Wilcox v. Kansas City Western Railway Co.

213 S.W. 156, 201 Mo. App. 510, 1919 Mo. App. LEXIS 72
Court of Appeals of Kansas·Decided May 26, 1919·Published·Cited by 2 cases

Opinion

TRIMBLE, J.-

— This is an action against a carrier of passengers for damages arising from an assault upon plaintiff by a drunken, boisterous and quarrelsome fellow passenger. The charge is that defendant’s servants in control of and operating the ear negligently failed to protect plaintiff.

The answer was a general denial.

At the close of plaintiff’s testimony the defendant demurred but was overruled. At the' close of all the evidence the defendant again demurred but was again overruled. The jury returned a verdict of $1250 for plaintiff. Afterwards, the trial court sustained defendant’s motion for new trial “for the reason that there was a failure to prove the allegations of the petition in that plaintiff was riding on a ticket and that defendant was operating the car and that there was fatal variance between the pleadings and the proof.” From the order sustaining the motion for new trial the plaintiff has appealed. *

The petition charged that defendant operated an electric interurban railway from Leavenworth, Kansas, southeasterly through the State of Kansas, Kansas City, Kansas, and into Kansas City, Missouri; that on the evening of February 12, 1917, plaintiff boarded a car operated by defendant at Third and Elm streets in Leavenworth, Kansas, to be transported to Kansas City, Missouri; that he “was riding upon a ticket bought and purchased from defendant;” that “while he was thus traveling for hire on' defendant’s said car, and when said car, enroute for Kansas City, Missouri, had reached a point somewhere within or near the city limits of Kansas City, Kansas, plaintiff was assaulted by a drunken fellow passenger” etc.

The evidence discloses that Chelsea is a station near the western city limits of Kansas City, Kansas, and the defendant’s interurban line lies between that point and Leavenworth, Kansas, Chelsea being the eastern terminus of said line. The cars, however, run from Tenth and Main streets in Kansas City, Missouri, to Leavenworth and return, that part of the round trip which [512] lies between Kansas City, Missouri and Cbelsea being run over the tracks of the Kansas City Railways Company, which last named company has the franchise for operating the street railway system of the two Kansas Citys. A person boarding the car for Leavenworth in Kansas City, Missouri, pays a cash fare of five cents which enables him to ride to Chelsea, and from this point a ticket is purchased of defendant entitling the holder to ride from there to Leavenworth, or to Leavenworth and return to Chelsea, if the ticket is for the round trip. Upon reaching Chelsea on the return trip from Leavenworth, the passenger pays a cash fare of five cents entitling him to ride to Tenth and Main in Kansas City, Missouri. The same motorman and conductor (in the uniform of the defendant), are on the car throughout the entire journey; but a separate register is maintained on the car for the cash city fares and a separate account of them are kept and they are turned over to the Kansas City Railways Company.

According to plaintiff’s own testimony he boarded the car in Kansas City, Missouri, paid the cash city fare of five cents and rode to Chelsea where he got off and bought of the defendant a round trip ticket which was good for transportation from Chelsea to Leavenworth, Kansas, and from there back to Chelsea. He had made the trip many times before and had always paid his city fare from Kansas City, Missouri, to Chelsea, and there purchased his ticket for the transportation between Chelsea and Leavenworth. He went to Leavenworth and, after transacting his business there, boarded one of defendant’s cars to return, using the return portion of his ticket for the transportation to Chelsea; and for the transportation from there to Kansas City, Missouri, he paid the cash city fare of five cents. It is conceded that the assault occurred after the car had reached Chelsea and was on the tracks of' the Kansas City Railways Company on its way from Chelsea to Tenth and Main streets in Kansas City, Missouri, and long' after plaintiff had paid the five cents city fare.

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Wilcox v. Kansas City Western Railway Co., 213 S.W. 156, 201 Mo. App. 510, 1919 Mo. App. LEXIS 72 (kanctapp 1919).

213 S.W. 156 (Wilcox v. Kansas City Western Railway Co.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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