Florida Central & Peninsular Railroad v. Ashmore

43 Fla. 272
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedJune 15, 1901
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 43 Fla. 272 (Florida Central & Peninsular Railroad v. Ashmore) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Florida Central & Peninsular Railroad v. Ashmore, 43 Fla. 272 (Fla. 1901).

Opinion

Per Curiam.

The defendant in error sued the plaintiff in error to recover damages for alleged unlawful ejection from a car of the defendant, and filed a declaration as follows: “J. K. Ashmore, a resident and citizen of Kentucky, by St. Clair-Abrams and Bryan, his attorneys, sues the Florida Central & Peninsular Railroad Company, a corporation existing under the laws of the State of Florida, in an action for tresspass on the case, for that, Whereas, on the 5th day of November, 1891, the plaintiff desiring to travel from Georgetown in the State of Kentucky to the State of Florida, purchased a through ticket from the New Orleans and Texas Pacific R. R. Co., commonly known as the Queen & Crescent Route, said railway being then and there the agent of the defendant, the Florida Central & Peninsular Railroad Co., in the sale of said through ticket, which said through ticket was composed of divers coupons guaranteeing to this plaintiff first-class passage over divers railroads named in said coupons, one of which coupons provided for a passage by the holder thereof on the line of the defendant’s road from Lake City in Florida, to Tavares in said State, which said coupon was in words and figures in print following, that is to say: Issued by Queen & Crescent Road, Florida Central & Peninsular Railroad, Lake City to Tavares, Arcadia, Bowling Green, Charlie Apopka, Cleveland, Fort Ogden, Fort Meade, Homeland, Liverpool, Nocatee, Punta Gorda, Trabue, Wauchula, Zolfo Springs, on con[274]*274ditions named in contract G 397, one passage. Not good if detached. Unpunched figures indicate class of ticket, 1st, 2nd, 40 via Q. C., W. & A., C. G., G. S. F., F. C. & P., T. O. & A., S. F. F. S. If limited punch here. Which said coupon bore on the reverse part thereof the stamp as follows: N. O. & T. P. R. R. Georgetown, November 5th, 1891, which said coupon was by the said agent of the defendaiit punched in two places with the letter L, and punched with six round holes in the body of said coupon. And the plaintiff having purchased said through ticket and paid the purchase money thereof to the agent of the N. O. & T. P. R. R., commonly known as the Queen & Crescent Route, said railway acting as the agent of the defendant in the sale of said tickets and said ticket by one of its coupons providing- for the passage of this plaintiff over the Georgia Southern and Florida Railroad, and this plaintiff having no notice, and never having been informed "that the defendant had prohibited the sale of through tickets over the line of the said G .S. & F. R. R., and the said through tickets with coupons being good on its face for the passage over defendant’s line of railroad from Lake City to Tavares, the plaintiff acting therefore in good faith, purchased said ticket from the agent of the defendant in • Georgetown, paying therefor the sum demanded of him for the same, proceeding on his trip from Georgetown in the State of Kentucky, and having arrived at Lake City proceeded to Hampton over the G. S. & F. R. R., and entered the defendant’s train, (said train being in charge of J. C. Rus.s as conductor) on November '7th, 1891, said train being on defendant’s road at Hampton, Florida, for the purpose of proceeding on his trip to said town of Tavares but the plaintiff says that after the train of defendant had started and [275]*275left Hampton, and this plaintiff, being still ignorant and uninformed that the defendant had prohibited the sale of through tickets over the defendant’s road where such tickets called for passage over the road of the G. S. & F. R. R., tendered to the defendant’s conductor, a duly authorized agent on, said train, the coupon attached to the other coupon on the said conductor demanding his ticket, tendering* him the same for his passage from Hampton to the town of Tavares, but this plaintiff says that the said conductor, J. C. Russ, refused to receive the said coupon, or to recognize the same, or to take it for plaintiff’s passage from Lake City to- Tavares, but demanded that this plaintiff pay to him, the said conductor as a duly authorized agent of tlie defendant, a sum of money for his said passage from Hampton to Tavares; and on this plaintiff declining to pay the said sum of money, but insisting on the said conductor receiving the coupon for said passage, the said conductor, J. C. Russ, acting then, and there as the agent and representative of the defendant on said train, as aforesaid, refused to permit the plaintiff to remain on said cars, but thereupon at the hour of 3 o’clock in- the morning unlawfully ejected the plaintiff from defendant’s cars, and compelled this plaintiff to submit to the outrage, insult and ignominy of being unlawfully ejected from the defendant’s cars. This plaintiff being powerless to resist his being ejected, and having no means whereby to compel the defendant to give hirn passage on said cars from Hampton to Tavares, as the defendant had by his agent in Georgetown, Kentucky, promised and agreed to do, and for which passage from Lake City to Tavares this plaintiff-had paid the agent of defendant, receiving in return the coupon herein described. And this plaintiff says that he was compelled to leave said cars [276]*276at 3 o’clock in the morning, as aforesaid, at the station which this plaintiff subsequently learned was called Waldo. This plaintiff being a stranger at that place, unacquainted with any person therein, whereby and by reason of the illegal and outrageous act of the defendant, the plaintiff was damaged in the sum of $10 for car fare from Waldo to Tavares, and in the sum of $10 for expenses incurred by him at Waldo by reason of his having been unlawfully ejected from the said cars, and in the sum of $20 expenses incurred by plaintiff lying over at Orlando by reason of the unlawful act of the defendant, and in the sum of $500-expenses incurred by the plaintiff in instituting and prosecuting his action, and in further sum of $9,410 damages incurred by the paintiff for the wrong, outrage and ignominy inflicted and perpetrated upon this plaintiff by the wrongful, illegal and unlawful act of the defendant, Florida Central & Peninsular R. R., in unlawfully ejecting the plaintiff from defendant’s cars as before stated. Wherefore the plaintiff brings this his suit, and claims $10,000 damages.”

This declaration was demurred to, the demurrer overruled, pleas were filed, and after issue joined, a jury was waived and the case submitted upon evidence to the court. Judgment was rendered for plaintiff for $1,000, from which judgment defendant sued out writ of error to this court, his first assignment of error being based upon the action of the court overruling its demurrer to the •declaration.

The grounds of demurrer to the declaration are: 1st. It shows no cause of action. 2nd. It fails to show what authority the alleged seller of the ticket had to sell tickets over defendant company’s line, whether general or special ; and if special, what authority. 3rd. The declaration is indefinite, in that it does not state what train by num[277]*277ber, or time of departure from Hampton, or what conductor by name is referred to in the declaration. 4th. The declaration does not show any unlawful expulsion of plaintiff, or any one else from cars of defendant. 5th. The declaration does not show that plaintiff held any written contract of defendant compelling- defendant to carry the said plaintiff as mentioned in said declaration. 6th. The declaration fails to show that said coupons attached to said ticket described was the contract of defendant. 7th.

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Bluebook (online)
43 Fla. 272, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/florida-central-peninsular-railroad-v-ashmore-fla-1901.