Fitzgibbon v. Chicago & Northwestern Railway Co.

79 N.W. 477, 108 Iowa 614
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedMay 25, 1899
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 79 N.W. 477 (Fitzgibbon v. Chicago & Northwestern Railway Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fitzgibbon v. Chicago & Northwestern Railway Co., 79 N.W. 477, 108 Iowa 614 (iowa 1899).

Opinions

Deemer, J.

In his petition plaintiff alleges that on the eleventh day of July, 1896, he was a passenger upon one ■of defendant’s trains from Logan to Loveland; that after the train started from Logan, through the carelessness and negligence of defendant, it collided with another train owned and operated by the defendant, which was coming from an opposite direction, by reason of which the plaintiff received the injuries of which he complains. All the allegations of the petition were put in issue by a general denial interposed by the defendant. It appears from the evidence that an organization in the city of Omaha, Neb., known as the “Union Pioneer Employes Association,” contracted for a train of cars to carry the members of the association and their families from Omaha, by way of Council Bluffs, to Logan, Iowa, and return, on a picnic excursion, the association to pay a stipulated price for the use of the train. The train was made up at Omaha of fifteen or sixteen Union Pacific passenger cars and one baggage car, and, with the excursionists on board, was drawn by a Unión Pacific engine to the transfer in Council Bluffs, where the train was taken in charge by a crew of defendant’s employes, and drawn to Logan by one of the defendant’s engines. In pursuance of the- contract, tickets were issued to the association for each car, and [616]*616no fares were collected, it being left to the association to see that only members and their families were carried on the train. As the train was not a regular one, and did not run on schedule time, no tickets were sold for passage thereon. On arriving at Logan, the excursionists proceeded to a park in the town to hold their picnic, and the train was placed upon a side track about a quarter of a mile west of the defendant’s station house, where it remained during the day. The presence of the picnic party was notorious. The number in attendance was large, and the train was readily recognized as an excursion train by the number of cars, the decorations on the engine, and the place where it was left during the picnic. In the evening the excursionists came back to the train, with a view of starting for home, and, after they had boarded, it was started west from where it had stood during the day. The conductor and engineer both overlooked the fact that a freight train, running on schedule time, was about due from the west, and they negligently started west with their train, which, after proceeding a short distance, collided with a freight train, which was running at a high rate of speed, causing a number of deaths, and injuring a number of persons, among whom was the plaintiff.

1 No question is made-but that the conductor and engineer of this special or excursion train were negligent in not waiting until the freight train had passed, and that their negligence caused the wreck and its consequences. It is not disputed that plaintiff was on the excursion train at the time of the collision, and that he received the injuries complained of in consequence thereof. It is claimed, however, that plaintiff was not a passenger on this train;. that he was a mere trespasser, to whom defendant owed no duty except that of not willfully injuring him; and that it is not reseponsible in damages for the injuries he received. The trial court instructed the jury, in effect, that plaintiff, although not a passenger, might recover, if the defendant was guilty of gross negligence in running its [617]*617train. This instruction is complained of because not justified by the issues and not supported by the evidence.

[618]*6182 [617]*617It will be observed that plaintiff alleged in his petition that he was a passenger, and that he was injured through the carelessness and negligence of the defendant. This, then, is the duty which he charges the defendant owed him. And his recovery, if recovery be had, must be based upon a breach of this duty. Humpton v. Unterkircher, 97 Iowa, 509. In that case it is said: “It is essential, in any suit for negligence, that a particular duty neglected be declared upon. The recovery cannot be had for one breach on a petition counting upon another.” In the case of Way v. Railroad Co., 73 Iowa, 463, plaintiff sought to recover, as a passenger, for negligence in making a coupling, and, on appeal to this court, it was held that he was not a passenger. The case being remanded, plaintiff filed an amendment to his petition, retaining the allegations of the original petition, and, in addition, alleging that the injury was caused by the gross negligence of the employes in charge, of the train. On the second appeal it was contended that there could be no recovery without proof that plaintiff was a passenger. Answering that contention, we said: “But we think this position is not maintainable; for, while the defendant would have been liable if his intestate had been a passenger and the injury had been occasioned by but slight negligence on its part, it would also, under the statute (Code 1873, section 1307), be liable even though that relation did not exist, if the injury was caused by the gross negligence or mismanagement of the employes in charge of the train. So that the allegation that he was a passenger was redundant, if plaintiff relied upon the averment of gross negligence, as also was that averment if he relied upon the allegation that intestate was a passenger. The petition alleged two states of fact, upon either of which defendant would be liable; and some of its aver-ments, while material to one of these, are redundant as to the other, and plaintiff was entitled to recover if he had [618]*618established either’ of them, even though he had failed to prove the allegations which as to it were redundant. Possibly he could have been required, upon proper motion, to strike one of the averments or to plead the two states of fact, in separate counts. But no such motion was made. Very •clearly, we think his right of recovery was not defeated alone by the failure to prove the allegation that the intestate was a passenger at the time of the injury.” From this case it clearly appears that there is a marked distinction between an action by a passenger, who may recover for slight negligence, and an action by a trespasser, who may only recover for gross negligence, and that the mere charge of negligence does not carry with it a charge of gross negligence. Plaintiff’s petition not on]y charges that he was a pas&snger, and that defendant owed him the duty which that relation imposes, but it simply counts on negligence, and, of course, that degree of negligence which the particular duty’ imposes. It is not even inferentially charged that the defendant was guilty of gross negligence, and it is apparent that the court erred in submitting to the jury the question of plaintiff’s right to recover as a trespasser. As there was no charge of gross negligence, we cannot say, as we did in the Way Case, that the allegation that plaintiff was a passenger may be treated as redundnt. Defendant was not called upon to meet the issue of gross negligence, and therefore the court erred in giving the instruction complained of.

3 II. The court further instructed that the presumption was that plaintiff was a passenger upon the train at the time he was injured. That rule is no doubt correct when applied to a case where the injured party is found upon a regular passenger train, or upon a train carrying passengers in general, but, as applied to the undisputed facts in this case, it was erroneous.

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Bluebook (online)
79 N.W. 477, 108 Iowa 614, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fitzgibbon-v-chicago-northwestern-railway-co-iowa-1899.