Great Northern Ry. Co. v. Sloan
Opinion of the Court
(after stating the facts as above). In submitting this case to the jury the court below instructed the jury that plaintiffs were not passengers upon the train upon which they were being carried at the time they were injured, and that they were not entitled to that high degree of care which, as passengers, they wottld have been entitled to receive.
What the court did was to submit to the jury the question of fact whether the plaintiffs were licensees or trespassers on defendant’s train at the time of the accident. This the court did with appropriate instructions, to the effect that if plaintiffs were, licensees the defendant owed to them the duty of exercising ordinary care for their safety and protection while being so carried, and if the defendant was negligent in this respect, and such negligence was the proximate cause of the injuries sustained bv the plaintiffs, the defendant would be liable.
On the other hand, if the plaintiffs were trespassers, the court instructed the jtiry that defendant owed to them the duty of refraining from willfully, recklessly, and wantonly injuring them.
The court also instructed the jury that in finding that the plaintiffs were trespassers it was implied that the defendant was cognizant, in some way, of plaintiffs’ presence on the train, and purposely ran the train to injure them; or recklessly ran and operated the train in disregard of plaintiffs’ personal safety.
Whether the plaintiffs were licensees or trespassers turned upon the question whether the plaintiffs had the permission of the conductor to ride upon the train. If they had such permission, they were licensees. If they did not have such permission, they were trespassers. This was a question of fact for the jury.
The only question for this court to determine is whether there was sufficient evidence to justify the trial court in submitting the case to the jury upon eitiier aspect. The defendant contends that the evidence shows that the plaintiffs were not licensees, but trespassers, and, as trespassers, defendant was not liable for the reason that there was no evidence tending to show that the accident was caused by the willful, reckless, and wanton negligence of the defendant, or that the defendant operated the train recklessly and in a willful disregard of plaintiffs’ safety.
Was there any evidence tending to show that plaintiffs were licensees ?
John Sloan, the father of the plaintiffs, chartered and loaded a freight car belonging to the defendant on April 5, 1910, at Everett, in the state of Washington, with certain live stock, household goods, personal property, and family effects, for transportation to Chester in the state of Montana. He testified that he loaded the car assisted by his two sons (plaintiffs), and the loading was completed between, 8:30
“Agent must obtain names of persons wbo are to accompany the stock and enter them in space provided, certifying to them over his signature. He must also see that the parties sign their names in the spaces provided and in each case draw pen.through blank lines. Only the owner, shipper, or his employes in actual charge of and accompanying stock, are entitled to free passage on account of the same, and agent must not endorse upon stock contracts as entitled to free passage, the name of any other person.”
The contract also contained the following provision, which was indorsed on the back of the contract:
“The names of the parties entitled to transportation hereunder as accompanying the live stock must be given to the issuing agent and entered by him below, before delivery of contract to shipper. Agent must know correct name is entered, and only enter the names of those entitled to transportation under the regulations hereon, and run a pen through the remaining lines.”
This indorsement was signed: “J. Sloan.” Under his name was this provision:
“Parties whose names are above are in charge of and accompanying the stock from this station.”
Then followed the signature of the agent at Everett Station.
The agent testified that he told Sloan that the charge for the car was $170 with one man in charge. Sloan testified that the contract was not read to him and that he was not informed by the agent or any one else that no one other than himself would be permitted to ride in said car. After signing this contract, Sloan entered upon the car with his two sons, for transportation to the point of destination.
In plaintiffs’ cause of action no claim is made that they had the right under the contract to ride in the car as passengers, or that they are entitled to recover damages from the defendant by reason of any of the express contractual relations provided in the contract. What they claim is that they had permission and they believed that they had the right to ride in this car with their father because it had been chartered by their father for his use in transporting his effects.
Eewis Sloan, one of the plaintiffs, was a witness in the case. He was asked:
“I will ask you, Lewis, whether or not you believed that you had the right to ride in this car with your father and the stock when you got in and when you did ride up to the time of the wreck?”
His answer was:
“Tes, it just seemed to me like when he paid $170 that he was renting that car, just the same as he would a house.”
On the night of April 5th the car was moved by a freight engine into the freight yards at Delta, I14 miles distant from the sta
Conductor Wisner was in charge of this train to Tonga, a distance of 56 miles. At this point the conductor had been on duty 16 hours, and under section 2 of the Act of March 4, 1907, c. 2939, 34 Stat. 1416 (U. S. Comp. St. Supp. 1911, p. 1321), could not remain on duty longer. He was accordingly relieved, and I. E. Cleary took charge of the train at 1:30 a. m. on April 7th, and took it to Eeavenworth, over the mountains, arriving , at Eeavenworth at 10:15 a. m. on the same day. This conductor testified that he first saw Sloan at Merritt Station, halfway down the mountains, at 8:35 a. m.; that in passing by his car he saw Sloan standing in the doorway; asked him if he was with the car, and he said “Yes”; but he did not look at the contract; asked if any one was with him, and he said, “No”; never saw him after that. At Eeavenworth the car was set out and remained there for over 30 hours, for the purpose of securing a certificate from a veterinary surgeon to permit this live stock to be carried into the state of Montana. The stock was unloaded into the stock pen by Sloan and the two boys, who also helped to feed the stock. The stock was kept in the stock pen during the night. While at Eeaven-worth the boys were around the yards and in the town. On the afternoon of April 8th the stock was returned to the car, the boys again helping, and in the evening it was attached to the east-bound freight train which, about 8:45 in the evening, pulled out with J. R. Jones as conductor, who took the train to Wilson Creek, arriving at the latter station at about 9 o’clock on the morning of April 9th. This conductor testified to having seen Sloan at Eeavenworth when he received and examined the contract, and he also saw him later in the evening at one of the stations. Sloan testified that the conductor got into the car with him during the evening, and he had a conversation with the conductor about matters which appear to have been irrelevant and were excluded by the court. During the conversation one of the boys coughed, and the conductor said, “I see you have a boy in here,” and Sloan replied, “Yes, I have got a couple of boys in here.” The conductor made no objection .to the boys being in the car. At Wil
The train stopped 15 minutes at Edwall, a station 15 miles west of Galena. At this point the train on which plaintiffs were riding overtook another freight train going in the same direction. The latter train was called by thé railroad men a “drag extra,” while plaintiffs’ train was called by the railroad men a “symbol extra.” The symbol extra had a lighter tonnage than the drag extra, and was given the preference in running orders. The symbol extra accordingly passed the drag extra at Edwall and proceeded eastward toward Spokane. At about 11:35 plaintiffs’ train arrived at Galena. Galena is a small station with a passing- track, and what is designated as an industrial track in addition to the main track. The station is about 15 miles west of Spokane. The conductor had orders to set out cars from his train onto the industrial track, and accordingly the train pulled in on the passing track or switch, but did not clear the main track, two cars still remaining on the main track. Soon after the train stopped, it was discovered that a draw bar had pulled out of the second car back of the engine, breaking the train in two at this point. The crew of this train knew the freight train designated as the “drag extra” was following. When the engineer discovered that something had happened to his train, he got down from his engine, and walked back, and after having discovered the nature of the accident he returned to his engine and gave the “broken-in-two” signal. Thereupon the conductor started from the rear towards the engine, and he testified that the rear brakeman started for the rear end to signal the following train; but it was too late to protect the train from a collision. A rule of the company provided that:
“When a train stops or is delayed, by any circumstances under which it may be overtaken by another train, the flagman must go back immediately with stop signals a sufficient distance to insure full protection. When recalled he may return to his train, first placing two torpedoes on the rail six rail lengths apart or 'a lighted fuse in the center of the track when the conditions require.”
The following train, observing no signals, crashed into the rear end bf the forward train, smashing six cars, including the car in which plaintiffs were riding. The plaintiff Wayland Sloan testified that while they were still under the wreck-he heard the conductor say,
There is certainly evidence tending to show gross carelessness amounting to recklessness in operating the train. The freight train that ran into and caused the wreck of the forward train left Edwall 1,
There are numerous assignments of error relating to the admission of evidence, the refusal of the court to instruct the jury to return a verdict in favor of the defendant, and the instructions given by the court to the jury. It will serve no useful purpose to further discuss the various questions raised by these assignments in the view we take of the case. We have, however, carefully examined all the assignments, and we find no error in any of the proceedings of the court to which they-relate.
We are of opinion, therefore, that the judgment of the'court should be affirmed, and it is so ordered.
Dissenting Opinion
(dissenting). It is a prominent and conceded fact that the plaintiffs were not passengers entitled to hold the defendant responsible, as a carrier for hire, for their safe transportation ; therefore, these cases have no foundation in law, other than the law of torts. The negligence and misdoings constituting the alleged tort were the negligence and misconduct of the defendant’s servants and employés, and the defendant cannot be held liable for the conse
The car was not provided for passengers to ride in, nor offered to the public as a passenger car, the conductors and trainmen did not have either actual or apparent authority to license any one to ride in it, and their failure to eject the plaintiffs was a breach or neglect of duty and a fraud upon their employer. As the plaintiffs were not enticed by any deceitful practice of the defendant’s representatives to enter the cal', they must be deemed to have assumed the risks of the journey, and no implied obligation of the defendant to accord to them the rights of licensees can be predicated upon mere negligence or a breach of duty on the part of its employes. Clark v. Colorado & N. W. R. Co., 165 Fed. 408, 91 C. C. A. 358, 19 L. R. A. (N. S.) 988.
Conceding that the plaintiffs were innocent of intentional wrongdoing in riding in the car, nevertheless they cannot assert rights as licensees without becoming participants as beneficiaries in the misconduct of the defendant’s employés. The rule of respondeat superior is that:
“The principal is liable for the negligent acts of his agent, done in the course and within the scope of his employment, and this although the agent deviates from his instructions in the maimer of doing the principal’s business. But if the agent makes a willful departure from the business he is directed to transact, and then commits acts of negligence, the principal will be exonerated from all liability.” 1 Am. & Eng, Ena of Imw (2d Ed.) 1155, 1156.
The second theory of the case is that, although the plaintiffs may not be regarded as passengers nor licensees, nevertheless the defendant is liable for injuries suffered as a consequence of injuries inflicted willfully and wantonly or by reckless operation of the trains in disre- . gard of their safety; and it is charged that the conductor and brakeman of the train to which the car in which the plaintiffs were riding was attached were willfully and wantonly negligent in not taking effective measures, promptly, to protect the train, an'd that the engineer of the following train acted recklessly in running his train at a high rate of speed in coming to a station when, if he had been vigilant, he could have seen the cars on the track ahead of him in time to have avoided the collision. Willfulness, wantonness, and recklessness, as terms of aggravation in an Accusation of wrongful conduct inflicting an injury, imply obstinate persistence in conscious neglect of duty, or the intentional doing of a vicious act regardless of whomsoever may be hurt. Collisions of trains or ships seldom, if ever, happen as results of willful, wanton, or reckless misconduct of the men responsible for their safe operation. The kind of negligence which produces collisions has its origin in human frailty, not in inhuman malevolence. In the supreme moment of fate, men on watch fail to be vigilant be•cause, although “the spirit indeed is willing, the flesh is weak.” There is not in this case a scintilla of evidence tending to prove that the conductor or brakeman intentionally permitted their train to be wrecked, nor that the engineer of the following train was more disregardful of tjie safety of others than he was of his own safety; and it is my opinion that the second theory of the case is also untenable.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- GREAT NORTHERN RY. CO. v. SLOAN (two cases)
- Status
- Published