Fickle v. St. Louis, Kansas City & Northern Railway Co.

54 Mo. 219
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedOctober 15, 1873
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 54 Mo. 219 (Fickle v. St. Louis, Kansas City & Northern Railway Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fickle v. St. Louis, Kansas City & Northern Railway Co., 54 Mo. 219 (Mo. 1873).

Opinion

Tories, Judge,

delivered the opinion of the court.

This action was brought in the Adair Circuit Court, to recover double damages from the .defendant for the killing of stock by the cars conducted by the agezits of defendant, at a point on its railroad where the said road was not fenced, and izz the inclosed field of the plaintiff where there was no public crossing, &c.

The amended petition of the plaintiff consisted of four counts, which were all similar in their allegations, except as to the desci’iption of the stock killed, and as to the amount of damages claimed.

The allegations of the first count of the petition are substazztially as follows :

1st. That the defendant is a corporation, &c., and was on the 1st day of August, 1872, the owner and occupier of a certain railroad leading from the city of St. Louis to Bloomfield, Iowa, and passing through Adair county in the State of Missouri, and of certain cars and locomotives running, thereon.

2nd. That the plaintiff was then the owner and possessor of two calves of the value of twenty dollars, which calves without the fault of plaintiff strayed upon the track of said railroad at a point on the same, where it passed through plaintiff’s inclosed field, where said road was not fenced, azid where there was no public crossing on said road.

3rd. That defendazit by its agents and servants so carelessly and negligently ran and-managed the said locomotive and cars, that they ran against and over said calves, killing one and crippling the other, at a point on said road where the same was not fenced, and where thei’e was no public crossing on said road, and in plaintiff’s inclosed field.

4th. That the plaintiff was damaged thereby in the sum of seventeen dollars, and prays a judgment for thirty-four dollars, double the amount of the daznages so sustained.

[223]*223The defendant filed a motion to dismiss the suit for the reason, that the petition consisted of four counts setting out four separate causes of action, none of which claimed damages for as much as twenty dollars, and that therefore the court had no jurisdiction' of the case, except by an appeal from a justice’s court. This motion was overruled, and the defendant at the time excepted. ,

The defendant then filed an answer, denying the material allegations of the petition, except that it did not deny its corporate existence. The case wa§ tried by the court, a jury having been waived by the parties.

The only witness introduced on either side was the plaintiff, who was introduced in his own behalf. His testimony tended to prove, that he was the owner of the calves, one of which was killed by the cars of defendant on the 15 th of August, 1872; that there was no public crossing of the road where it was killed; both calves were injured by the cars, one internally, the other had a leg broken; that he drove them from near the road track where they were found. The section hands of defendant hearing of the matter came and killed one of the calves and skinned it, the one killed was the one injured internally; that the other calf was left on plaintiff’s hands, and was afterwards cured by him to a great extent; that there was no fencing on the road, where the calves were found ; that it was inside of plaintiff’s field; there was no public crossing inside of .the field ; that the value of the calf killed was $12, and the other was damaged seven dollars.

The proof on the other counts was about to the same effect, except as to the value of the stock killed ; the hogs described in one count were only proved to be worth 4 or 5 dollars, and in the other two counts from 12 to 15 dollars. At the close of the evidence, the defendant moved the court to make the following declarations of law :

“1st. The court declares the Jaw to be, that under the evidence in this case plaintiff cannot recover in this action. 2nd. That in plaintiff’s second count in the petition, he admits the value to be the sum of four dollars, which be[224]*224ing beneath the concurrent jurisdiction of this court, plaintiff cannot recover in said count. 3rd. That in plaintiff’s fourth count in his petition, he admits the value of stock to be $10, which is beneath the concurrent jurisdiction of this court, and plaintiff cannot recover. 4th. That plaintiff has offered no evidence to show, that the animals, charged to have been injured and killed, strayed upon the track of defendant without the fault of plaintiff, or at a point of defendant’s road where the same was not fenced, or where there were no cattle guards, and that said injury and killing were occasioned by reason of there being no fence or cattle guards.

The court refused these declarations of law, and the defendant excepted. The court then found for the plaintiff, and found his damages to be thirty-nine dollars, and rendered a judgment in his favor for double the amount of the damages found.

The defendant moved the court to set aside the finding in the case, and to grant a new trial for the following reasous : “ 1st. The verdict and finding are against the law and evidence. 2nd. Because the verdict and judgment are against the instructions. 3rd. Because the court erred in refusing-defendant’s instructions. 4th. Because the court admitted improper evidence. 5th. Because the finding or verdict is not specific or proper.”

This motion being overruled, the defendant again excepted.

The defendant then moved the court to arrest the judgment: “1st. Because the petition does not state sufficient facts to constitute a lawful cause of action. 2nd. Because there is a misjoinder in the same. 3rd. Because there are joined in each count more than one -cause of action.” 4th. Because the judgment is not supported by the record or evidence. 5th. Because the counts are below the concurrent jurisdiction of Circuit and Justices’ Courts. 6th. Because the judgment is for a greater amount than the value of the stock killed and damaged.” This motion also being overruled, the defendant again excepted, and appealed to this court.

[225]*225The first ground insisted on by the defendant for the reversal of the judgment is, that the Circuit Court erred in overruling its motion to dismiss the suit on the ground that the petition consisted of! four counts, the amount claimed as damages in neither of which, it is insisted, amounted to a sufficient sum to give the Circuit Court jurisdiction of the same. Thai exact question was before this court at the present term in the case of Smith vs. Clark. County, ante p. 58, and it was there held, that where the aggregate amount claimed in all of the counts brought the cause within the jurisdiction of the court, it was sufficient to confer jurisdiction over the subject matter. That decision is conclusive on this point.

It is next objected by the defendant, that this suit, having been prosecuted under the 43rd section of the law concerning Railroad Corporations (W. S., 310) for double damages, should have been brought in the name of the State under the provisions of the 42nd section of the same act, and could not be brought in the name of. the person injured. That exact question was fully considered in the case of Hudson vs. The St. Louis, Nansas City and Northern Railway Co., 53 Mo., 525, and it was there held, that the suit was properly brought in the individual name of the party injured, which may be considered as settling that point made in this case.

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Bluebook (online)
54 Mo. 219, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fickle-v-st-louis-kansas-city-northern-railway-co-mo-1873.