Terre Haute Electric Railway Co. v. Lauer

52 N.E. 703, 21 Ind. App. 466, 1899 Ind. App. LEXIS 116
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedJanuary 26, 1899
DocketNo. 2,507
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 52 N.E. 703 (Terre Haute Electric Railway Co. v. Lauer) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Terre Haute Electric Railway Co. v. Lauer, 52 N.E. 703, 21 Ind. App. 466, 1899 Ind. App. LEXIS 116 (Ind. Ct. App. 1899).

Opinion

Comstock, J.

This action was commenced in the [467]*467superior court of Vigo county, and tried in the Olay Circuit Court upon change of venue. The complaint is in one paragraph, and charges, in substance, that on the 2nd day of October, 1895, the defendant was a corporation duly organized under the laws of Indiana, engaged in operating an electric street railroad in the city of Terre Haute; that on the night of said day the plaintiff went into- a car of the defendant, occupied a seat therein, and paid defendant’s conductor in charge of said car the sum of five cents, and was received as a passenger on said car; that, proceeding on its way, said car became crowded with passengers, several of whom were ladies, and said “conductor in charge of said car requested that some of the gentlemen passengers should vacate their seats in favor of such ladies, and stand and ride upon the rear platform of said car, and thereupon, in obedience to said request, this plaintiff gave up his seat and stood, and rode upon the rear platform of said car;” that while so riding, the defendant carelessly and negligently, with great force and violence, suddenly, at a high rate of speed, ran another of its cars against and into the rear platform of said car upon which plaintiff was standing,. and thereby crushed and broke said platform, and caught, mashed, and crushed plaintiff’s body between the ends of said cars, thereby'injuring, wounding, and bruising plaintiff’s side, hips and thighs. That said injuries were not caused through any fault or negligence on his part, and that by reason of said injuries he has suffered, and still suffers, great mental anguish and physical pain; that he has been compelled to expend a large sum of money for medical attention, etc., that he has been permanently disabled, and rendered incapable of performing and following his vocation, to wit, that of real estate broker, receiver, assignee and trustee; that his health has been impaired, and that [468]*468by reason of said injuries plaintiff has sustained damages in the sum of $20,000. The cause was put at issue by general denial, tried by jury, and a verdict returned in favor of appellee, upon which a judgment was rendered for $1,500.

The first and second specifications in the assignment of errors question the sufficiency of the complaint; the third, the action of the court in overruling appellant’s motion for a new trial.

In questioning the sufficiency of the complaint, appellant’s learned counsel do not insist that it is negligence per se for a passenger to ride on the rear platform of a street car, but claim that it was negligence for appellee to leave a place of safety, which he was occupying for a place obviously more or less dangerous, upon the general request of the conductor. That there is nothing in the complaint to show that when he surrendered his seat he might not have remained standing in the car, instead of on the platform on the outside; that there is no allegation that there was not room for appellee to stand on the inside of the car. The proposition that it is not negligence per se, but a question of fact for the jury, for a passenger on a street railway to ride upon the platform, has been decided in many decisions. Marion, etc., R. Co. v. Schaffer, 9 Ind. App. 486; Nolan v. Brooklyn, etc., R. Co., 87 N. Y. 631; Maguire v. Middlesex R. Co., 115 Mass. 239; Burns v. Bellefontaine R. Co., 50 Mo. 139; Chicago, etc., R. Co. v. Fisher, 141 Ill. 614, 31 N. E. 406; Beal v. Lowell, etc., R. Co., 157 Mass. 444, 32 N. E. 653. Whether one ride on the platform of his own motion, or upon the request of the conductor, would not be material. The rule would be the same in either instance. We think it clear, too, that it is the duty of the passenger to follow the reasonable instructions, and rely on the judgment of those in charge of the car [469]*469in regard to moving from one part of the car to another, unless it is apparent to the passenger that the movement would be attended with danger. Prothero v. Citizens, etc., R. Co., 134 Ind. 431; Cincinnati, etc., R. Co. v. Carper, 112 Ind. 26; Louisville, etc., R. Co. v. Kelly, 92 Ind. 371. The fact that appellee responded to a general request, which appealed to him as directly as to any one else in the car, should not deprive him of any right he would have had, growing out of a compliance with a request addressed to him individually. A further objection made to the complaint is that the request was unreasonable. The request to gentlemen to vacate seats occupied by them in a crowded public conveyance, in favor of ladies who would otherwise stand, is not, in this country, so regarded.

Under the third specification of the assignment of errors, to wit, the overruling of appellant’s motion for a new trial, appellant’s counsel discuss together the first and second reasons respectively given for a new trial, viz, that the “verdict of the jury is not sustained by sufficient evidence;” and “the verdict of the jury is contrary to law.” We believe it would serve no good purpose to quote largely from the evidence, which is voluminous. We deem it sufficient to say, in passing upon these reasons for a new trial, that, while the testimony is conflicting, there is evidence which fairly tends to support the verdict on every material point. In view of the whole record, the objection urged, that there is a variance between the proof and the allegations of the complaint, is not well taken. It is only required that the evidence fairly tends to prove the substance of the issue tendered by the pleading,.and this it does. Under the familiar rule of appellate courts, the judgment cannot, therefore, be disturbed.

Appellant next objects to instruction number eight, given to the jury, upon the ground that there was no [470]*470evidence to which it was applicable. Said instruction is as follows: “It is the duty of the passenger on the car to follow the reasonable instructions and directions of those in charge of the car, in regard to moving from one point of the car to another, unless it is apparent to the passenger, in exercising ordinary care, that the movement would be attended with danger; and a passenger may rightfully assume that the servants in charge of the car are familiar with its operations, and that they have a reasonable knowledge of what is safe and prudent for the passenger, in giving such instructions or directions.

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Bluebook (online)
52 N.E. 703, 21 Ind. App. 466, 1899 Ind. App. LEXIS 116, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/terre-haute-electric-railway-co-v-lauer-indctapp-1899.