East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia Railroad v. Matthews
East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia Railroad v. Matthews
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the court:
Matthews, who was the plaintiff below, in his declaration, charges, in substance, that in consequence of the neg
The grounds relied upon for a new trial, are as follows: The. plaintiff, as a witness in his own behalf, proved that after the overflow he laid his grievance before an agent of the defendant, but was not told whether the obstruction would be removed or not; that as soon as it became dry enough he removed his store house and warehouse; that his store house and warehouse were worth $1,000. Iiis testimony as to the removal of the houses, and their value, was objected to, but the objection was overruled. In his charge to the jury, the judge said that in estimating the damages, the plaintiff would be entitled, by way of damages, for whatever injuries he sustained, either to' his goods or merchandise, or for the removal of his houses to another point rendered necessary in consequence of such backwater, etc. The objection is that the removal of the houses, or the cost of removing the houses, was not a proper element of damages under the allegation of the declaration. The declaration avers, that by reason of the. premises, the plaintiff was hindered and prevented from carrying on his business in so beneficial a manner as before, but we do not
The plaintiff and liis clerk say that his damages were $1,000, but- when they are called upon to give the damages in detail, the amounts specified fall far short of this sum, ox of the amount of the verdict; and although there is ho proof showing the cost of removing the buildings, yet the jury must have taken this into account in estimating the damages, as otherwise the verdict of $600 is not sustained by the testimony.
The judgment must be reversed, and a new trial awarded.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- EAST TENNESSEE, VIRGINIA & GEORGIA RAILROAD CO., IN ERROR v. JOHN MATTHEWS
- Status
- Published