Renno v. Seaboard Air Line Railway

112 S.E. 439, 120 S.C. 7, 1922 S.C. LEXIS 82
CourtSupreme Court of South Carolina
DecidedApril 11, 1922
Docket10867
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 112 S.E. 439 (Renno v. Seaboard Air Line Railway) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of South Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Renno v. Seaboard Air Line Railway, 112 S.E. 439, 120 S.C. 7, 1922 S.C. LEXIS 82 (S.C. 1922).

Opinions

April 11, 1922. The opinion of the Court en banc was delivered by The allegations of the complaint material to the questions involved, are as follows:

"(4) That a long time prior to the 28th day of July, 1919, the defendant, Seaboard Air Line Railway, constructed, or caused to be constructed, on its main line of railway, at or near the village of Lydia Cotton Mills, and over a running *Page 16 and natural stream of water and with culvert or viaduct to carry the water through said fill, and the said fill with culvert or viaduct was so carelessly and negligently constructed that the said culvert or viaduct was not of a sufficient size to carry the water through said fill, and, when the said stream was swollen by rains, it caused the water from said stream to rush through said culvert or viaduct with such terrific force that the said water cut or caused to be washed out on the lower side of said railroad track, and on the defendant Seaboard Air Line Railway's right of way, a hole which formed a pool of water, which hole and pool of water has grown in size from year to year, until on or about the 28th day of July, 1919, it was some 25 feet long, 12 feet wide, and ranged in depth from a few inches to 8 or 10 feet in places.

"(5) That said hole and pool of water is located in or near the thickly populated settlement of the Lydia Cotton Mills village, and is not protected by a fence or guard of any kind or otherwise, and is easily accessible to children, who, not knowing the danger, made use of it as a place of amusement.

"(6) That it is and was the duty of said defendants to cause the said hole and pool of water to be filled in, and to cause the culvert or viaduct through said fill to be made larger and of sufficient size to prevent a recurrence of a like washout, or, failing in this, to cause the said hole and pool of water to be securely protected, so that children resorting to it as a place of amusement would not be injured.

"(7) That the said hole of water is of no use or benefit to the said defendants, and is a nuisance, and this plaintiff is informed, and believes, that said hole and pool of water has been condemned by the officials of the County of Laurens, S.C. and that said defendants have been notified of such condemnation; that said defendants knew or should have known the dangerous and unprotected *Page 17 condition of said hole and pool of water, and that children resorted thereto as a place of amusement, which fact this plaintiff is informed and believes, and so alleges, has been time and again called to the attention of said defendants, with request that said hole and pool of water be drained and filled in; but that said defendants not regarding their duty in this respect, have carelessly, negligently, wilfully, and wantonly failed and refused to enclose and protect said hole and pool of water in any way and have carelessly, negligently, willfully and wantonly allowed said hole and pool of water to stand open and unprotected.

"(8) That on or about the 28th day of July, 1919, Henry Renno, plaintiff's intestate, a small boy, 9 years of age, while playing or swimming in said hole and pool of water was drowned."

The defendant, Seaboard Air Line Railway, demurred to the complaint, on the ground that the cause of action was solely against the defendant, Walker D. Hines, as Director General of Railroads. The demurrer was sustained, and he answered the complaint, denying the material allegations thereof, and setting up the defense of contributory negligence and wantonness on the part of Henry Renno, who was drowned. At the close of all the testimony the defendants' attorneys made a motion for a directed verdict, which was refused, except in so far as the right of the plaintiff to recover punitive damages was concerned. The jury rendered a verdict in favor of the plaintiff for $2,500. The defendant appealed upon exceptions which will be reported.

The defendants' attorneys in their argument make this statement:

"We will not argue the exceptions seriatim. The first nine exceptions assign error in refusing to direct a verdict for the defendants. The tenth exception makes the point that the Court is without jurisdiction of this kind of an *Page 18 action, it not being based on any common liability of the Director General of Railroads. The exception charging error in the charge of the presiding Judge raises the same question as the first nine exceptions, and, in addition, that said charge was on the facts. We will argue the exceptions under the general propositions."

Practically the first question in the case is whether there was testimony from which a reasonable inference could be drawn that the pond was such a nuisance as rendered the defendant liable in damages. Under the able charge of the Circuit Judge, the jury found that there was such testimony; the Circuit Judge, who saw the witnesses, so found, not only when he refused to direct a verdict in favor of the defendant, but likewise when he overruled the motion for a new trial.

We deem this an opportune time to call attention to the fact that the jury of 12 men, in a common-law case, for which the Constitution provides, has been regarded from time immemorial as better qualified to pass upon the facts of the case then even the Judge. And the presiding Judge, by reason of the fact that he heard the witnesses testify, and could judge of their credibility, had a better opportunity than the members of this Court to determine the proper inferences to be drawn from the testimony. Furthermore, as the jury and the Circuit Judge have found that there was such testimony, there is a presumption in this Court that the trial in the Circuit Court was free from error. Therefore the plaintiff occupies a more favorable position than he did in the Circuit Court, when the burden of proof rested upon him.

We shall proceed to reproduce so much of the testimony as is deemed necessary to show, not only that it was susceptible of a reasonable inference in favor of the verdict, but that it was sustained by an indisputable preponderance *Page 19 of the evidence, as well as showing recklessness on the part of the defendant.

J.C. Brewington, white, testified for the plaintiff:

"I live close to Lydia Mill; about 200 yards from the pond. Moved there last Christmas. The people of Lydia Mill were accustomed to walking on the track. Have seen them walking along the track from Lydia Mill to Clinton every day. Have seen children playing in this hole. I do not know how many times. I have seen have in there since the boy got drowned. I have seen six or seven little fellows in there. Some were small, and some were good size. Have seen the viaduct after a rain. A little while before the boy got drowned I saw the water within two or three feet of the top of the fill. It backed the water a good piece back, and in this condition the water went through the viaduct with great force, and blowed that pond and made it deeper. I took the boy out. The water was up to my chin."

J.C. Wilson, white, testified for the plaintiff:

"I live in the town of Clinton. Have lived there two years. Before that I lived at Lydia Mill for ten years. For about five years I lived about 200 yards from the hole — in the Brewington House. The fill was there then. This hole has been there ever since I knew about the place. After a rain it blows out. I have seen it over a man's head. Then it would fill up to waist deep. It would be over a man's head after the rain. The force of the water through the culvert washed the hole out. The water would be backed up on the other side of the fill. The culvert was not large enough to carry off the water. Then it would dam up.

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Bluebook (online)
112 S.E. 439, 120 S.C. 7, 1922 S.C. LEXIS 82, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/renno-v-seaboard-air-line-railway-sc-1922.