96 Tenn. 229 | Tenn. | 1896
The plaintiff sued the defendant company in the Circuit Court of .Sumner County to recover damages for an alleged false imprisonment. There was a verdict and judgment in favor of the plaintiff for one dollar. The plaintiff appealed, and has assigned errors.
The plaintiff, Eichengreen, was a drummer, representing a Philadelphia firm engaged in the manufacture of soaps. On reaching the town of Gallatin, Sunday evening, August 9, 1891, he was arrested by two policemen as he stepped from the train of defendant company. The arrest was made in pursuance of a telegram sent from Bowling Green, Ky., by one W. J. Stewart, who was in the employment of defendant in the capacity of a special agent or detective. The record discloses that the plaintiff, Eichengreen, had for several days been in Bowling Green, and, desiring to go to Gallatin, Tenn., he went to the railroad ticket office to purchase a ticket. In payment of his ticket he handed the agent a five dollar bill, which the latter pronounced counterfeit. Eichengreen explained that he had received the bill from one of the banks in Bowling Green, and remarked to the agent, “You are off!” He then handed the agent a twenty dollar bill, and received his change. Stewart, the special agent or detective of the company, claims that he was standing near and overheard the conversation between the
£CTell your police authorities to meet me at depot. A man on train with counterfeit money going to get off at your station. Tried to pass live dollars of it at Bowling Green.
£ £ (Signed) W. J. Stewaet. ’ ’
As already stated, on the arrival of the train at Gallatin, Eichengreen and his companion, Newmark,. were both arrested. It was claimed by plaintiff that they were pointed out by Stewart and the conductor of the train to the policeman who made the arrest. The prisoners were both taken to the city workhouse, where Newmark was released upon assurances from Eichengreen that the former had nothing to do with the matter, and, if any one was guilty of attempting to pass counterfeit money, he was the man. Eichengreen, after much trouble, and possibly two
In respect of the first proposition, there was evidence tending to show that, on the arrival of the
The first assignment is that the Court erred in refusing plaintiff’s fourth request, viz.: “If you find from the proof that the plaintiff was illegally and wrongfully arrested in Gallatin, August 9, 1891, and that his said arrest was caused or procured by the agents of the company, while acting within the scope of their authority, either express or implied, then the company would be responsible, although the said agents, in procuring or causing his wrongful arrest, were exceeding their authority or acting in the matter contrary to instructions.”
We think this assignment well taken, and that the
Thus, in the Indiana case, Evansville R. R. Co. v. McKee, 99 Ind., 519, the' railroad company employed a detective to detect, arrest, and prosecute persons who unlawfully obstructed its railway, and in the performance of his duties he, without legal authority, arrested the plaintiff, who was an innocent person. It was held the company was liable for the false imprisonment of the plaintiff by the detective. Lynch v. Metropolitan R. R. Co., 90 N. Y., 77 (50 Am. Rep., 102); Williams v. Planters Ins. Co., 57 Miss., 759 (43 Am. Rep., 141); Goff v. Great Northern R. R. Co., 30 L. J., O. B., 148 (34 Am. Rep., 494); Am. & Eng. Ene. L., Vol. I., p. 415, note 2; Cantrell v. Colwell, 3 Head, 471; Byram v. McGuire, 3 Head, 530; Diehl & Lord v. Ottenville, 14 Lea, 191.
The record discloses that Stewart, the special agent or detective of defendant company, was employed to look after any irregularities that he saw on the line of the road or divisions, investigate cases of robbery, obstructions on the track, and crimes against the company; that when a depredation of any character had been committed, it was in the line of his duty to investigate it thoroughly, get all the information he could about it in his own way, and then go to the company’s attorney and take advice in respect of the proper course to pursue. But there was also evidence tending to show
Assignments of error are also made upon certain instructions given the jury at the request of defendant’s counsel. The first instruction was, viz.: ‘ ‘ If Stewart simply telegraphed the operator to notify the police that a man was on train who had passed, or attempted to pass, counterfeit, money, then that would not authorize the police to arrest him, unless he was directed to do so by an agent who had authority to act in such a matter.” This instruction, in the opinion of the Court, was misleading, since it does not give the entire import of the telegram. The message from Stewart, it will be remembered, begins, viz.: “Tell your police authorities to meet me at the depot,” and there was evidence tending to show that, upon the arrival of the
For the same reason we think the following instruction, submitted to the jury at the request of defendant’s counsel, was also misleading, to witr í£If W. J. Stewart was ordered by his employer to not arrest parties, but to report the same to the railroad authorities, unless in an urgent case of wrong to the company, and if Eichengreen simply offered to pass a counterfeit bill at Bowling Green, then, unless said Stewart ordered his arrest or swore out a warrant against the plaintiff, the defendant would not be liable in this case.”
For the same reason, the ninth request of defendant’s counsel should not have been given in charge to the jury. In this latter instruction, the Court sets out the telegram sent by Stewart to the operator at Gallatin, and instructs the jury that it would not authorize the plaintiff’s arrest unless Stewart or some one of defendant’s employees ordered it. It is not necessary that the arrest of plaintiff should have been expressly ordered by any agent of the company, but if it appear that it was procured by
It is also assigned as error that the Circuit Judge, in explaining the measure of damages, used this expression, viz.: “You will consider these things upon the question of damages, if you ever get to that point,” etc. It is objected that this expression was improper, since it was calculated to convey to the mind of the jury the impression that, in the opinion of the Court, there would be difficulty on the part of the jury in reaching the assessment of damages. But we do not feel called upon to determine this question or other errors assigned, as they may not arise on a new trial in the objectionable form in which they are now presented.
The judgment is reversed, and the cause remanded for a new trial.