Trinity & B. V. Ry. Co. v. Carpenter

132 S.W. 837, 1910 Tex. App. LEXIS 996
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedNovember 26, 1910
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 132 S.W. 837 (Trinity & B. V. Ry. Co. v. Carpenter) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Trinity & B. V. Ry. Co. v. Carpenter, 132 S.W. 837, 1910 Tex. App. LEXIS 996 (Tex. Ct. App. 1910).

Opinion

TALBOT, J.

This is the second appeal in this case. See 119 S. W. 335. The suit was brought by the appellee against the appellant for damages alleged to have been sustained on account of injuries to his wife while she was a passenger on one of appellant’s trains. In his first amended petition, filed September 9, 1909, and upon which the case was tried, the plaintiff alleged, in substance, that on or about the 20th day of September, 1907, his wife, Isie Carpenter, became a passenger upon one of appellant’s trains, and carried on said train with her a little child five years of age; that, before embarking upon said train, his wife provided herself with a ticket entitling her to ride upon said train from Hillsboro, Tex., to Mexia, Tex., but that she did not procure a ticket for said child because of its tender years and small size, and because no ticket had ever theretofore been demanded or required of said child, but that his wife was willing to, and did, pay fare for said child when same was demanded. The appellee further alleged that, after said train left Hillsboro, the appellant’s conductor in charge thereof approached appellee’s wife and took up said ticket, and asked appel-lee’s wife for a ticket for the little girl, and that she replied that she had no ticket, as she was only five years old; that thereupon said conductor in a harsh, rough, uncouth, and violent tone of voice, and in an angry and threatening manner, demanded of appel-lee’s wife that she pay for the transportation of said child, or he would put her and the child off the train; that she told the conductor that she had recently carried the child without paying fare, and that the conductor in the manner aforesaid told her he did not care if she had carried the child a thousand times she could not do it on that train, and that she had violated the law, and was guilty of a penitentiary offense, in getting upon the train without a ticket for the child, and that if he had a friend good enough to carry him on the train without a ticket, he would not tell it on him; that during said conversation appellee’s wife paid fare for said child. Ap-pellee also alleged that his wife was a woman of culture and refinement, and nervous and delicate, and that at the time she was seven months advanced in pregnancy, and therefore more subject to agitation and excitement than ordinarily; that all the acts and conduct of the said conductor were insulting, coarse, and humiliating to her; that there were other passengers upon the train who heard the conductor; and that because of his said acts, words, and conduct, and because of the nervousness, delicacy, and refinement of appellee’s wife, and because of her said pregnant condition, and because of the presence of said passengers, she was greatly humiliated and caused to experience a feeling of shame, humiliation, and disgrace, and to become nervous and excited and sick, and caused to suffer physical and mental pain, whereby plaintiff was damaged in the sum of $5,000. The defendant answered by a general denial. The case was tried September 15, 1909, and resulted in a verdict and judgment in favor of the plaintiff for the sum of $3,000, and the defendant appealed.

There was no error, we believe, in permitting Mrs. Menefee to testify that she was [839]*839With Mrs. Carpenter, the plaintiff’s wife, for 10 days during the month of June, 1909, subsequent to the alleged injuries, and that Mrs. Carpenter was very nervous and complained of pain. We regard the statement that Mrs. Carpenter was very nervous as the statement of a fact based upon the witness’ personal observation of Mrs. Carpenter’s condition, and not the expression of the witness’ opinion or conclusion. Railway Co. v. Oslin, 26 Tex. Civ. App. 370, 63 S. W. 1039. The stater ment that Mrs. Carpenter complained of pain was, we think, admissible as tending to show ■that Mrs. Carpenter at the time the complaint was made was suffering physical pain as the. result of the conduct of appellant’s conductor, and not a mere declaration of pain suffered at some other time. That such complaints are admissible when the pain or suffering complained of was contemporaneous with the declaration, and need nót be res gestse with the original injury, is well settled. Railway Co. v. Haynes, 86 S. W. 934; Railway Co. v. Shafer, 54 Tex. 641; Jackson v. Railway Co., 23 Tex. Civ. App. 319, 55 S. W. 376; Railway Co. v. Barron, 78 Tex. 421, 14 S. W. 698.

The second assignment of error is: “The •court erred in permitting the witness Mrs. Menefee to testify in answer to questions propounded to her by plaintiff that at the birth of the child Mrs. Carpenter complained •of pain, and that she complained of more pain than she did at the birth of her other children, because said answer was an opinion and conclusion of the witness, and because it involved hearsay statements, and because it was immaterial.” Permitting the witness to say that Mrs. Carpenter at the birth of her child which occurred after the alleged injuries complained of pain, if error at all was not of such a character as to warrant a reversal of the case, and the assertion in the assignment to the effect that the witness was permitted to state that Mrs. Carpenter complained on that occasion of more pain than she did at the birth of her other •children, is not sustained by the bill of exceptions reserved to the ruling of the court. Prom this bill it appears that the question •asked and answer given were as follows: “Q. Now, I will ask you whether or not she ■complained more or less.when this child was born than she did at the birth of the others •of her children? A. Yes, sir; she did.” Considering the form of the question and the answer, it can as well be said that the witness intended to say, and did state, that Mrs. Carpenter complained less on the occasion in •question, as that she complained more, and hence practically leaves the question unanswered. If, however, it appeared that Mrs. Menefee was present at the birth of Mrs. Carpenter’s other children, to whom the question referred, as well as the birth of the ■child born after her alleged injuries and that ■she intended to say that Mrs. Carpenter complained more at the birth of the child born after her injuries were received .than at the birth of the other children, and her answer was so understood by -the jury, then we think the answer was properly admitted as the statement of a fact, and not the witness’ conclusion.

The refusal of the following special charge is made the basis of appellant’s sixth assignment of error: “If you believe from the evidence that Mrs. Carpenter immediately after the alleged conversation with the conductor suffered from cold and fever, and that the condition of which she complains in her petition herein resulted from such cold and fever, or if you are unable to tell from the evidence whether the same resulted from such cold and fever, or from any act or conduct on the part of the defendant or its conductor, you will find for the defendant.” There was no error in refusing this charge, because it ignored that branch of the case claiming damages on account of shame and humiliation alleged to have been suffered by Mrs. Carpenter in consequence of the alleged conduct on the part of appellant’s conductor, and instructed the jury unqualifiedly, to return a verdict in favor of the appellant if they found that the condition of which Mrs. Carpenter complained in her petition resulted from cold and fever, or to return such verdict if they were unable to tell from the evidence whether such condition resulted from cold and fever or from any act or conduct' on the part of the appellant or its conductor.

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Related

Texas Employers' Ins. Ass'n v. Davidson
288 S.W. 471 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1926)
Carpenter v. Trinity & B. v. Ry. Co.
146 S.W. 363 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1912)
Gulf, C. & S. F. Ry. Co. v. Green
141 S.W. 341 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1911)

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Bluebook (online)
132 S.W. 837, 1910 Tex. App. LEXIS 996, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/trinity-b-v-ry-co-v-carpenter-texapp-1910.