135 S.W. 1059 | Tex. App. | 1911
This suit was instituted in the county court of Wood county by T. J. *1060 Braddy against the Missouri, Kansas Texas Railway Company of Texas to recover the sum of $260 for work and labor done and a 20 per cent. penalty for failing to pay plaintiff after 15 days' demand, as provided in article 4547 of Sayles' Civil Statutes. The defendant answered by a general denial. The cause was tried by the court without a jury, and plaintiff recovered a judgment for $273.40, which included 20 per cent. penalty on the amount due for the work done. The defendant excepted to the judgment, and has perfected an appeal.
Error is assigned that the court erred in allowing plaintiff 20 per cent. on the amount found by the court to be due him, because the same is a statutory penalty, based on article 4547, Sayles' Civil Statutes, which article is unconstitutional. It is insisted that this article of the statute is violative of that part of section 1 of the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States wherein it provides as follows: "Nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." Again, it is insisted that said article is unconstitutional because it is class legislation, and violates article
This assignment must be sustained. The statute provides: "Whenever any railroad company shall discharge any employé, or whenever the time of service of any employé of a railroad company shall expire, or whenever any railroad company shall be due and owing any employé such railroad company, upon such discharge, or upon the termination of the term of such service, or upon the maturity of said indebtedness, shall, within fifteen days after demand therefor upon the nearest station agent of said railroad company, pay to such employé the full amount due and owing him; and in case said railroad company fails or refuses to pay such employé, then it shall be liable and pay to such employé twenty per cent. on the amount due him, as damages, in addition to the amount so due, in no case the damages to be less than five nor more than one hundred dollars." This statute is only made applicable to railroads. No other corporation is embraced within its terms. It singles out railway companies and attaches a penalty of 20 per cent. on the amount due, in addition to the amount actually due, as a penalty for its failure for 15 days to pay the amount due and owing. In the case of San Antonio Aransas Pass Ry. Co. v. Wilson, 19 S.W. 910, our Court of Appeals of Texas held that a statute "providing that, in the event of a railroad company refusing to pay its indebtedness to an employé within 15 days of demand, `it shall be liable to pay such employé twenty per cent. on the amount due him as damages, in addition to the amount due,' is special legislation, not protecting alike the interest of employer and employé, and is unconstitutional." In the case of Gulf, Colorado Santa Fé Railway Co. v. Ellis,
We think it clear that this statute is class legislation, and Violates article
Reformed and affirmed.