Mitchell v. Boston & Montana Consolidated Copper & Silver Mining Co.

97 P. 1033, 37 Mont. 575, 1908 Mont. LEXIS 78
CourtMontana Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 12, 1908
DocketNo. 2,570
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 97 P. 1033 (Mitchell v. Boston & Montana Consolidated Copper & Silver Mining Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Montana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mitchell v. Boston & Montana Consolidated Copper & Silver Mining Co., 97 P. 1033, 37 Mont. 575, 1908 Mont. LEXIS 78 (Mo. 1908).

Opinion

MR. JUSTICE SMITH

delivered the opinion of the court.

On the night of October 14, 1906, plaintiff was operating an electric motor attached to a train of ten cars in the smelter of [580]*580.the defendant company at Great Falls, and ran the same into another train of cars, receiving serious injuries as the result of .the collision. At the time of the accident, plaintiff was between eighteen and nineteen years of age, and had worked in the smelter and about the motors for some three years. The testimony, including his own, shows that he knew how to run a motor, and had had more or less experience in handling one in the smelter. He alleges in his complaint that at the time of the accident he was in the employ of the defendant “as a laborer ■and servant; the duties of his employment requiring him to ‘chase’ cars and assist in loading and unloading said cars.” He further alleges: That he was ordered by one Krejci, the general foreman of the smelter, to run a motor on the night in question. That he made one trip, and was injured on the second: (1) By reason of the negligence of the defendant in requiring him to perform a hazardous act, requiring judgment, skill and experience, and outside of the line of his employment, •which was nonhazardous. “That the defendant and its superintendent' and foreman, including Krejci, knew, and had reason to ■know, that the plaintiff was of immature years, and did not have the experience and judgment necessary for the performance of the service so required of him.” (2) By reason of defendant’s failure to provide sufficient or adequate lights, “said place being at that time so dark that plaintiff was unable to see the other train.” (3) By reason of a defective cab “which had been so badly damaged before that it afforded no protection to plaintiff. That plaintiff while riding backward with his hands on the controller and reverse lever was unable to sit in a proper position so as to watch out for the train. There was also too little room in the cab to enable plaintiff to move or in any wise save himself in sudden danger.” (4) By reason of a failure on the part of the defendant to make “some rule or regulation and giving notice thereof to their employees so as to prevent any collision between trains such as happened on said night, and which defendant and its said foreman should have anticipated if they had exercised reasonable care; and also (5) in not giving [581]*581plaintiff any caution and instruction with reference to the said work he was ordered to do, so as to enable him to understand the dangers he would encounter and how to do the work with safety, the defendant and its said foreman then and there well ' knowing, as the fact was, that this was a temporary work, of a peculiarly dangerous character, and that the risks and hazards of the work and the proper mode of doing the same were not obvious or known and appreciated by plaintiff by reason of his youth, incapacity and inexperience.”

As a result of the trial the jury returned the following special and general verdicts:

“ (1) Did A. T. Elliott, defendant’s general smelter foreman, before plaintiff’s injury, instruct plaintiff that he was never to run the blast furnace motors after that time? A. Yes.

‘ ‘ (2) Did F. "W. Snow, the assistant superintendent, before the plaintiff’s injury, order and instruct the plaintiff that he was thereafter to keep off the blast furnace motors? A. Yes.

“ (3) Did Mr. Henry Seidler on or before the fourteenth day of August, 1906, instruct the plaintiff that the general smelter foreman, Elliott, had issued orders requiring the plaintiff to keep off of the blast furnace motors thereafter? A. Yes.

“ (4) Did plaintiff know before he started upon the trip upon which he was injured that the train No. 1 had entered the tunnel under the coke bins ? A. Yes.

“(5) Could plaintiff have seen train No. 1 before coming in collision therewith, in time to avoid a collision, if he had looked for the same? A. Yes.

“ (6) Were the lights in and about the vicinity of the tunnel at the time of the injury complained of insufficient to enable the plaintiff to see that train No. 1 was in the tunnel at the time plaintiff entered the tunnel? A. No.

“We, the jury in the above-entitled action, find for the defendant.”

Judgment for the defendant was entered by the court, and, from such judgment and an order .denying a new trial, the plaintiff has appealed.

[582]*582Appellant’s first assignment of error is that the court was wrong in submitting the six special questions to the jury. It appears from the testimony of Elliott, Snow and Seidler that plaintiff was along in August, 1906, warned never to go upon a motor again or attempt to run one because he had had a serious accident while operating one and had caused considerable damage; the reason of the accident, according to the witnesses, being plaintiff’s “reckless” running. Plaintiff denied that he received any such warnings or instructions. He testified that on the night of October 14th he was told by Krejei to run the motor. He demurred to this, saying he preferred to “chase” cars or do something else, but Krejei told him to either run the motor or go home. Krejei denied that any such conversation took place, and said that the first time he saw plaintiff that night he (plaintiff) was operating the motor. Krejei had no knowledge that plaintiff had been instructed not to run the motors.

It is the contention of the appellant that the first three special questions submitted were not within the issues. With this we agree, for the reasons hereafter to be pointed out. But the case was tried upon the theory that these questions were material, and we cannot see where plaintiff was prejudiced by the submission of the same to the jury. Plaintiff had the privilege of asking the court to also submit to the jury the question whether Krejei ordered him to run the motor. If these matters were material, it would have been proper, and perhaps advisable, to submit this special question also.

We cannot agree that there was any error in submitting interrogatories 4, 5 and 6 to the jury. Indeed, we think they were properly submitted, as taking the opinion of the jury upon the only issue in the case in the light of plaintiff’s own testimony.

Again, it is urged that the evidence is insufficient to justify the verdict, in that “it conclusively shows that the plaintiff was of immature years, and lacked the experience, judgment and capacity to run the motor.” We have carefully studied the testimony, and cannot agree with this. Our opinion is that the [583]*583general verdict is abundantly justified by the evidence, and that the last three special findings are amply supported.

But the appellant contends “the evidence conclusively shows that running a motor was outside of plaintiff’s regular duties, and that defendant neglected to give him any instructions, caution or warning.” This assignment of error relates, of course, to the general verdict. There is some testimony in the case to the effect that running a motor, when occasion required, was not outside of plaintiff’s regular duties as car-chaser and wheeler. "We cannot undertake to say that a negative finding on that question is not supported by substantial evidence. But what caution- or warning did "the plaintiff require? This question was fully considered in Forquer v. Slater Brick Co., ante, p. 426, 97 Pac. 843 (just decided).

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Bluebook (online)
97 P. 1033, 37 Mont. 575, 1908 Mont. LEXIS 78, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mitchell-v-boston-montana-consolidated-copper-silver-mining-co-mont-1908.