Tanner v. New York Central & Hudson River Railroad
Tanner v. New York Central & Hudson River Railroad
Opinion of the Court
We think the case was for the jury in two aspects, first, whether the fire which burned the freight house and the car containing the plaintiff’s goods standing on the adjoining track was caused by sparks thrown from a defective engine; and, second, assuming that the engine from which the fire was communicated was in good order, whether the defendant was negligent in leaving the plaintiff’s goods in the car exposed to the danger of fire from the burning of the freight house.
The evidence on the part of the plaintiff tended to show that the freight house was fired by sparks “ half the size of a walnut” thrown from the engine of an east bound train upon the roof of the freight house, and that the fire ran down the roof in a number of places “ like a stream of water.”
The defendant gives no evidence as to the condition of the engine on this train, but apparently assuming that the fire was set by an engine on a west bound train which passed the freight house a few minutes after the east bound train, introduced evidence to show that the smoke stack and spark arresting arrangement of the west bound train were perfect, and that the fire could not have been set by sparks therefrom.
The evidence given by the defendant in respect to this engine would lead to the inference that proper precautions in the construction of an engine and in running a train would prevent the emission of sparks in the manner testified to by the witnesses for the plaintiff. The jury, there
It was, we think, under the circumstances, for the jury to determine whether the defendant exercised proper care and reasonable prudence in leaving the car exposed to the hazard of fire communicated from the freight house, the danger being palpable and the company having reason to apprehend that the freight house might take fire at any time from a passing locomotive.
The judgment should be affirmed.
All concur.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.