Prescott & Northwestern Railway Co. v. Hopkins

182 S.W. 551, 122 Ark. 168, 1916 Ark. LEXIS 318
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedJanuary 31, 1916
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 182 S.W. 551 (Prescott & Northwestern Railway Co. v. Hopkins) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Prescott & Northwestern Railway Co. v. Hopkins, 182 S.W. 551, 122 Ark. 168, 1916 Ark. LEXIS 318 (Ark. 1916).

Opinion

Smith, J.

(¡after stating the facts.) A majority of the court has reached the conclusion that under the undisputed evidence Sanders, at the time of the injury resulting in his death, was a trespasser upon the train, and that therefore the ¡appellants owed him no duty and were not liable in damages for his injury. The conclusion makes it unnecessary to discuss the other numerous questions presented on this appeal, and we will proceed to set out and discuss only the evidence relating to the issue as to whether or not Sanders, at the time of his injury, was a tresspasser.

Witness Lowe, on behalf of the appellee, testified on this issue substantially to the effect that, acting under instructions from one Fletcher Smith, who had the control and management of the appellant’s business, especially the operation of their log and work trains, he was bringing the work train, consisting of two flat cars 'and the engine, from the log camp to Murfreesboro; that Sanders was there when they started; that there was five or six negroes on the cab and seven or eight on the cars. There were some negro women in the coal car. The negro men who were on the cab and cars belonged to his crew. Neither witness nor ¡anyone else made any 'Objection to Sanders riding on the train. Ever ¡since witness has ¡been on the job it had been the 'custom for the employees of the company to ride on the work trains or log trains, and had been the custom for log ¡cutters and loggers to ride on this train, and witness never heard any objection to it. The employees rode these trains when they were not going to ¡and from their work. On ¡one occasion a lot of camp hands were witnesses and they went back to the camp on the flat cars of the log train. Witness testified, over the objectión of counsel for appellee, that after they had started he heard Sanders say as follows: “I may have to fight Fletcher Smith to ride this train, 'but I am going over there. ’ ’ There was no notice sticking up in the cab containing a warning that nobody could ride. The injury occurred ¡on the morning of February 23, 1914. This train had been running over there since about the 24th of January. Witness stated, “If I am not mistaken it was the 24th of January when they brought the first steel on this side.” Witness had never seen Fletcher Smith run working men off of the engine. He had never seen Fletcher Smith object to anyone riding these trains or the engine except one gambler ¡and one hobo. Never heard Smith .say it was against the rules to ride those trains and had never been advised by anybody connected with the compny that it was against the rules.

Witness General Smith testified that a number of times he had iseen plenty of ¡people riding on appellant’s train, on this side of the river and the other side, when Fletcher Smith was on the train land he never heard him make any objections to anybody riding. He had seen other employees besides those who were operating the trains, and others, riding thereon. If there was a rule against anybody riding except the men connected with the train, witness knew nothing about it.

Witness Littlefield testified that he had worked for the appellant, driving ¡a log team, ¡off .and on for about three years. During the time he was working he was in. the habit of riding the work train whenever he got ready — “just anywhere over the woods ¡and down to the commissary and all around.” No objection was ever urged to it. He rode the train when Fletcher Smith was on it and he never heard him object to it. Smith was the general boss out there. Things went according to his orders. Witness worked a month or a little better on the side of the river where the injury occurred, but was not at work when Sanders was injured.

One witness, a. tie maker, testified that he never heard of it being against the rules for employees to ride the logging and work trains until after Sanders was ■killed.

Many other witnesses testified to the same effect, but the above states the evidence as ¡strongly in favor of the appellee .as the jury were warranted in finding, and it tends to show that there was a custom upon the part of appellants to permit their employees, who were not assisting in the operation of the train, to ride on these logging and work trains on business for the 'company and when they were not about the company’s business; also to permit those who were not employees to ride on these trains. The jury might have found from this testimony that Fletcher Smith, who was the roadmaster of the railway and the general foreman of the lumber company, and who was charged with the enforcement of the rule, knew of this custom and acquiesced in it, even after the lappellants had moved their logging operations to the east of the river, where the injury occurred.

On the other hand the appellants introduced witnesses 'whose testimony tended to prove that before appellants moved their logging operations to the east side of the river, where the injury oceured, that it was the custom to carry passengers on their logging and work trains, but that after they moved their logging camps to the east side of the river the custom of permitting passengers to ride on their trains was abandoned, and that after appellants had moved to the east side of the river no person, whether employee or otherwise, was permitted to ride on their logging 'and work trains except those employees who were handling the trains. The appellants were using the Memphis, Dallas & Gulf tracks, and the contract with that company provided that no persons whomsoever except the train crews should he permitted to ride on their logging and work trains, 'and that a failure to observe the provision on the part of the appellants would forfeit their right to use the track of the M. D. & G. By. Go.; that in pursuance of this contract warning notices were posted in all 'the engines and there was a warning notice in the engine on which Sanders was riding to the effect that no employee except members of the regular train crew would he permitted to ride on 'the locomotive or the car of that train, except in ;a car provided for that purpose; that on the pilot beam of the engine on which Slanders was riding, and at the back end of the tender there was posted a sign “Keep Off”; that appellants’ trainmen were instructed by appellants’ foreman and manager, Smith, not to let anyone ride their engines; that t'he employees were furnished ¡a time card on which was printed ¡a rule of the company to the effect that no one was permitted to ride on the trains except the employees having charge thereof; that the engineers and conductors were held responsible for violations of these rules.

John Karber, a witness ¡on the part of the appellants, testified that he was an engineer on one of their log trains at the time Sanders was injured. Sanders told witness the day before the wreck that he was going over to Norvell and figured going on the work train. Sanders asked witness whether or not he could go over, and witness replied, “I don’t 'know; that it was against the rule. ’ ’ This witness further testified that it was against the rules of the company for a man to ride on the work trains, and that this was generally known 'among the men and generally 'discussed ¡among them.

Witness Thornton testified that he was an engineer in the employ of the Ozan Lumber Company; that in the week before Sanders was killed Sanders tried to ride on witness’ engine and witness told him that he could not carry him, that it was against the rules.

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Bluebook (online)
182 S.W. 551, 122 Ark. 168, 1916 Ark. LEXIS 318, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/prescott-northwestern-railway-co-v-hopkins-ark-1916.