Spires v. South Bound Railroad
Spires v. South Bound Railroad
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the Court was delivered by
The appeal herein is from an order granting a nonsuit. The action was for damages alleged to have been sustained by the plaintiff through the negligence of the defendant. The allegations of negligence are contained in paragraph two of the complaint, as follows:
“2. That on the 20th day of B>ecember, 1893, while the plaintiff, James Jesse Spires, was traveling along the public road in Rexington County, which said road the defendant’s railroad crosses at a point between two and three miles north
When Mrs. Sallie Spires, a witness for the plaintiff, was on the stand, the following was brought out in evidence: Q. Where was it (the injury) done? A. Arch. Sightler’s crossing. Q. Is that a public crossing? A. Yes, sir, on the Columbia settlement road. Q. Is there any thing to show it’s a public crossing there? A. Yes, sir, sign board is up there. Q. What kind of sign board? A. It says, “Rook out for the cars.” Q. How long had you gotten to the crossing before the train struck your child? A. I hadn’t got quite to it; I lacked five or six steps of being at the crossing, and he had got on the crossing; he was looking towards Gaston for the train; the train was coming from Columbia. The wind blew such dust, couldn’t see the train or hear it. Q. did the train blow? A. No, sir. Q. Did the bell ring? A. No, sir, did not. Mr. Ryles objected, and said, “There is no allegation complaining of our failure to comply with the terms of the statute, and, we submit, there being no allegation of a statutory action, they can not give evidence of our failure to comply rVith those terms.” His Honor, the presiding Judge, sustained the objection to the testimony.
At the close of plaintiff’s testimony the presiding Judge granted an order of nonsuit, on the ground that “the plaintiff had failed to offer any evidence tending to prove negli
It is the judgment of this Court, that the order of the Circuit Court granting a nonsuit be set aside, and the case remanded for a new trial.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- SPIRES v. SOUTH BOUND RAILROAD COMPANY
- Cited By
- 14 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- 1. Pleading — Complaint—Negligence.—Where a complaint is general in its allegations of negligence, and the defendant does not move to have the allegations made more definite and certain, the plaintiff ■may introduce, under the general allegation, any competent evidence to support the charge of negligence. 2. Negligence — remedy—Railroads—Case Followed. — The remedy which the statute provides for a person sustaining injury through the negligence of a railroad company failing to ring the bell or blow the whistle, does not supersede the common law remedy, but is only cumulative. Kaminitsky v. R. J?., 25 S. C., 53, followed.