Murphy v. Manistee Railway Co.

161 N.W. 876, 194 Mich. 595, 1917 Mich. LEXIS 533
CourtMichigan Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 29, 1917
DocketDocket No. 28
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 161 N.W. 876 (Murphy v. Manistee Railway Co.) 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
Murphy v. Manistee Railway Co., 161 N.W. 876, 194 Mich. 595, 1917 Mich. LEXIS 533 (Mich. 1917).

Opinion

Bird, J.

Defendant operates a street railway in the city of Manistee. It also operates in the summer months an electric railway from the city to Orchard [597]*597Beach, an amusement park, which lies two miles north of the city on Lake Michigan. This railway has a single track, and is constructed on the east side of the public highway, and the trolley poles are placed on the east side of the track. The cars operated thereon are of the summer type with seats extending crosswise. They are entered from running boards extending along the sides of the cap, and grab handles are provided on each stanchion to assist the passengers in boarding and alighting therefrom. Two cars are operated together, a motor car and a trailer.

Late in the afternoon of July 26, 1914, plaintiff, a boy of 18 years, and two male companions boarded one of the cars in the park to return to the city. They took seats in the front end of the car. Before leaving the park the car filled rapidly, and plaintiff surrendered his seat to a lady and stood on the running board on the east side of the car facing his companions. The car appears to have been well under way when it reached the straight track in the highway. While plaintiff stood facing and conversing with his companions he was swept off from the car by contact with one of the trolley poles and injured.

The negligence which he relied upon for recovery was the roughness of the track, the close proximity of the trolley poles to the track, the excessive speed of the car, and the failure to warn him of the danger. The defendant denied that 'it was negligent in any of these respects, and asked for a directed verdict, on the ground that no negligence had been shown on the part of the defendant, and on the further ground that plaintiff’s negligence was apparent from his own testimony. The court denied the motion and submitted the case to the jury, which rendered a verdict of $1,500.

1. Was defendant negligent? It appears to be conceded that passengers were permitted to ride upon the running boards of the cars whether the cars were filled or not, but it appears in the instant case that [598]*598plaintiff was riding thereon because of the crowded condition of the car. We must assume, therefore, that plaintiff was riding there with the permission and consent of the defendant. This being so, defendant was under the legal duty of operating its car with a high degree of care cso as not to injure him while in that position. Upham v. Railway Co., 85 Mich. 12 (48 N. W. 199, 12 L. R. A. 129); Larskowski v. Railway, 193 Mich. 409 (159 N. W. 530). See, also, Noble v. Railway Co., 98 Mich. 249 (57 N. W. 126); Pomaski v. Grant, 119 Mich. 675 (78 N. W. 891); Dupuis v. Traction Co., 146 Mich. 152 (109 N. W. 413).

The charge is made in the declaration, and the proofs tend to support it, that the pole in question was only 15 inches from the running board, and that it inclined to the west, thereby bringing the upper portion thereof nearer the track; that the track was crooked, rough, and uneven; that the car was driven at a high rate of speed; and that by reason thereof it caused a lateral movement of the car as well as an up and down motion, which brought the plaintiff in contact with the pole. It was further shown that no warning was given him of the danger.

Whether it was negligent to operate the car at the speed it was going'over this track, considering its condition and its close proximity to the pole, without at least warning plaintiff of the danger, was a question of fact to be determined by the jury.

2. Was plaintiff guilty of contributory negligence? Under the proofs he was not guilty of negligence per se in riding upon the running board. Upham v. Railway Co., supra. It is urged that plaintiff was familiar with the location of the poles; that he had an opportunity to observe their proximity to the track on the day in question as well as at other times during the summer and previous summers. That the poles were in plain view, and had he been exercising the care he should have exercised to avoid coming in contact with [599]*599them, as did others who were riding on the running board, he would not have been injured. On the other hand, plaintiff insists that, while he had been out to the park many times, his attention had never been challenged to the nearness of the poles nor of this particular pole; that when the accident occurred he was riding in the usual way holding onto the stanchion with both hands. He concedes that he was not looking in the direction in which the car was going, and was not looking at the poles, but that he had no reason to believe that the clearances of the track were not sufficient to permit of his riding where passengers were accustomed to ride, and he further insists that he would not have come in contact with the pole had the car been operated consistently with the condition of the track and the nearness of the pole. These respective contentions likewise raised a question of fact for the jury.

3. Dr. Robinson, who testified in behalf of plaintiff, was asked the following question upon cross-examination :

“Mr. Neal: Doctor, the evidence shows that you have presented a bill for $150 for your professional services in doctoring Mr. Murphy. Has any part of that bill been paid?
“Mr. Smurthwaite: I object to that as immaterial and irrelevant.
“The Court: The objection is sustained. (Exception noted for defendant.)”

Counsel now makes the point that it was error to exclude the answer to the question because if the bill were not paid it would have a tendency to show the interest of the witness in the litigation. In support of this contention the following authorities are cited: Lack Malleable Iron Co. v. Graham, 147 Ky. 161 (143 S. W. 1016); Kingston v. Roberts, 175 Mo. App. 69 (157 S. W. 1042).

As a general proposition any question upon cross-[600]*600examination which will develop the interest or bias of the witness is admissible (Geary v. People, 22 Mich. 220; Swift Electric Light Co. v. Grant, 90 Mich. 469, 475 [51 N. W. 539]), and I am of the opinion that this testimony was competent, but, independently of the question whether it was competent or not, counsel is in no position to complain of the error. Had he stated to the trial court his reason for desiring its admission, it is more than probable that the court would have admitted it. Where testimony is generally inadmissible, but may be admissible for some particular purpose, it is not quite fair to the trial court to refrain from stating the particular purpose and after an adverse ruling complain to this court because of its rejection.

4. Chas. Kresler, manager of the defendant railway, was asked upon cross-examination the following question:

“Q. Why did you make the change in the running board?
“A. Made this year so we would not have a repetition of what we had last year — people getting on that running board and getting injured.”

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Bluebook (online)
161 N.W. 876, 194 Mich. 595, 1917 Mich. LEXIS 533, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/murphy-v-manistee-railway-co-mich-1917.