Kumler v. Junction Railroad
Kumler v. Junction Railroad
Opinion of the Court
The plaintiff in error seeks to reverse a judgment of the District Court of Butler county, by which a judgment previously rendered, between the parties, in his favor, by the court of common pleas of the same county, was, as he claims, erroneously reversed. The original action in the court of common pleas was brought by the plaintiff in error, to recover damages, under the statute, for • the culpable negligence of defendant’s servants, in the running of a gravel train, whereby the plaintiff’s intestate,. Larkin, was killed.
The liability of the defendant for damage resulting to a co-employe from this negligence of the engineer was drawn in question, and, on the trial, the court charged the jury, among other things, as follows:
“The law is, that if Larkin and all other employes of the defendant on the train at the time Larkin was killed
This instruction was excepted to, at the time, and, the jury having found for the plaintiff, defendant moved for a new trial, which motion was overruled, and judgment was entered on the verdict.
Of the' errors assigned in the district court, we think it
"Was the instruction which we have quoted erroneous, and calculated to mislead the jury? We think that the •adjudications of the Supreme Court of this state, on the subject to which the instruction relates, require us to answer this questiou in the affirmative.
That Larkin and the engineer of the gravel train were 'fellow-' servants, engaged in a common service, admits, as we think, of no doubt. They were acting together, under one master, in carrying out a common object, viz., the ballasting of defendant’s road, and so were engaged in a common service. On this-subject it is only necessary to refer to the cases of Whalan v. M. R. & L. E. R. R. Co., 8 Ohio St. 249; Manville v. Cleveland and Toledo R. R. Co., 11 Ohio St. 417; and P., Ft. W. & C. Ry. Co. v. Devinney, 17 Ohio St. 198.
The strict and limited sense in which the instruction under consideration construes “ a common service,” is wholly inconsistent with the views expressed by the- court in each of those cases.
The general rule of the common law unquestionably is, that “a servant, by entering into his master’s service, assumes all the risks of that service which the master can not control, including those arising from the negligence of his fellow servants.”
The single exception engrafted on that rule in this state, by the cases of L. M. R. R. Co. v. Stevens, 20 Ohio, 415, and C., C. § C. R. R. Co. v. Keary, 3 Ohio St. 201, is thus stated by Judge Brinkerhoff: “ "Where one servant is placed in a position of subordination to, and subject to the orders and control of another servant of a common master, and the subordinate servaut, without fault of his own, and while in the performance of his duty, is injured through the negligence of the superior servant while acting in the common ¡service, an action lies in favor of the inferior servant so injured, against the master. But this is the extent and
We are quite clear that the case before us can not be-brought within this exception. Larkin was not subordinate to, and subject to the orders and control of the engineer. Under the conductor, it was the duty of the engineer to operate and manage the running of the train. In this department of business Larkin had no duty to perform. Though he and the engineer were engaged in a common service, yet their respective spheres of duty were outside of each other, and the position of neither, so far as is shown, gave any right of control over the other.
By a portion of this instruction the question seems to' have been referred to the jury, whether it was not one of the implied terms of the contract of employment between Larkin and the defendant, that Larkin should be carried safely to and from the gravel pit. This was a question of law, and should not have been referred to the jury. By the charge given, the jury was substantially instructed that Larkin’s position, while being carried on the train, was so' far one of subordination to the servants engaged in running the train, as to render the defendant liable for any damage resulting to him from their want of ordinary care.. By this instruction we think the jury must have been misled.
It may be proper to say, that Larkin did not, by riding on the train, drop his status as employe and assume that of a passenger. On this subject we need only refer to the-case of Manville v. Cleveland and Toledo R. R. Co., supra.
For the errors which we have indicated, we think the-verdict of the jury should have been set aside and a new trial granted pursuant to defendant’s motion, and that the district court did not err in reversing the judgment entered on the verdict.
Judgment of district court affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.