Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville Railway Co. v. Pritchard

79 N.E. 508, 168 Ind. 398, 1906 Ind. LEXIS 168
Indiana Supreme Court·Decided December 21, 1906·No. No. 20,945·Published·Cited by 33 cases

Opinions

Gillett, J.

Action for the negligent killing of appellee’s decedent. There was a verdict and judgment for appellee. The testimony showed the following facts: One Bridges was engaged in the shipment, over appellant’s railroad, from the town of Cloverdale, of elm poles of various sizes. Pursuant to his request, appellant placed a flat-car on its siding, just east of its main track, in said town, for use in making one of said shipments. Decedent was a teamster in the employ of Bridges, being hired by the day, and a short time before the accident he drove up to the east side of the car with a load of poles, and, as it was his duty to do, began helping the other men in the work of loading. There were stakes on the west side of the car to keep the poles from rolling off. When the car was about one-half or two-thirds loaded, some one cried: “Elag the train down there” or “Stop the train.” A passenger-train from the south was due, and about that time whistled for the town. When the alarm was given, Bridges and one Akin ran down the track to signal the engineer, while the other men started toward the track to see what was the matter. Decedent and one of his associates went around the north end of the car, and, after passing it, the former took but a step to the south, and, while looking in [402] that direction, the poles on the north end of the car rolled over on him, owing to the fact that some of the pockets which held the stakes gave way. The poles which fell on decedent did not kill him, bnt they threw him over on the main track, and he was unable to extricate himself, although aided by his companion. A short time afterwards the train came crashing into the poles, instantly killing decedent. Someone, it afterwards turned out, had observed that a part of the load was leaning towards the main track, and this gave rise to the alarm. The giving of it caused much excitement among the men. Bridges ran some seventy-five feet down the track, but Akin, passing him, succeeded in reaching a point some forty or fifty feet beyond. As the two proceeded they waved their hats to signal the engineer. The engineer answered these signals by two short blasts of the whistle. Bridges testified that he could see the train when it was from one thousand five hundred to two thousand feet away from him, and that the engineer gave the answering signal after the train had run between six hundred and eight hundred feet. There is some confusion in the testimony as to distances, and as to where the train was when the engineer answered the warnings. To a considerable extent the matter is illustrated by photographs, in which is shown the situation of objects to which the witnesses made reference. According to the testimony, there was no apparent effort to check the speed. It was up grade for three-quarters of a mile in approaching Cloverdale from the south, and there was a considerable curve in the track immediately south of said town. The locomotive was working steam as it passed the men who had signaled it. The train was composed of three coaches and a baggage-car. The poles had been down for some moments when the engineer gave the answering signal. An examination of the flat-car, which was subsequently made, disclosed that the pockets gave' way because of the absence of nuts on some of the bolts which were used to hold the pockets in [403] place. Bridges had not examined the car, and the defects could have been perceived only by looking from behind the heavy timber through which the bolts passed.

No objection is urged to the complaint. The first paragraph seems to be predicated, at least principally, on negligence in the furnishing of a defective car, while the remaining paragraph charges negligence in the failure of the engineer to stop the train after he was signaled.

The principal contention of counsel for appellant is that there was no evidence to support the verdict and that the court erred in refusing certain instructions tendered by appellant, to the effect that there was no liability on account of the furnishing of a defective car, as there was no contract relation between appellant and decedent. In view of the refusal of said instructions, it is necessary to determine the validity of the theory of defense relative to the defective car.

1. 2. It is, of course, clear that in such a case as this there can be no recovery upon the contract, as decedent was not in privity therewith, and, as respects the common-law duty to exercise care, which may grow out of contractual undertakings, as well as other circumstances (Flint & Walling Mfg. Co. v. Beckett [1906], 167 Ind. 491), it is also evident that in the sale or letting of property to others, some limitation must be put upon the obligation of the vender or hirer to respond to third persons in tort, since the duty of inspection rests, at least primarily, upon the person who possesses or controls the property, and, if some limitation were not put on the responsibility of the vender or lessor, the extent of liability, as was pointed out in Winterbottom v. Wright (1842), 10 M. & W. 109, might be carried to an absurd length. There may, however, in some circumstances, be a liability to third persons growing out of the furnishing of dangerous property, and it is our task to ascertain whether, in view of the facts relative to the furnishing of the car, [404] tlic assumption of said instructions was justifiable, that the act of appellant in that particular did not constitute a tort as against decedent.

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Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville Railway Co. v. Pritchard, 79 N.E. 508, 168 Ind. 398, 1906 Ind. LEXIS 168 (Ind. 1906).

79 N.E. 508 (Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville Railway Co. v. Pritchard) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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