Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railway Co. v. Beckett

2 Ind. App. 547
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedJanuary 17, 1895
DocketNo. 1,349
StatusPublished

This text of 2 Ind. App. 547 (Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railway Co. v. Beckett) 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
Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railway Co. v. Beckett, 2 Ind. App. 547 (Ind. Ct. App. 1895).

Opinion

Gavin, J.

The appellee’s complaint sets forth, in substance, that on July 20, 1892, appellant had a station at Massachusetts avenue, in Indianapolis, where it had on sale round trip tickets to Jonesboro, a station on another division of its road, at the regularly advertised price of $3.60; that appellee, desiring to go to Jonesboro, presented himself in ample time at appellant’s ticket office, tendered the price and asked for such a ticket, but failed to obtain it by reason of the incapacity and negligence of the agent, who advised him to get on the train without it; that in pursuance of this direction, he boarded the train, explained to the conductor how he came to be without a ticket and tendered to the conductor the regular round trip fare to Jonesboro, $3.60, but he refused it and demanded $3.80, upon failure to pay which, appellee was wrongfully, maliciously and in a rude, angry and insolent manner ejected from the train, whereby he was compelled to walk back a long distance, greatly humiliated, damaged, etc.

To this complaint appellant filed,, first, a general denial, and second an affirmative answer setting up that Jonesboro was on a division of appellant’s road different from that on which the Massachusetts avenue depot was located; that the trainmen did not run through from Massachusetts avenue to Jonesboro, but new men would take charge of appellee at an intermediate station on his journey; that no conductor or trainman on the train which started from Massachusetts avenue had any authority to accept a round trip cash fare or sell round trip tickets to Jonesboro, but this was forbidden by appellant’s rules, as appellee well knew; that to enable a passenger to obtain the benefit of the $3.60 rate, under [549]*549the rules of the company, a ticket was necessary, and that when without a ticket the regular fare was ten cents extra each way, as appellee knew; that he did not tender this extra sum, nor did he tender a one way fare, nor any other sum than the $3.60 named, which was expressly conditioned upon his being carried the round trip.

To this second paragraph of answer a demurrer was sustained.

It is urged by appellant’s learned counsel that this answer is good because it appears from it that the conductor had-no authority to collect or receive a round trip fare, which was all that was tendered him, and because he was not bound to take the passenger’s statement as to his inability to obtain a ticket.

Whatever may be the rule in some jurisdictions, we are of opinion that the law is well settled in Indiana adverse to appellant’s position.

The railroad company clearly has a right to require passengers to procure tickets, or, upon failure to so do, to pay the regular fare, and not the reduced ticket fare, provided proper facilities are given to enable the passengers to purchase such tickets. Sage v. Evansville, etc., R. W. Co., 134 Ind. 100.

But the furnishing of such facilities is a prerequisite to the right to demand such excess over the ticket fare, and where the opportunity is not given the passenger to procure a ticket, and his application therefor is without just cause refused, and he without fault boards the train without such ticket, he will, upon tender of the ticket fare, be entitled to all of the rights and privileges that a ticket would afford him. Chicago, etc., R. R. Co. v. Graham, 3 Ind. App. 28; Lake Erie, etc., R. W. Co. v. Close, 5 Ind. App. 444; Jeffersonville, etc., R. R. Co. v. Rogers, 28 Ind. 1; Indianapolis, etc., R. W. Co. v. Rin[550]*550ard, 46 Ind. 293; St. Louis, etc., R. W. Co. v. Myrtle, 51 Ind. 566; Stoner v. Pennsylvania Co., 98 Ind. 384.

Although, the conductor may be acting strictly according to the rules of the company, and doing that and only that which, under its rules, he is authorized to do, it by no means follows that his conduct is rightful toward the passenger. Between himself and the company its rules will justify the conductor, but not so as between himself as the company’s representative and the passenger.

In the well considered case of Lake Erie, etc., R. W. Co. v. Fix, 88 Ind. 381, the passenger presented upon his return trip the going coupon of a round trip ticket, which, upon its face, did not entitle him to the passage, yet, it having been given to him by the company’s servant by mistake upon the first trip, he detaching the wrong coupon, the court held that upon explanation of these facts to the conductor the passenger was entitled to ride upon it.

So, too, in Pennsylvania Co. v. Bray, 125 Ind. 229, it was held that under such circumstances the conductor must heed the explanation of the passenger, or if he refuses to do so it is at the peril of the company to respond in damages if the passenger be in the right.

The first wrong was by appellant in failing to furnish appellee a ticket upon his reasonable demand therefor, and it must answer for all the consequences naturally following from that wrong.

The company can not be permitted to justify its own wrongful conduct by the fact that its servants were acting according to its directions or rules. Cherry v. Kansas City, etc., R. W. Co., 52 Mo. App. 499; Kansas City, etc., R. R. Co. v. Riley, 68 Miss. 765; Appleby v. St. Paul, etc., City R. W. Co., 55 N. W. Rep. 1117; Muckle v. Rochester R. W. Co., 79 Hun 32; Missouri, etc., R. [551]*551W. Co. v. Martino, 18 S. W. Rep. 1066; Texas, etc., R. W. Co. v. Dennis, 23 S. W. Rep. 400; Georgia R. W. Co. v. Dougherty, 86 Ga. 744.

Under these authorities, we are of opinion that it was the duty of the company either to provide appellee an opportunity to obtain a ticket or to make some provision by which he could pay his fare at the ticket rate upon the train. Neither was done; but he was ejected for his refusal to pay to the conductor the amount demanded, which was in excess of the ticket fare. This demand was wrongful and the passenger’s expulsion for refusal to comply with it was also wrongful.

Counsel seek to distinguish this case from the case of Chicago, etc., R. R. Co. v. Graham, supra, by the fact that the conductor here went only part of the way to Jonesboro, and was not authorized to accept the round trip fare. We are unable to see any distinction in principle. In this instance the passenger asked the conductor to do something which the rules of the company forbade him to do. So, also, in cases cited where the passenger tendered less than the regular cash fare or a ticket which, on it face, did not entitle the holder to the passage demanded, in all these cases the passenger asked and was held entitled to that which the company’s rules prohibited. The company could easily have provided for such cases by authorizing the conductor to issue a special check entitling the passenger to the round trip. Not having done so, it can not hide behind its failure to make reasonable provision for such a contingency.

As stated by counsel, the views of the court as to the sufficiency of the answer were adhered to in its instructions, evidence as to all the matters pleaded by the answer being received under the general denial. It is not necessary for us to consider the instructions in detail. 'The views of the law which we have already expressed [552]

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Bluebook (online)
2 Ind. App. 547, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cleveland-cincinnati-chicago-st-louis-railway-co-v-beckett-indctapp-1895.