Drogmund v. Metropolitan Street Railway Co.

98 S.W. 1091, 122 Mo. App. 154, 1906 Mo. App. LEXIS 550
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 5, 1906
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 98 S.W. 1091 (Drogmund v. Metropolitan Street Railway Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Drogmund v. Metropolitan Street Railway Co., 98 S.W. 1091, 122 Mo. App. 154, 1906 Mo. App. LEXIS 550 (Mo. Ct. App. 1906).

Opinions

BROADDUS, P. J.

This is a suit by the father for damages for loss of services of his minor son alleged to have been the result of the Avrongful act of the defendant, Avhereby said son was severely and permanently injured. OAving to certain questions raised by counsel it is necessary that a full statement of the substance of the cause of action should be set forth in this opinion.

The plaintiff is the father of Otto L. Drogmund, a minor tAvelve years of age at the time of the alleged injury. “The defendant was operating at the time by means of a cable a street rail ay ay on TAvelfth street in Kansas City, Missouri; that its trains consisted of two cars, known respectively as a grip car and a trailer; that [157]*157prior to the 30th day of January, 1900, the defendant’s servants in charge of and operating its cars on said street, invited and permitted boys to ride on its train at a certain point on its railroad near the east end of its line where it made a loop for its cam to return west; that plaintiff’s said son was among the number of boys that defendant’s servants permitted and invited to ride on its trains while its cars were traversing said loop; “that on the said 30th day of January, 1900, his said son Otto L. Drogmund, boarded at Twelfth and Olive streets one of said trains going eastward to ride around said loop; that when he was so riding he stood upon the grip car, and rang the bell for the gripman, at the gripman’s request, at the cross streets and when it started westward ; that after it started westward and after the cars had gone about the distance of two blocks, one Thomas Scanlon defendant’s conductor in charge told said Otto L. Drogmund to get off the car, and then stooped down as if he was picking up something, and then made a motion as if he was going to throw something at the boy, at the same time telling him to get off, and then picked up a broom and raised it as if to throw it at or hit said boy, at the same time approaching nearer to the boy repeating his orders in a loud and peremptory tone, to get off, and said boy believing that said conductor was going to hit him with said broom, stooped down at the end of the seat to avoid being hit, and lost his hold, and fell off said train with great force and violence upon the pavement, bruising, wounding and maiming his head, causing a fracture of his skull, etc.”

“That said boy received said injury by reason of the carelessness and negligence of said defendant, its officers, agents and servants in the following particulars: By reason of the carelessness and negligence of permitting boys of tender years to ride upon its cars at the eastern end of said street railway, as aforesaid, and by reason of the carelessness, negligence and wantoness of [158]*158said Scanlon, in so frightening said hoy on the train as aforesaid.”

The evidence of the boy Otto was that he was permitted to ride on the defendant’s cars as stated in the petition; that the gripman of the car permitted him to so ride, directing and permitting him to ring the bell at suitable times and places; that at the time in question he was riding on the car and ringing the bell with the permission of the gripman, when the conductor told him to quit ringing the bell, but that he did not quit when so told, whereupon the conductor Scanlon seized a broom and advanced toward him; that he and Scanlon were good friends and at first he thought the conductor was not in earnest, but he finally concluded that he was and as he had the broom in a threatening attitude, he dodged, lost his equilibrium and fell from the car to the street pavement.

The defendant’s gripman and conductor deny that they permitted the plaintiff’s son and other boys to ride on the car, but that they would do so while the cars were making the loop, jump on and off. That at the time the boy was injured, he got onto the grip car with other boys while he was on the trailer, that as he went forward he took a broom in his hand whereupon the other boys jumped from the car, but the plaintiff’s son remained, when he raised the broom not with the intention of hitting as he was not in striking distance but to scare him off, and that the boy jumped off and the cars proceeded on their way, and that he did not know at that time that he was injured.

. The defendant interposed a demurrer to plaintiff’s evidence which was overruled. The finding and judgment were for the plaintiff from which defendant appealed.

The contention of defendant is, that, the facts in evidence show that the boy was a trespasser and not a passenger, and as the act of the conductor was not wan[159]*159ton the demurrer should have been sustained. In Buck v. Railway, 108 Mo. 179, it was held, where a small boy became a free passenger on defendant’s street cars by consent of the driver in charge, that defendant became bound to exercise toward him the same care as toward other passengers. In Sherman v. Railway, 72 Mo. 62, it was held that, “a person riding on a freight train on which passengers are allowed to be carried, is to be regarded as a passenger, although he may have boarded the train without the permission of the conductor and paid no fare, if the conductor, after becoming aware of his presence, permits him to remain.” In Muelhausen v. Railroad, 91 Mo. 332, the case was the same on principle.

But in the more recent case of Raming v. Railway, 157 Mo. 477, it was held : “A newsboy who jumps on a street car without signaling it to stop, for the purpose of selling papers, and jumping off again, is not a passenger, so as to charge the company with special care to avoid injuring him though he intended to pay fare if the conductor asked him; it appearing that the conductor did not see him, and that the gripman, who had no authority to grant or refuse him permission to ride, tried to eject him.” In the prior cases cited the persons were permitted to ride on the cars by those in charge without paying fare, which the court held made them passengers, but in the case at bar, under the ruling in the latter case the gripman had no authority to grant plaintiff permission to ride on the car in question. He was not therefore a passenger and such is the ruling. [Padgitt v. Moll, 159 Mo. 143.] The court committed an error in instructing the jury that under the facts they might find that the plaintiff’s son was a passenger.

Notwithstanding the boy was not a passenger, but a trespasser, the defendant was not under obligations to • exercise for his safety the highest degree of care due a passenger, but it was under obligation to exercise ordinary care. [Padgitt v. Moll, supra.] Or as expressed in [160]*160Farber v. Railway, 116 Mo. 81: “The only duty the company owes a trespasser stealing a ride on the train is not to willfully or recklessly injure him after discovering him on the train.” “A servant of a railroad company in the performance of his duty in removing a trespassing boy from the company’s train is bound to exercise ordinary care.” [Brill v. Eddy, 115 Mo. 596.]

The law thus seems to be well settled. This brings us to the insistence of the defendant that, as the boy was not a passenger the company was only bound to use ordinary care in removing him from the car, and it would not be liable unless the act of its conductor in so doing was characterized by willfulness or wantonness of which there is no evidence.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
98 S.W. 1091, 122 Mo. App. 154, 1906 Mo. App. LEXIS 550, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/drogmund-v-metropolitan-street-railway-co-moctapp-1906.