Brown v. Terre Haute, Indianapolis & Eastern Traction Co.

110 N.E. 703, 63 Ind. App. 327, 1915 Ind. App. LEXIS 163
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 16, 1915
DocketNo. 8,581
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 110 N.E. 703 (Brown v. Terre Haute, Indianapolis & Eastern Traction Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Brown v. Terre Haute, Indianapolis & Eastern Traction Co., 110 N.E. 703, 63 Ind. App. 327, 1915 Ind. App. LEXIS 163 (Ind. Ct. App. 1915).

Opinions

Hottel, J.

This is an appeal from a judgment in appellee’s favor in an action brought by appellant to recover damages for an alleged illegal ejectment from appellee’s car. The issues of fact were tendered by a complaint in one paragraph and an answer in two paragraphs, the first' of which was a general denial.

The only error assigned and relied on for reversal is the overruling of appellant’s motion for new trial. The grounds of this motion insisted upon as presenting reversible error are those challenging the sufficiency of the evidence and the action of the trial court in ezeluding certain evidence, and in giving certain instructions.

We indicate the averments of the complaint and special answer necessary to an understanding of the questions thus [330]*330presented by tbe appeal. The averments of the complaint pertinent to said questions are, in substance, as follows: On September 5, 1911, at Ben Davis, Indiana, where one of appellee’s.cars stopped to take on passengers, appellant boarded said car with the desire to be carried from said point to the terminal station at Indianapolis, and to that end tendered to appellee’s conductor on such car the sum of____cents, the usual and regular fare between said points; that such conductor refused to accept said fare, and wrongfully and maliciously refused to permit appellant to travel on said ear, and seized him in a rude, insolent and violent manner and attempted to eject him.

The averments of the special answer pertinent to said questions are in substance as follows: On September 5, 1911, appellee had in force established tariffs and schedules which it had filed with the Railroad Commission of this State, and was then charging and collecting the fare provided in such schedules, to wit, the fare provided in “Local and Interdivision Passenger Tariff No. 12, ’ ’ effective August 24, 1911, with “Supplement No. 1” thereto, effective August 31, 1911; that the first station on appellee’s line of road, west of Ben Davis, is stop No. 8, and the nest stop west is stop No. 9; that by the terms of said tariff and rate sheet the rate of fare between stop No. 8 and Indianapolis, in either direction, was fifteen cents; and jinder the provisions of said tariff and schedule conductors on appellee’s cars were authorized and required to collect from points not shown in tariff schedules to fare points shown thereon, five cents; that stop- No. 9 was not a fare point mentioned in said passenger tariff No. 12 or in supplement No. 1, or in any tariff regulation or schedule then in force on said line of road; that under said tariff schedule appellee’s conductor was required to collect of all through passengers from stop No. 9 to Indianapolis, twenty cents, to wit, five cents from stop No. 9 to the first fare point which was stop No. 8, plus fifteen cents, the schedule fare from stop No. 8 to [331]*331Indianapolis. That the distance from Indianapolis to stop No. 8 is 8.16 miles and to stop No. 9, 8.52 miles. That appellant boarded appellee’s car at stop No. 9 and announced to the conductor that he desired to go to Indianapolis, and appellee “alleges the fact to he that (appellant) then and there became a through passenger upon said car from said Stop No. 9 to the City of Indianapolis, and became obligated under said tariff to pay to this defendant for his said carriage the said sum of twenty cents.” That appellant upon boarding said car at stop No. 9 tendered to appellee’s conductor the sum of fifteen cents as and for his fare to Indianapolis, and was informed by such conductor that the fare was twenty cents; that the conductor refused to .accept fifteen cents and appellee refused to pay twenty cents. That for the purpose of avoiding his obligation to pay the latter sum and without any good faith or intention to be a passenger to Ben Davis, but solely for the fraudulent purpose just indicated, appellant alighted at Ben Davis and immediately reboarded the same car and thereafter tendered to said conductor the sum of fifteen cents to be carried to Indianapolis; that the conductor again refused said sum and demanded twenty cents, and informed appellant that he must either pay such sum or get off the car; that appellant refused to do either, and thereupon the conductor and motorman attempted to eject appellant when another passenger on said car paid to such conductor five cents and appellant paid his fifteen cents, after which no further attempt was made to eject appellant; that such attempted ejectment was made without malice, violence or undue- force and was made in the manner and for the purpose herein alleged.

The facts disclosed by the evidence pertinent to said questions presented by the appeal are, in substance, as follows: It was agreed that exhibits 1 and 2 (these were the tariff' schedule and supplement sheet referred to in appellee’s answer, supra) “taken together constitute the duly author[332]*332ized rates of fare and passenger tariff” duly filed with, the Railroad Commission of the State of Indiana, in force and effect from the time shown therein up to and including September 5, 1911. Tariff schedule No. 12, effective August 24, 1911, shows the following mileage and fares between points here involved, viz.: Prom Indianapolis to Ben Davis, six miles, fare ten cents; from Indianapolis to Bridgeport, the first station shown west of Ben Davis, nine miles, fare twenty cents; from Ben Davis to Bridgeport, three miles, fare five cents. This schedule makes no mention of either stop No. 8 or stop No. 9, both of which are between the last named stations, but, under heading “Plan for Collecting Pares and Tickets,” authorizes conductors to “collect five * * * cents to first fare point plus fare shown in tariff from the fare point to destination. Ben Davis and Bridgeport are the only stops west of Indianapolis, here involved, which are referred to or mentioned as fare points in said schedule No. 12, and under such schedule the fare to' Indianapolis from any point east of Bridgeport and west of Ben Davis could be but fifteen cents; that is, the conductors could collect five cents from such non-fare point to Ben Davis, and ten cents, the published fare, from Ben Davis to Indianapolis.

Supplement No. 1 to said tariff schedule No. 12, referred to in the answer as having gone into effect August 31, 1911, provided that, “The rate between Indianapolis and stop 8, either direction, will be fifteen * * * cents. ’ ’ Under this supplement stop No. 8 became a fare point for the purpose of determining the fare to and from such point and Indianapolis, but no fare or tariff was fixed between such -point and any other station on appellee’s line, nor was there any other change or modification of the tariff fares fixed by tariff schedule No. 12. The fare from Ben Davis to Bridgeport still remained five cents. Under tariff No. 12 and supplement the fare for through passage from stop No. 9 to Indianapolis became twenty cents. This is so because stop [333]*333No. 9 is not a fare point, and henee, under schedule No. 12, a fare of five cents should he collected to the first fare point, which under the supplement is stop No. 8, and the fare between stop No. 8 and Indianapolis is by said supplementofixed at fifteen cents.

It should be stated, also, in this connection, that the exact distance between Indianapolis and the stops herein involved is admitted by appellee in its special answer and brief to be as follows: From Indianapolis to points respectively, as follows, viz.: to Ben Davis 6.47 miles; to stop No. 8, 8.16 miles; and to stop No. 9, 8.52 miles. For the.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Arbuckle v. State
124 N.E. 395 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1919)
Brown v. Terre Haute, Indianapolis & Eastern Traction Co.
110 N.E. 703 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1915)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
110 N.E. 703, 63 Ind. App. 327, 1915 Ind. App. LEXIS 163, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/brown-v-terre-haute-indianapolis-eastern-traction-co-indctapp-1915.