108 Mo. App. 325 | Mo. Ct. App. | 1904
— The trial of this action portrayed the following occurrence, for which plaintiff brought suit for damages against defendant, both compensatory and punitive, and was awarded by verdict of a jury a recovery of $25 of former and $500 of latter class of damages. On the eighteenth of August, 1902, plaintiff, a retail merchant, took passage on a street car of defendant, in the southwest district of the city of St. Louis, travelling to his place of business some distance northwardly and eastwardly; the car which he first boarded belonged to that branch of defendant’s united street car system styled the Tower Grove line and upon payment of his fare he applied for and obtained a transfer ticket or check, entitling him to continue his journey on a car of the Cherokee line or division, which passed on the street in front of his store. A wreck on the Tower Grove line obstructed the car on which he was a passenger at Geyer and Ohio avenues, and it was returned over its route to California and Geyer avenues to proceed to the main or central part of the city over the Belief ontaine line of the same system; the Cherokee line extends further southward in the city than the two other divisions mentioned, and intersects the Belief ontaine line at Eighteenth and Victor streets, whence both, for the distance of a few blocks, use the same track, until they diverge at Eighteenth street and Gravois avenue. Before leaving the car at the latter streets, Mueller questioned the conductor respecting
The law aims at the twofold purpose in tolerating the recovery of punitive and exemplary damages of • financial compensation and atonement to the sufferer and punishment of the perpetrator to deter repeated* commissions of such offense. The record affords satisfactory and abundant proof that the plaintiff was humiliated and oppressed by lawless and outrageous indignities and assaults to which no well-behaving passenger should be subjected or exposed in á public com veyance. If plaintiff’s testimony be given credence, at the hands of that servant of the defendant whose duty it was to protect passengers while in his care from misconduct of others, he appears to have suffered rough and insulting affronts with marvelous meekness and forbearance, the exercise of which on his part probably averted a breach, of the peace-or a serious affray. The trial judge has sanctioned the verdict and refused to set it aside as he was empowered in his discretion to do and was best situated to determine. Punitive damages were warranted, and we can not perceive that the award of damages by the jury is so extravagant as to necessitate a reversal of the judgment, nor other interference with the verdict by compelling its abatement. Gildersleeve v. Overstolz, 90 Mo. App. 518; McNamara v. Transit Co., 81 S. W. 880, — Mo. App. —.
Judgment affirmed.