Chicago, R. I. & G. Ry. Co. v. Rogers

150 S.W. 281, 1912 Tex. App. LEXIS 800
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 15, 1912
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 150 S.W. 281 (Chicago, R. I. & G. Ry. Co. v. Rogers) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Chicago, R. I. & G. Ry. Co. v. Rogers, 150 S.W. 281, 1912 Tex. App. LEXIS 800 (Tex. Ct. App. 1912).

Opinion

GRAHAM, C. J.

This is an appeal from a verdict and judgment rendered in the district court of Dallam county on September 8, 1911, in favor of appellee and against appellant, for the sum of $1,500, for alleged personal injuries sustained by appellee while in the service of appellant as safety appliance repairer. Appellee in his pleadings bases hi! right of recovery on allegations in effect that appellant, its servants, and employes were negligent in backing a string of cars against a caboose at the time and under the circumstances when appellee received the injuries, without in any way giving appellee warning, and in failing to use proper care to learn of appellee’s position before backing said cars against said caboose, allegations being made that by the exercise of proper care his position could and would have been discovered; it being further alleged that at the time of receiving his injuries appellee was in the due performance of his duty as employé of appellant, under the direction of his foreman. Appellant answered by general demurrer, special exceptions, general denial, and especially pleaded contributory negligence and assumed risk, and also pleaded a violation of the rules of the company by appellee.

The pleadings are amply sufficient to support the evidence, which shows that at and for some time prior to the occasion of ap-pellee receiving the injury complained of he was in the employ of appellant at Dalhart, Tex., as safety appliance repairer, it being his duty to repair all defects found in the. safety appliance attachments on any and all cars, cabooses, and engines as early as possible after they reached appellant’s yards in Dalhart; it being his duty to do such repairing while the cars, engines, or cabooses were on the tracks and in the trains when the repairing was slight, but to do heavy repairing after such cars, cabooses, or engines had been removed to a track kept for that purpose. On the occasion of appellee’s injuries, a caboose was deadheaded into Dalhart for repairs to be made' on one of its couplings, to the end that the coupling could be made without the brakeman going between the cars; it being necessary for the brakeman to go between the cars to couple the caboose in the condition in which it was when brought to Dalhart, the evidence showing that to use the caboose in the condition in which it was, made it dangerous for the brakemen to perform their duties. Soon after the caboose arrived in Dalhart, the ear inspector and appellee discovered the defect in the coupler to the caboose, and appellee, as was his duty, under the direction of his foreman, proceeded to repair the coupler while the caboose was standing on the track where it had been left when it came into Dalhart, and while appellee was so engaged a string of other cars was backed against it by the switch crew, causing the injuries complained of by appellee. There is some conflict in the evidence on some of the foregoing issues, but there is testimony sufficient found in the statement of facts to sustain the conclusions above announced.

The case is submitted in this court by appellant on two assignments of error, each being based on the failure of the trial court to give a special charge as requested by appellant.

The first assignment of error is as follows: “The court erred in refusing to give defendant’s special charge No. 1,” and is based on the failure of the trial court to give the following special charge: “You are instructed that the plaintiff has failed to introduce evidence in this case sufficient to establish his cause of action, and you will therefore find for the defendant” The two propositions submitted under said assignment are as follows : (1) “The evidence fails to show negligence on the defendant’s part proximately causing the injury, and the defendant was entitled to a peremptory instruction, in its favor,” (2) “The undisputed evidence shows that this injury resulted from a risk ordinarily incident to the plaintiff’s employment and the defendant is not shown to be liable.”

The second assignment is as follows: “The court erred in refusing to give defendant’s special charge 1A,” and it is based on the failure of the trial court to give the following special charge: “You are further instructed as a part of the law in this case that if you believe from the. evidence that *283 plaintiff's alleged injury was the result of risks ordinarily incident to the service in •which he was engaged as an employs of the •defendant, or that it resulted to him from the risks that were known to him, or must have been necessarily known to him in the •discharge of the duties of his service, your •verdict will be for the defendant”—the only •proposition submitted thereunder being as follows: “The evidence shows that the injury was the result of a risk ordinarily in-ciden t to the service in which the plaintiff was engaged and the defendant was entitled •to the requested instruction.”

[1] Appellee in his brief objects to our considering appellant’s first assignment, on the ground that while the brief itself, under the statement, copies a purported special charge, there is no reference in the brief to the page of the transcript at which said speeial charge can be found, thus leaving the ■court to search therefor in the record as a means of verifying the correctness of the special charge as copied in the brief. We .are inclined to the opinion, under the authorities, that we would be warranted in de■clining to consider this assignment for the ■reason stated, but in view of the fact that but little time of the court is required, from the index to the transcript, to find the spe•cial charge in the transcript, and on an in.spection thereof we find the same correctly •copied in the brief, we have concluded to •consider the assignment and dispose of it ■upon its merits.

[2] As no complaint is made by appellant, •either that the trial court affirmatively com.mitted error in any portion of its charge as given, or that the trial court in the charge •as given failed to cover every issue raised by •the pleadings and the proof, and as appellant’s brief wholly fails to even state that the issue sought to be submitted in the special charge, failure to give which is complained of under its second assignment of -error, was not covered by the court in its charge as given, and, as no references are made in any portion of the brief tending to •show that any injury was done appellant as a result of the failure of the trial court to give the special charge referred to under the second assignment, no •injury is shown under said assignment and •the same will therefore be overruled. Haley v. Davidson, 48 Tex. 615; Herring v. Herring, 51 S. W. 865. The two propositions submitted under the first assignment in different forms raises the question of the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain the judgment rendered, but, after a careful reading -of the entire statement of facts, we have reached the conclusion that the evidence is •sufficient to sustain a finding on each issue raised by the pleadings necessary to sustain the judgment rendered.

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Bluebook (online)
150 S.W. 281, 1912 Tex. App. LEXIS 800, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/chicago-r-i-g-ry-co-v-rogers-texapp-1912.