Washington, Alexandria & Mt. Vernon Electric Railway Co. v. Quayle

30 S.E. 391, 95 Va. 741, 1898 Va. LEXIS 44
CourtSupreme Court of Virginia
DecidedMarch 31, 1898
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 30 S.E. 391 (Washington, Alexandria & Mt. Vernon Electric Railway Co. v. Quayle) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Washington, Alexandria & Mt. Vernon Electric Railway Co. v. Quayle, 30 S.E. 391, 95 Va. 741, 1898 Va. LEXIS 44 (Va. 1898).

Opinion

Harrison, J.,

delivered the opinion of the court.

Charles Edward Quayle, an infant thirteen years of age, by his next friend, instituted this action to recover damages for injuries alleged to have been sustained by him in consequence of the careless and negligent conduct of the plaintiff in error in operating and running its electric cars through the streets of the city of Alexandria.

There was a judgment in favor of the plaintiff which we are now asked to review.

The material facts which the record tends to' establish are that Charles S. Jones, an employee of the plaintiff in error, acting in the double capacity of motonnan and conductor, was .alone in charge of one passenger car and two gondola freight cars being propelled along Eairfax street; that the defendant in error, together with other boys, got upon the cars to ride; that [743]*743Jones, in violation of tie city ordinance, increased tie speed of tie cars to tie rate of ten or twelve miles an hour, and witi tie speed thus increased, commanded tie defendant in error, in an angry and threatening manner to get off tie car; that being greatly frightened by tie angry tone of tiis order, and acting under its influence, tie defendant in error jumped from tie car, falling upon iis face, witi iis leg under tie wheels of tie gondola, where it was Tun over and so badly injured, tiat it' had to be amputated.

In tie progress of tie trial tie plaintiff was asked tie following question: “Would you have jumped off, if he had not ordered you off?” Counsel for defendant in error objected to tie question as incompetent, and tie objection was overruled. This action of tie court constitutes tie first assignment of error.

Tie question was leading and therefore objectionable in form. Tie evidence sought to be adduced was perfectly competent if brought out by a proper question. It was therefore tie duty of counsel to direct iis objection to tie form of tie question so as to give tie opposite party an opportunity to bring out tie evidence by a question free from objection. To object upon tie ground tiat tie question was incompetent, was calculated to mislead tie opposite party and tie court. It further appears tiat tie evidence brought out by this question had been fully laid before tie jury before tie question complained of was asked, and therefore tie plaintiff in error was not prejudiced by tie objectionable form of tie question.

Tie plaintiff in error asked for tie following instructions:

No. 1. “If tie jury believe from tie evidence tiat tie plaintiff, at tie time of tie injury, was possessed of tie intelligence, ability, and capacity to know tie danger of jumping on, and jumping off tie said car while in motion, and tiat tie plaintiff had been frequently warned by tie grandfather and otherwise, against jumping on and jumping off tie cars of tie defendant, and if tie jury further believe tiat tie plaintiff, at tie time of tie injury, was not upon tie said car as a passenger [744]*744with the consent of the defendant, then the plaintiff was a trespasser and cannot recover in this action.”

No. 2. “The jury are instructed that if they believe from the evidence, the plaintiff was twelve years of age, and had been frequently warned against jumping on and off the cars of the defendant, and that at the time of the injury, he was a trespasser upon the car of the defendant, and that he jumped from said car while the same was in motion, and was thereby injured, then they must find for the defendant.”

No. 3. “The jury are instructed, that although they may believe from the evidence that the motorman called to the plaintiff and his companions to get off the car, yet to entitle the plaintiff to recover in this action, the jury must believe that said call of the motorman was of such a threatening character as to justify the belief in the mind of the plaintiff that the motorman intended to do him bodily harm or to eject him from the said car while it was in motion, and that the plaintiff, through fear of such threat, jumped from the car and was injured, and the jury must further believe that it was within the scope and duty of said motorman to order the plaintiff to get off of said car.”

No. 4. “The jury are instructed that although they may find from the evidence that at the time of the accident to the plaintiff defendant’s train was running at a greater rate of speed than five miles an hour, that would not justify a recovery in this case in favor of the plaintiff, unless the jury further find that the plaintiff, by reason of the threatening language of the motorman, had reasonable ground for believing that the motorman intended to inflict physical violence upon the plaintiff, or to eject him from the car, or to terrorize the plaintiff so as to compel him against his will to jump from the car.”

The court refused instructions Nos. 1 and 2, and gave Nos. 3 and 4 modified as follows:

No. 3. “The jury are instructed that although they may believe from the evidence that the motorman called to the plain[745]*745tiff and his companions to get off the car; yet to entitle the plaintiff to recover in this action, the jury must believe that said call of the motorman was of such a threatening character as to justify the belief in the mind of the plaintiff, taking into consideration Ms age, that the motorman intended to do him bodily harm, or to eject him from the said car while it was in motion, and the plaintiff, through fear of such threat, jumped from the ear and was injured, and that the jury must further believe that it was within the scope of the duty of said motorman to order the plaintiff to get off of said car.”

Eo. 4. “The jury are instructed that although they may find from the evidence that at the time of the accident to the plaintiff defendant’s train was running at a greater rate of speed than five miles an hour, that would not justify a recovery in this •case in favor of the plaintiff, unless the jury further find that the plaintiff, taking into consideration Ms age <and experience and understanding, by reason of the threatening language of the motorman, had reasonable ground for believing that the motorman intended to inflict physical violence upon the plaintiff, or to eject him from the car, or so terrorized the plaintiff ;as to compel him, against his will, to jump from the car.”

This action of the court refusing to give instructions Eos. 1 •and 2, and modifying Eos. 3 and 4, constitutes the second .and third assignments of error.

The two instructions refused, told the jury that if they believe from the evidence the plaintiff was a trespasser, he could not recover, and they must find for the defendant. This position is not sound, and the instructions were therefore properly xejected. The law in its humanity does not permit wanton or reckless injury to be inflicted even upon a wrong-doer. Granting that the defendant in error was a trespasser, the plaintiff in error had no right to put him in a position of peril by increasing the speed of the train to an unlawful and dangerous rate, and under such circumstances to require him to jump from the train. On the contrary, it was the duty of the plaintiff in error to have [746]*746reduced the rate of speed to an extent that would have enabled the defendant in error to leave the train with safety.

The modification of instructions Ros. 3 and 4 is free from objection.

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Bluebook (online)
30 S.E. 391, 95 Va. 741, 1898 Va. LEXIS 44, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/washington-alexandria-mt-vernon-electric-railway-co-v-quayle-va-1898.