Scrivner v. Missouri Pacific Railway Co.

169 S.W. 83, 260 Mo. 421, 1914 Mo. LEXIS 124
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedJuly 14, 1914
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 169 S.W. 83 (Scrivner v. Missouri Pacific Railway Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Scrivner v. Missouri Pacific Railway Co., 169 S.W. 83, 260 Mo. 421, 1914 Mo. LEXIS 124 (Mo. 1914).

Opinion

GRAVES, J.

— Plaintiff, whilst shipping some horses and some farm and household goods from Council Grove, Kansas, to Carbondale, Kansas, was injured en route near the station of Admire, on February 22, 1908. He had loaded the car the day previous and had signed up a written contract entitling him to ride on the train with the car of stock and goods. He and his mother had remained in the car over night before it left Council Grove on the morning of February 22nd, at about seven o’clock. The accident occurred about nine o’clock of that morning. The plaintiff and his mother were in the freight car, and just after the train left Admire the car ahead of plaintiff’s car left the track, and plaintiff’s car was forced from the track, toppling over and badly crushing the right leg between the knee. The injuries were such that amputation had to be resorted to, and owing to the appearance of septic poisoning a second amputation was re[426]*426quired. At the date of accident the plaintiff lacked one day of being twenty-one years of age. The negligence relied upon is thus stated in the petition.

That on or about the 22nd day of February, 1908, plaintiff was a lawful passenger on one of defendant’s westbound trains, running over and along aforesaid line; that while said train was passing through the said town of Admire, Kansas, or running’ a short distance west thereof, and while plaintiff was a passenger on said train, the defendant carelessly and negligently caused said train to be wrecked, and the car in which plaintiff was riding to be derailed and thrown from its tracks and upon the embankment of said track, and thereby caused plaintiff to be injured as hereinafter set out:”

There is contention over the legal effect of the pleadings and the further pleadings had best be fully set out. For its answer the defendant said:

“Defendant, for answer to plaintiff’s petition, leave of court being had to file the same, admits that it is now, and was at all the times in said petition men7 tioned, a corporation and engaged in the operation of a railroad; admits that on or about the date in said petition mentioned plaintiff was being transported on one of defendant’s trains; and admits that near the town of Admire, Kansas, on or about the date in said petition mentioned, an accident occurred, whereby plaintiff received certain injuries; but denies that said accident was caused by any negligence or carelessness on the part of this defendant; and also denies that plaintiff’s injuries were of the character or to the extent in said petition alleged.
“Further answering, defendant denies each and every allegation in plaintiff’s petition contained which is not herein expressly admitted to be true.
“Further answering, defendant says that on the 21st day of February, 1908, said plaintiff shipped over defendant’s line of railway from Council Grove, Kan[427]*427sas, to Carbondale, Kansas, four horses and a lot of household goods; that on said 21st day of February, 1908, plaintiff and defendant entered into a written agreement, which provided that plaintiff might accompany said property shipped as aforesaid, but.that he 'should remain in the caboose car attached to the train in which was the car containing said property, while said train was in motion; but defendant says that plaintiff, in violation of said agreement, did not remain in the caboose car attached to said train, but undertook to ride and did ride in the freight car containing said property; and that if plaintiff had remained in the caboose car, as required to. do by the terms of said contract, he would not have sustained any injury.
“Further answering, defendant says that the injuries sustained by plaintiff in the accident above mentioned, were the result of his own negligence and carelessness, which directly contributed thereto.
“Further answering, defendant says plaintiff, by riding in said freight car instead of said caboose, in violation of the terms of his contract and in violation of the instructions of the employees of the defendant in charge of said train, assumed the risk of any accidents or injuries that might result to him from so doing.
‘ ‘ And now, having fully answered, defendant asks to be discharged with judgment for its costs.”

To this the plaintiff replied thus:

“Now comes plaintiff and by leave of court files herein his amended reply and says:
“1. He denies generally each and every allegation in defendant’s answer made or contained.
“2. Plaintiff further says that said pretended contract referred to in said answer is null and void for the reason that at the time of its pretended execution plaintiff was a minor; and that said pretended contract is in violation of the statute of the State of Kan[428]*428sas, and the decisions of the Supreme Court of the State of Kansas, where said pretended execution and delivery of said pretended contract were made. By section 5987 of the General Statutes of Kansas of 190a it is provided that no railroad company shall be permitted,' except as otherwise provided by regulation or-order of the board of railroad commissioners, to change or limit its common-law liabilities as a common carrier; which statute as construed by the Supreme Court of Kansas forbids the making by any railroad company of any contract which shall relieve such company from liability for loss occurring through its misconduct or negligence. No order or regulation of the board of railroad commissioners of the State of Kansas has ever been made modifying or affecting the provisions of said statute.
“3. Plaintiff further says that said pretended contract was without consideration; that the defendant had no rate properly published and offered plaintiff no rate and advised, plaintiff of no rate other than that charged plaintiff for the shipment which was made at the time of the pretended execution of said pretended contract, and plaintiff had no knowledge or notice of any other rate.”

Matters urged in the second and third parargaphs of the reply were in effect abandoned below and are not urged here in the briefs.

The trial resulted in a judgment for plaintiff in the sum of $15',000, from which the defendant has appealed. Matters of detail will be left to appropriate propositions in the course of the opinion.

[429]*429Avoiding Contract. [428]*428I. Of the several questions presented by the record, the following is of some importance. The' court permitted the plaintiff, over proper and pointed objections of the defendant, to show that whilst his car was being switched into the train at Council Grove, it was so forcibly struck by another car, that the partition [429]*429which plaintiff had erected between the goods and the horses was broken and knocked down, and that for this reason he was compelled to ride in the stock car rather than the caboose. Defendant objected to this testimony and urged that it was improper under the pleadings, and that it was not prepared to meet such an issue. There was error in the admission of this testimony under the pleadings. The answer set up a contract by which the plaintiff obligated himself to ride in the caboose of the train.

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Bluebook (online)
169 S.W. 83, 260 Mo. 421, 1914 Mo. LEXIS 124, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/scrivner-v-missouri-pacific-railway-co-mo-1914.