Mo. Pac. R'y Co. v. Cox
Mo. Pac. R'y Co. v. Cox
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
§ 288. Damages; for injury to feelings, recoverable when; insufficient evidence of; for injury to land and I crops; measure of; charge of court upon; duty of party wronged. This suit was instituted in the justice court of Precinct No. 2, of Collin county, before John S. Rike, J. P., by Thomas Cox, appellee, against the Missouri Pacific Railway Company, appellant, to recover the sum of $200, damages done to his lands and growing crops from the 15th c^iy of November, 1881, until the 20th day of April, 1882, on account of ajipell ant’s failure to erect stock-guards to protect his inclosure, and for throwing rocks and piles of dirt from the right-of-way of appellant
On the trial appellee was permitted to testify, over the objection of appellant, that he had been damaged by the wrongful acts complained of in his suit, from “ trouble and vexation of mind,” in the sum of $50. Also, in the charge of the court, the jury was instructed that, in estimating damages, they might consider this item of trouble .and vexation of mind. As a general rule, damages for injury done to one’s feelings are not recoverable. But in .actions for tort, when the wrongful act complained of was wanton, malicious or grossly negligent, attended with circumstances of insult, outrage or oppression, the party wronged is not limited to the rule of actual compensation, but may recover also such exemplary damages as the evidence may warrant. [Field on Damages, §§ 23, 69, 70, 71, 599, 667; Sedgwick on Dam. 38; W. & W. Con. Rep. § 255.] In a proper case, therefore, damages for “trouble and mental suffering” wrould be recoverable, but in the case before us, there was no such evidence as justified the appellee’s claim for this character of damages. There was no evidence tending to show that his fence had been wantonly or maliciously pulled^ flown, or that the appellant had been guilty of gross negligence, insult, outrage or oppression. It was not a case, under the evidence, in our judgment, which would warrant the recovery of exemplary damages, and we think the court erred in admitting the evidence objected to, and in submitting to the jury the question of such damages. Besides, the opinion of Cox, as to the amount he had been damaged, -was inadmissible. [W. &. W. Con. Ren. § 1109.]
In this case evidence was admitted, over objections of appellant, to prove the probable value of appellee’s crops if they had matured without being injured by the acts complained of. In other words, witnesses were permitted to estimate the damages done to said crops by. guessing at what the product of the same would have been if they had not been injured, and comparing this conjectural product with the quantity actually produced. This evidence was not admissible, and the court erred in admitting it. [W. & W. Con. Rep. §§ 482, 1139.]
In its charge, the court did not instruct the jury in the rules governing the measure of damages any farther than that they would find such damages as were the •actual, natural, proximate result of the acts, etc. This gave the jury no certain, definite rule by which to be guided in estimating the damages which yvere legally recoverable. It is the duty of the court, in all damage suits, to give definite instructions to the jury as to the correct measure of damages applicable to the facts of the case. [W. & W. Con. Rep. §§ 446, 1148.] The court’s attention was called to this omission in the charge by special charge, requested by appellant, and refused.
Another error in the charge of the court was, that it
We are of the opinion that, upon the facts of this case, the court should have instructed the jury that it was the duty of the plaintiff to protect himself from the wrongful act of the defendant, if he could have- done so by ordinary effort and care, or at a moderate expense, and that, upon his failure to do so, he could only recover for such loss as could not thus have been prevented. [Field on Dam. § 21.J Special charges were requested by appellant and refused by the court, which, while they were not, perhaps, strictly correct, were sufficient to call the attention of the court to this phase of the case as presented by the evidence.
Reversed and remanded.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.