105 Ga. 70 | Ga. | 1898
Williams brought suit against the railway . - company for damages. He alleged that he was a servant of the , - company, employed to “ truck cotton ” on the platform of a -compress; and that by reason of the defective construction of , the platform and a want of repairs, it fell and he was thereby . injured. The company pleaded that Williams was not its serv- .. ant, and that it was not in possession or control of the compress . or platform at the time of the injury; that the compress and ; platform had been leased by the old Central R. R. & Bkg. Co. to' . one Whitesides, and that when this company had its property ■ sold by the court, it was purchased by the defendant company; that when defendant purchased the property and franchises of the old company, the lease had not expired and Whitesides retained control and possession until the'lease did expire; and that Whitesides was in control and possession, under the lease, at the time of the injury. The trial proceeded under the petition and plea; and at the close of the testimony, after the defendant had . fully established its plea as to the lease of the compress to Whitesides, the plaintiff amended his petition by striking out that portion in which he alleged that he was a servant of the ■ company, and inserting, in lieu thereof, that he was lawfully , - on the platform in the discharge of his duties, which consisted in trucking cotton, and that defendant then owned said platform ■ and compress, that he was injured by reason of the carelessness . and negligence of defendant and its failure of duty to him in not having properly constructed the platform and kept it in repair. Thus the amended petition made the action one by a stranger to the company against it for defective construction and non-repair of the platform, whereby he, as the servant of Whitesides, wa's injured. The defendant objected to the allowance of this amendment; the objection was overruled, and defendant excepted. The trial proceeded, and, under instructions , of the court, the jury returned a verdict against the company as •owner of the platform. A motion for a new trial was made by -the defendant, and .overruled by the court. Defendant excepted.
Reversed.