Haas v. St. Louis & Suburban Railway Co.

90 S.W. 1155, 111 Mo. App. 706, 1905 Mo. App. LEXIS 546
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 4, 1905
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 90 S.W. 1155 (Haas v. St. Louis & Suburban 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
Haas v. St. Louis & Suburban Railway Co., 90 S.W. 1155, 111 Mo. App. 706, 1905 Mo. App. LEXIS 546 (Mo. Ct. App. 1905).

Opinion

BLAND, P. J.

(after stating the facts). — 1. The motorman, whose car bumped against the one plaintiff was on, testified that the track was covered with loose [710]*710leaves and was so slick he was unable to control his car and stop it in time to prevent the collision. He is corroborated by several other witnesses, in respect to the slippery condition of the track.

The petition alleged that plaintiff boarded the car at Clayton to be carried as a passenger to the city of St. Louis. The contention of appellant is, that he was not a passenger and for this reason he was not entitled to recover under the allegation of being a passenger.

In Vick v. Railroad, 95 N. Y. 267, it is held that where an employee of a railroad travels to and from his work on the cars of the company, and his transportation constitutes part of the contract of service, while so traveling he is an employee, not a passenger, and hence the company is not liable for an injury to him through the negligence of a coemployee.

In Higgins v. Railroad, 36 Mo. 418, it is held that a railroad employee riding in the baggage car with other employees without the payment of fare, though not traveling in the master’s service, nas not a passenger.

In Louisville & N. R. Co. v. Weaver, 22 Ky. L. Rep. 30, 50 L. R. A. 381, it is said:

“A station agent traveling to his home in another town, without paying fare, several hours after his duties for the day have ceased, does not, by reason of his employment by the carrier as such agent, assume the risk of injury through the negligent operation of the train.”

In Chicago & Alton R. R. Co. v. Keefe, 47 Ill. 108, where a laborer upon a construction train, at work under the orders of the conductor in charge of such train, was injured in consequence of the moving of the train by the engineer, also in pursuance of the order of the conductor, but without giving the preliminary signal, as required by the rules of the company, the laborer was injured. It was held that the master was not liable,, on the grounds that the laborer and the engineer were fellow-servants.

In Kumler v. Railroad, 33 Ohio St. 150, it is said:

[711]*711“Where a railroad company, engaged in ballasting its road, employed a hand to assist in loading and unloading a gravel train, and in the execution of this service it was necessary for him to ride on the train from the gravel pit to the place of unloading — the train being run under the direction of a conductor, and said hand having nothing to do with its management: Held, that such hand, while riding on the train, was a mere employee, and did not assume the character of a passenger; that he and the engineer of the train were engaged in a common service, and that, as he was not under the control or subject to the orders of the engineer, the railroad company cannot be held liable for negligence of the engineer, resulting in his death, if it was not guilty of negligence in selecting the engineer.”

The Keef and Kumler cases, and others of the same type, proceeded upon the common law rule as early adopted in England and followed in some of the State courts, that all servants employed by a common master and engaged in the same general business are fellow-servants, irrespective of the diversity of the business. In the earlier decisions of the Supreme Court of this State this rule was rigidly adhered to and was applied in McDermott v. Railroad, 30 Mb. 115, wherein it was held that bridge builders and brakeman were fellow-servants ; in Roback v. Railroad, 43 Mo. 187, in which it was held that a track repairer and trainmen were fellow-servants ; and in Moore v. Railroad, 85 Mo. 588, where it was held that a car repairer and a crew of an engine, which ran into the car the repairer was working on, were fellow-servants. If this rule had been adhered to by the Supreme Court, the Moore case would be decisive of the case in hand and we would, without hesitation, hold that plaintiff and the motorman of the car which ran into the one upon which plaintiff was -standing were fellow-servants and that plaintiff could not recover. But the doctrine of departmental service has found lodgment in the jurisprudence of this State by the following cases:

[712]*712By Dixon v. Railroad, 109 Mo. where, at page 423, 19 S. W. 412, Barclay, J., said:

“We think it clear that where a common employer carries on two enterprises, as variant in character as those here considered, each under separate superintendence, the employees at work in each cannot justly be regarded as fellow-servants of the employees in the other, within- the meaning of the rule of exemption.”

Relyea v. Railway, 112 Mo. 86, 20 S. W. 480, where speaking of servants of a common master, Black, J., said:

“They are fellow-servants who are so related and associated in their work that they can observe and influence each other’s conduct and report delinquencies to a common correcting power.”

Card v. Eddy, 129 Mo. 1.c. 518, 28 S. W. 979, the rule announced in the Parker case is approvingly cited; and in Sullivan v. Railroad, 97 Mo. 113, it was held that a trackwalker was not a fellow-servant with a locomotive engineer or fireman of a passing train. The Sullivan case was followed in Schlereth v. Railway, 115 Mo. 87, 21 S. W. 1110, and Swadley v. Railway, 118 Mo. 268, 24 S. W. 140, and the same principle applied in Hawk v. Lumber Co., 166 Mo. 121, 65 S. W. 1022.

And by Grattis v. Railroad, 153 Mo. 380, 55 S. W. 108, the departmental doctrine was criticised by Marshall, J., who wrote the opinion, as unscientific and against the weight of the authority; but the departmental doctrine was not involved in the case. The majority of the court held that an engineer and a fireman are fellow-servants.

In Vautrain v. Railway, 8 Mo. App. 538, affirmed by the Supreme Court (78 Mo. 44) is was held that a brakeman and section hands were not fellow-servants. The departmental doctrine was approved in Zellars v. Missouri Water & Light Co., 92 Mo. App. 107, though not specially mentioned.

[713]*713The following are pertinent cases from other jurisdictions :

“A civil engineer in the employment of a railroad company, who, when ordered to do so, rides on a train over a new track, the laying of which he is. superintending, does not assume risks resulting from negligence on' the part of the company’s servants in failing to keep the roadbed and track in good condition after it is laid, and in running the train at too great a speed, and he may. recover from the company for injuries caused by such negligence.” Meloy v. Railroad, 77 Iowa 743.

In Chattanooga Rapid Transit Co. v. Venable, 105 Tenn. 460, s. c., 51 L. R. A. 886, it is said: “A night watchman at a railroad depot who boards a train near his home to ride to the depot and report his readiness to return to duty the coming night, after being off duty a few days, has the rights of a passenger in case he is injured by the carrier’s negligence, although he is riding, in violation of a rule of the company, without a pass or payment of fare, but with the implied • permission of the conductor, who has neglected to enforce the rule.”

In McNulty v. Railroad, 182 Pa. 479, s. c., 38 L. R. A. 276, it is said:

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Bluebook (online)
90 S.W. 1155, 111 Mo. App. 706, 1905 Mo. App. LEXIS 546, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/haas-v-st-louis-suburban-railway-co-moctapp-1905.