Hurst v. Detroit City Railway

48 N.W. 44, 84 Mich. 539, 1891 Mich. LEXIS 842
CourtMichigan Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 6, 1891
StatusPublished
Cited by73 cases

This text of 48 N.W. 44 (Hurst v. Detroit City Railway) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hurst v. Detroit City Railway, 48 N.W. 44, 84 Mich. 539, 1891 Mich. LEXIS 842 (Mich. 1891).

Opinion

Long, J.

This cause was tried before a jury in the Wayne circuit court, where the defendant had verdict in its favor under direction of the court. Judgment' being entered upon the verdict, plaintiff brings the case to this Court by writ of error.

The declaration alleges, substantially, that the .defendant is a corporation organized and existing under the [541]*541laws of this State; that on the - day of August, 1889, it was engaged in the carrying of passengers, for hire, in cars drawn by horses, through and along Brush street, in the city of Detroit; that Brush street was and is densely populated, whereby it became the duty of the defendant, by its servants and employés, to use due care and precaution in managing and driving said cars and horses attached thereto, and in such manner as not to endanger the safety of persons crossing Brush street, within the space mentioned in the declaration; but that the defendant, disregarding its duty in that behalf, on the - day of August, 1889, a certain car, to wit, car No. 100, then and there in the charge and custody of the servants and employés of said defendant, and then and there engaged in the service and business of said defendant, did so recklessly, negligently, and unlawfully operate, while passing the space aforesaid on Brush street, that plaintiffs intestate, the said Lorenzo Hurst, who was then and there an infant of the age of 1 year and 11 months, and who was then and there in the exercise of such due and reasonable care as was compatible with his age, in the act of crossing said roadway of said Brush street, by the said car and horses attached thereto was knocked down, trampled upon, and by the wheels and other portions of said car crushed and mortally injured, from which said injuries, as aforesaid negligently, recklessly, and unlawfully by the said servants and employés of said defendant inflicted upon said Lorenzo Hurst, he, the said Lorenzo Hurst, did die; by reason of which negligence of said defendant and injury to and death of said Lorenzo Hurst an action hath accrued to the said plaintiff as the representative of the next of kin of said Lorenzo Hurst,' and in which he claims damages from the said defendant in the sum of $10,000.

After the trial of the cause had commenced, the plaint[542]*542iff asked leave of, and was permitted by, the court to amend his declaration by inserting the following:

“From which said injuries, as aforesaid negligently, recklessly, and unlawfully by the said servants and employés of the said defendant inflicted upon the said Lorenzo Hurst, he, the said Lorenzo Hurst, did languish in great pain and agony and suffering for the space of two hours thereafter, and, so languishing, did live, until afterwards, to wit, on the day and year aforesaid, he, the said Lorenzo Hurst, by reason of the said injuries so as aforesaid by the negligence of the said defendant received, did die.”

Counsel for the plaintiff, in asking leave to file the amendment to the declaration, stated that the only cause of action sued for was the negligent killing of intestate, and he did not intend by the proposed amendment to change the cause of action from the one set up in the declaration, and in opening the case to the jury stated that he sought to recover in the suit under How. Stat. § 8314.

The plaintiff gave evidence on the trial tending to show that—

“About mid-day of the 21st of August, 1889, plaintiff’s intestate, a male child of 23 months of age, and just beginning to walk, was engaged with 15 or 20 other children in some childish amusement upon Brush street, in Detroit. The neighborhood is a populous one, in which many children reside. The width of the street between curbs at this point is 28 feet. Through the center of this space runs the track of the defendant corporation, upon which it operates a line of cars, drawn by horses, for the carriage of passengers for hire. One of the cars of defendant came along at a rapid speed. The car thus progressed a distance of 125 feet before reaching the intestate, while the driver kept his face turned aside from in front of the car. Plaintiff’s intestate was knocked down and driven over while he was in the act of crossing the track. Both the front and rear wheels passed over his body, crushing and wounding him so that he died in less than an hour afterwards. The driver did [543]*543not attempt to check the speed of the car until after the injury had occurred. The father and mother of the intestate are both living. The father is 54 years of age; an invalid, poor, and unable to render any assistance in supporting the family. The mother worked at washing and ironing, at which she supported herself and family, including the husband (plaintiff in error). The family consisted of the parents and 7 children, the oldest of whom was 16 years, and the youngest 23 months (the intestate). The mother, on the day in question, had gone from home at half past 6 o’clock, in the morning, to work, leaving the infant intestate under the care of a child 10 years of age. The father (the plaintiff) at this time had been away from home, and at the Soldiers’ Home, Grand Eapids, for about 10 days. No evidence of specific pecuniary damages was given.”

No testimony was offered on the part of the defendant, and the parties rested their case. Defendant’s counsel thereupon requested the court to charge the jury that, under the pleadings and proofs, the plaintiff could not recover. After the argument upon such request to charge, the plaintiff asked to be permitted to amend his declaration so as to include a claim for damages under the provisions of Act No. 113, Laws of 1885. The court refused to allow this amendment, and directed verdict for defendant.

Two questions only are raised:

1. That the court erred in refusing to allow the amendment.
2. That the court erred 'in directing the verdict, as requested by defendant’s counsel.

The court very properly refused the plaintiff’s amendment to his declaration. The act referred to, which is an amendment to How. Stat. § 7397, provides that—

In addition to the actions which survive by the common law, the following shall also survive, that is to say: Actions of replevin and trover; actions of assault and battery, false imprisonment, for goods taken and carried [544]*544away, for negligent iiijtories to the person, and actions for damage done to real or personal estate.”

■ By the amendment the plaintiff sought to introduce into the cause a right of recovery for the injuries inflicted upon plaintiff's intestate, and for the recovery of which the plaintiff's intestate might have had an action if living, and which action, it was claimed, survived to the plaintiff by virtue of this statute. This amendment would have introduced into the case a new and different cause of action than that stated in the declaration. Under the declaration as framed, if any damages were recoverable at all, it was only such damages as resulted from the loss of service by reason of the death of the child; while the claim of recovery under the proposed amendment was for the injuries inflicted and suffered up to the time of its death, — that is, such damages as the child might have recovered for the injuries if living, and which it was claimed survived, by this statute, to the father and mother. Satisfaction of the claim made by the declaration would be no bar to the other if such an action could be maintained.

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Bluebook (online)
48 N.W. 44, 84 Mich. 539, 1891 Mich. LEXIS 842, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hurst-v-detroit-city-railway-mich-1891.