Davis v. Tacoma Railway & Power Co.
Davis v. Tacoma Railway & Power Co.
Opinion of the Court
This is an action for damages. The respondents, who were plaintiffs below, alleged in their complaint, that the appellant railway company was, in the year 1902, operating a line of street railway from the city of Tacoma to Spanaway Lake; that, for the purpose of increasing its passenger business, it had acquired certain lands at the lake named, which it had made into an attractive park, or place of resort, and had placed the appellants Shreeder & Green in charge thereof; that, on June 8th of the year named, the respondents, attracted by the announce- j ments for that particular day, visited the park, where the wrong occurred of which they complain. This wrong is thus described in the complaint:
“That these plaintiffs, seeing said advertisement, procured tickets and took their seats in one of the cars of said defendant railway company and were thereby conveyed t) said park on said day, arriving there a few minutes after nine o’clock in the evening; that the cars and the park were covered with people, and music and other attractions were there, for the entertainment of the visitors; that, a very few minutes after alighting from the car, upon said grounds, and while plaintiffs were quietly viewing the at*205 tractions then upon the said park grounds of said defendants, one Charles W. Cromwell, an employe of said defendants in charge of said grounds, approached the plaintiff Lenora Davis, and, after staring her in the face in a rude and insolent manner, seized her by the arm in a rough, brutal, and insulting manner, and, in a loud tone of voice, in the presence and hearing of a large group of people, said to this plaintiff Lenora Davis: ‘You must leave these grounds. You can take the next car, coming in, or going out. You are not allowed on these grounds,’ at the same time exhibiting a metallic star or badge, and claiming to be an officer and a deputy, attracting the attention of a large number of people to said plaintiff, meaning and imputing, by his words and action, that said plaintiff Lenora Davis was a lewd and base woman, unfit to be or remain upon said grounds; that she, the said plaintiff, is of the age of twenty-seven years, has always conducted keyself as a lady of refinement and respectability, and has never at any other time been charged with anything derogatory to her good name, character, and reputation, always having enjoyed a good and spotless name and the high esteem of all her acquaintances ; that she was then and there so dazed, shocked1 , humiliated, insulted, and wounded in her feelings, by said words and actions of said Cromwell, that she became faint and sick and could scarcely remain standing, and has not yet recovered in physical health, nor from the great mental anguish and wounded feelings, resulting from such treat-, ment; that the defendant Green was upon the said grounds, at the time, and directed the said Cromwell to order the said plaintiff off the said grounds, and aided and participated in said violent and unjust treatment of said plaintiff.”
Damages were demanded in the sum of $5,000. Issue was joined on the complaint, the defendant railway company and the defendants Shreeder & Green appearing separately, and by different counsel. On the issues made a trial was had before a jury, resulting in a verdict and judgment against all of the defendants for the sum of $750.
Hotice of appeal was first given by Shreeder & Green, and afterwards by the railway company. The respondents move to dismiss the appeal of Shreeder & Green for the reason that they did not serve their notice of appeal on their co-defendant, the railway company, nor join in the appeal 'of the railway company, when appeal was taken by it. Tin's motion must be granted. Under the statute a notice of appeal, to be effectual, must be served on all of the parties who have appeared in the action, and who do not join in the notice of appeal. This was not done in this case. The appeal of the defendants Shreeder & Green is therefore dismissed.
It is unnecessary, therefore, to inquire whether the words spoken at the time were of themselves defamatory, or whether they were published, in the legal sense of the term, as the words spoken were not of themselves the basic wrong. The wrong consisted of the act itself, of the violation of a right of the plaintiff, and the manner in which the act was done and the words spoken are material only on the question of the amount of damages. If the conduct of the employe was rude and insolent, if his tone was loud and boisterous, if the words spoken were indecent or profane, or if a number of people were witnesses to the transaction, the insult, indignity, humiliation, and disgrace felt by the injured person would be much greater than it would be if the conduct of the party and the situation were the opposite of these. While the act partakes of the nature of defamation of character, it has in it, in addition, some of the elements of an assault, although strictly speaking it is neither. It must not be understood, however, that we hold mere words of common abuse actionable per se. They are not so unless a special injury be shown. But, if an actionable wrong is otherwise committed, it can be shown that it was accompanied with words of common abuse, to enhance the damages.
Mount, Hadley, Dunbar, and Anders, JJ., concur.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Wesley Davis v. Tacoma Railway and Power Company
- Cited By
- 44 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- Appeal — Notice—Service on Co-Parties — Dismissal. An appeal by one of two joint wrongdoers from a judgment against both of them must be dismissed where no notice of appeal was served upon the co-party, and no joinder was made in the subsequent appeal of such co-party. Torts — Personal Indignities — Defamation of Character— Public Resorts — Right to Remain At — Damages for Excluding From — Words Not Actionable per se. Any person not belonging to a proscribed class who goes to a public pleasure resort or park, and is not guilty of improper conduct, may recover for personal indignities inflicted by an employe of the parties owning and in charge of the place, in being publicly ordered out in an insulting manner as an unfit and improper person, without showing that the language used was actionable per se, if any special damages were suffered. Same — Malice or Wilful Conduct. In such a case, it is not necessary for the plaintiff to show malice or a wanton or wilful wrong in order to recover actual damages, the same being material only to enhance the damages. Same — Measure of Damages — Mental Suffering Irrespective of Bodily Injury. A wrong having been committed by the defendant in ordering the plaintiff out of a public park where she had a right to be, it is proper to instruct that the jury, in estimating the - damages, may consider the plaintiff’s mental suffering, even though no bodily injury was inflicted. Same — Damages —Excessive Verdict Due to Passion or Prejudice. In an action for personal indignities inflicted upon the plaintiff in being ordered from a public resort as a disreputable woman, in which it appears that it was due to a mistake of the defendant’s employe, who immediately apologized therefor, and the defendant also openly apologized for the mistake, and the evidence showing actual damages is very meager, a verdict for the sum of ?750 is not warranted, and is clearly the result of passion and prejudice, requiring a reversal.