Railroad Co. v. Baldwin

113 Tenn. 205
CourtTennessee Supreme Court
DecidedApril 15, 1904
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 113 Tenn. 205 (Railroad Co. v. Baldwin) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Tennessee Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Railroad Co. v. Baldwin, 113 Tenn. 205 (Tenn. 1904).

Opinion

Mr. Justice Neil

delivered the opinion of the Court.

This was an action brought in the court below by a passenger on the railway of the plaintiff in error for baggage lost during a journey.

[208]*208The case was tried by the circuit judge without the intervention of a jury, and judgment was rendered in favor of the defendants in error, from which plaintiff in error has appealed and assigned errors.

The first error assigned is that the husband was not a legal passenger, hut only his wife; the latter traveling on a ticket, but the husband without a ticket and without paying fare. The trunk lost was the property of the wife, but not her separate estate. It is insisted that the action should have been brought in the name of the husband, and, inasmuch as he was not a legal passenger, he could not maintain it. The husband had purchased a ticket for the wife, and she was a legal passenger. It is immaterial, therefore, that the husband had no ticket. He is not suing for baggage carried by him, but he and his wife are together suing for baggage lost by her. It is immaterial that the wife is joined in the suit. The raihvay company will be fully protected by a judgment, with both before the court. Coward v. Railroad Co., 16 Lea, 227, 57 Am. Rep., 227.

The only other assignment that need be specially noticed is that the articles in the trunk were not such as the wife had the right to carry as baggage. The contents of the trunk may be divided into three lots.

The articles concerning which there can be no question, are embraced in numbers 1 and 3, viz.:

(1) Ladies’ underwear, children’s underwear, ladies’ shoes, sunbonnet and hosiery, one large white shawl, boys’ sweaters, seven boys’ bodies, four flannel shirts, [209]*209three ladies’ wrappers, one child’s overcoat, one ladies’ cloak, one lot of patterns, two rain caps, three batten-berg pieces, two drawn-work pieces, one red cashmere scarf, one savings hank and contents, two puff boxes, miscellaneous ornaments, one skirt, one key to zither, towels, one small silver card case.

(2) Men’s woolen underwear.

(3) Sheets, bedspread, and curtains for bed, holsters and pillows, one white marseilles spread, one double spread, one comfort, one large pair fancy pillow shams, one silk table cover, one pair blankets, one dozen linen napkin, four long linen tablecloths, two' hand-made dresser scarfs, two hand-made sideboard covers, one table cover, drawn work, seven swiss washstand and dresser covers, one crocheted chair tidy, two lace sash curtains, two mantel draperies and ribbon for same, unmade pillow ticks, three china piecés belonging to washstand, two large vases, two pair bisque figures, one spoon holder, two long lamp chimneys, one majolica water set, ice cream freezer and dasher belonging to it, one fancy pitcher, two silver salt and pepper boxes, one silver syrup stand and plate, one-half dozen old silver knives and forks, one-half dozen silver, one silver butter knife,one-half dozen table spoons, one-half dozen teaspoons, three china bowls, cabinet photo and frame, one small clock, one-half dozen cups and saucers and dish, one hand-painted cake plate, two vases hand-painted, one dozen small dessert plates, one dozen dinner plates, one-[210]*210half dozen soup plates,- one berry bowl, one amber set, four pieces glassware, two glass pickle' dishes, two preserve bowls and glasses, one cream pitcher, one milk pitcher, one-half dozen fruit saucers, one butter bowl.

The defendant in error, J. H. Baldwin, in October, 1901, at Jonestown, Miss., bought a ticket for his wife to Helena, Ark., en route to Forest Oity, Ark., to which latter place he and his wife were journeying for the purpose of making it their home. The said defendant in error was a livery stable keeper, and intended to go into this business at Forest Oity, and was removing to that place for the purpose just named.

The trunk and contents were missing at Helena and* were never found.

This court said, in Bomar v. Maxwell, 9 Humph., 625, 51 Am. Dec., 682: “It is obviously impracticable to prescribe any uniform or very -definite rule in respect to what' shall be deemed baggage. This must be left to the jury to determine in each particular case, from, the habits, rank, and condition of the party, the extent and reasonable expenses of the journey, together with all the circumstances relevant to the inquiry.” And again it was said, in Johnson v. Stone, 11 Humph., 420: “It is not practicable to state with precise accuracy what shall be included by the term ‘baggage.’ It certainly includes articles of necessity and personal convenience, usually carried by passengers for their personal use, and what these may be will very much depend upon the habits, taste, and resources of the passenger.” These cases were [211]*211decided, respectively, in 1849 and 1850. They were quoted .with approval in Coward v. R. R. Company, 16 Lea, 225, 57 Am. Rep., 227, decided by this court in 1886. In the last-mentioned case the court also quoted with approval the following from Hutchinson on Carriers, section 679, viz.:

“It is impossible to define with accuracy what will he considered baggage within the rule of the carrier’s liability. It may be said, generally, that by baggage we are to understand such articles of personal convenience or necessity as are usually carried by passengers for their personal use, and not merchandise or other valuables, although carried in the trunks of passengers, which are not, however, designed for any such use, but for other purposes, such as salé and the like. But it is evident that that which may be convenient or necessary for one person might not be for another, or that which might appropriately and properly be classed as baggage upon one journey'and for one purpose might not be so for another journey and for another purpose. That which might be necessary for the convenience of a female passenger might not be so for one of the other sex. That Avhich might be a convenience and almost a necessity for a traveler in one condition of life might be superfluous and wholly useless in the case of another, whose habits and condition in life were wholly different.”

The court also, in the latter case, quoted with approval the following from Railroad Co. v. Fraloff, 100 U. S. [212]*21224, 25 L. Ed., 531: “The contract to carry the person only implies an undertaking to transport such a limited quantity of articles as are ordinarily taken by travelers for personal use and convenience, such quantity depending, of course, upon the station of the party, the object and length of his journey, and many other considerations.” The court also quoted with approval the following from Macrow v. Great Western Ry., L. R., 6 Q. B., 612: “That whatever the passenger takes with him for his personal use or convenience, according to the habits or wants of the particular class to which he belongs, either with reference to .the immediate necessities or to the ultimate purpose of the journey, must be considered personal baggage.”

In the case last referred to, Cockburn, O. J., after using the language just quoted, said: “This would include, not only all articles of apparel, whether for use or ornament, . . .

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113 Tenn. 205, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/railroad-co-v-baldwin-tenn-1904.