, at a high rate of speed, and plaintiff was, by the negligence of the defendant, thrown from his buggy, the team running away,” etc.
The answer of the traction company was: First, a general denial; second, a plea of contributory negligence on the part of the plaintiff.
The traction company contends: First, that the petition does not state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action and sustain the' verdict. This question is not raised properly, either by the motion for a new trial in the district court, or the petition in error herein, therefore, we pass it without further consideration.
It is next urged that the court erred in admitting certain testimony found on pages 88 and 89 of the bill of exceptions. An examination of this evidence discloses that witness Martin, whose testimony was objected to, testified that the street car was going slowly, and it is stated that this evidence ought not to have been received because it did not sustain the allegations of negligence set forth in the petition, to wit, that the car was running at a high rate of speed. The witness Martin was called fqr the plaintiff
Q. No.av, a little bit more about one thing: You testified that Mr. Martin called out to the man running the car, to stop. What did he do then, did he stop the car?
A. I could not tell you; the car still came on, and the horses took my attention.
Q. Did he stop the car?
A. I could not tell you, they were coming right toward me, and I Avas watching the team. I could not tell AAdiether they stopped the car or not. I could not say whether he stopped the car or not.
Heintzman, the motorman, testified in substance as follows : I had probably gone about forty or fifty feet around the curve, AAdien I noticed the team shying and getting scared. I commenced stopping my car as quick as possible. . I was going around the curve, probably at the rate of four or five miles an hour. It is not possible to go fast
The witness Bacon, who was riding in a buggy with Mrs. Langdon, a feAV feet behind Moore’s team, testified in regard to the operation of the car, as follows: “I first noticed the street car about fifty or seventy-five feet before they made the turn. I saw them when they rounded the curve, and I could not-tell hoAv fast they were coming, but about the usual speed. When the car came round the curve, I guess I was about a block away; Mr. Moore was about three rods ahead of us. I noticed his team beginning to get frightened at the car as soon as it made the turn, and was coming directly toAvard us. Mr. Moore’s team, at that time, was about 125 feet away from the car; the man in charge of the car shut down and stopped as soon as he could.”
Mrs. Langdon’s testimony was, in substance, that, after the car came around the curve, Mr. Moore’s team was frightened and became fractious and was plunging; the car stopped, or came very slowly on round the curve. It slowed up; it appeared that.the motorman had noticed the horses and he slowed up. I could not tell how much, but much sloAver than the car ordinarily runs. The car finally stopped; the team had almost reached the car when the car stopped.
Pacal, who was on the car, testified that it was stopped as soon as the horses showed fright.
This is all of the testimony bearing on the question of negligence, and it fails to support the allegations of the
We are therefore constrained to hold that the evidence adduced on the trial was . not sufficient to support the verdict and the judgment of the district court, and, for that reason, the judgment must be reversed and a new trial ordered.
Many other errors are assigned for the reversal of the judgment, but it is unnecessary to consider them. Upon another trial, all such errors, if any, will, without doubt, be corrected. For the foregoing reasons, we recommend that the judgment of the district court be reversed and the cause remanded for a new trial.
For the reasons stated in the foregoing opinion, the judgment of the district court is reversed and the cause remanded for a new trial.
Reversed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Lincoln Traction Company v. Jesse D. Moore
- Status
- Published