154 Mo. App. 420 | Mo. Ct. App. | 1911
This is an action for damages in which the plaintiff was a shipper of live stock and the defendants were common carriers of freight. The claim is for damages for injuries to plaintiff’s stock by reason of the defendants’ negligence! Plaintiff obtained judgment for $400 and the defendants appealed to the St. Louis Court of Appeals. The case was transferred to this court and the parties have appeared and waived defect of jurisdiction.
“Plaintiff states that defendants are both railroad corporations, owning, leasing and operating a line of railroad in and through Scott county, Missouri, with offices in said county where said defendants may be found and served; that defendants operate a line of railroad from Illmo, Mo., to East St. Louis, Illinois, and jointly use the same together with yards at Illmo, Mo.; that as such railroad corporations the defendants are common carriers.
“Plaintiff states that on the 15th day of January, 1908, defendant, St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway Company, contracted with plaintiff to ship for plaintiff a lot of horses and mules from McClure, Illinois, to Clarendon, Arkansas; that said contract is evidenced by Bill of Lading hereto attached, marked ‘exhibit A,’ and made to constitute a part of this petition; that when defendant St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway Company carried said consignment as far as Illmo, Mo., it delivered same to defendant St. Louis-.Southwestern Railway Company and by agreement between said defendants said defendant St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company, undertook to complete said contract to carry said consignment to Clarendon, Arkansas. That in evidence of said contract, the defendant St. Louis Southwestern Raihoay Company delivered to plaintif their certain hill of lading, duly executed and signed, which is hereto attached, marked cExhihit B’ and made to constitute a part of this petition. (The part in italics was stricken out by plaintiff at the close of the case.)
“Plaintiff states that defendants contracted to and were in duty bound as such common, carriers to convey said consignment of live stock in safe and sound cars and in a safe and sound manner without unnecessary delay from said point, McClure, Illinois, to said point of destination, Clarendon, Arkansas, and then and there deliver said consignment to plaintiff in a safe and sound*425 condition except conditions that might arise from other causes than neglect on the part of defendants. But plaintiff states that defendants' were wholly neglectful of their duties as common carriers in such behalf; that defendant, St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway Company, carelessly and negligently loaded said consignment of live stock in an unsound, improper and unfit car and that said consignment was shipped in such car and that defendant, St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company, received said consignment and permitted same to remain in said unsound improper and unfit car; that said consignment'was negligently and carelessly switched around by defendants on way to said point, Illmo, Mo., and on yards at Illmo, and were knocked down, trampled upon, beaten and bruised and mangled by the careless handling of these defendants, and when arrival was made at point of destination, Clarendon, Arkansas, said stock was in a badly damaged condition; that said consignment of live stock was unnecessarily detained, at Illmo, Mo., from the afternoon of January 15, 1908, until between 10 and 11 o’clock of the following day during which time said stock was compelled to remain in the open winter weather without any shelter and were greatly damaged in consequence of such exposure.
“Plaintiff states that he is unable to determine the exact amount of liability to be attached to’each defendant on account of said' defendants being so closely connected in their business arrangements and on account of them having the same agent and jointly using the same yards at said point, Illmo, Mo., where the greatest damages was discovered; that both defendants were guilty of gross negligence and misconduct in handling-said consignment of live stock.
“Plaintiff states that the entire consignment of live stock was damaged in the sum of two hundred dollars counting damage from exposure from standing out in the winter weather all night, and time and additional*426 expense in getting the stock partially back in condition and which damage it would be difficult to more specifically itemize; that one large bay mule was cut, bruised and mangled and damaged in the sum of $145; that one brown mule was hurt in the stifle joint and bruised in the ankle and damaged in the sum of $125; that one mare was bruised in the withers and damaged in the sum of $100; that one brown mule was bruised and mangled and damaged in the sum of $165; that one gray mule was bruised about body and sprained hock and damaged in the sum of $100; that one bay pacing horse had eye knocked out and was damaged in the sum of $100; that one gray mule had ankle bruised and was damaged in the sum of $70; that one valuable stud horse was scratched and damaged in the sum of $200; that all of said stock mentioned as being damaged was a part of said consignment and received the injuries aforesaid on account of said careless handling and misconduct of defendants in transporting same under the contract méntioned above and in violation of defendants' duties aforesaid
“That plaintiff is damaged in the sum aggregate of $1200 and for which said sum plaintiff asks judgment .and for costs.”
The grounds of specific negligence set out in plaintiff’s petition are as follows: “That defendant, St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway Company, carelessly and negligently loaded said consignment of live stock in an unsound, improper and unfit car and that said consignment was shipped in such car and that defendant, St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company, received said consignment and permitted same to remain in said unsound, improper and unfit car; that, said consignment was negligently and carelessly switched around by defendants on way to said point, Illmo, Mo., and on yards at Illmo, and were knocked down; trampled upon,, beaten and bruised and mangled by the careless handling of these defendants, and when arrival
The defendants filed separate answers in Which each denied liability, and the defendant, the St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company, set up as a defense the misjoinder of parties defendant as follows:
“Defendant further alleges that there is an improper joinder of defendants herein, in that this defendant is joined in this action with the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway Company, for the reason that its contract with the said plaintiff is a separate and distinct contract to transport plaintiff’s property from Illmo, Missouri, to Clarendon, Arkansas, and that it is in no way connected with the shipment of said plaintiff’s stock from McClure, Illinois, to Illmo, Missouri; that each of said companies entered into sep-. arate and distinct contracts with the said plaintiff relative to the shipment of said stock, and that no through rate or through bill of lading was issued to the said plaintiff, and that they cannot be held jointly liable for the damage occasioned to plaintiff’s stock, if any.”
On January 15, 1908, the plaintiff delivered to the defendant, St. Louis* Iron Mountain & Southern Railway Company, (hereinafter called “the Iron Mountain railway”) at McClure, Illinois, a carload of live stock for shipment to Clarendon, Arkansas. The stock consisted of fourteen head of mules and six head of horses. The plaintiff received a bill of lading and a live stock contract from the said defendant for the transportation of said carload of stock. This was an interstate shipment, in which the initial carrier, as we have seen, was rhe Iron Mountain railway. The stock was routed by
The evidence is uncontradicted that before the animals were loaded into the car at McClure, Mrs. Rockwell, the agent of the Iron Mountain railway at that point, told plaintiff that the, car in which he proposed to ship the stock was not a suitable one in which to make the shipment and that if he would wait until the next day she would get him another car, but that plaintiff refused to wait and said he would repair the car and load into it, and did repair the car by nailing boards or slats on the inside of it. He bedded the car and loaded the stock himself. When the car containing plaintiff’s stock arrived at Illmo, Missouri, which was only six or eight miles from McClure, it was switched onto the line of the defendant, St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company, (hereinafter called “the Southwestern railway”) which at that point operated a connecting line with a station and stock-yards at Illmo. The car was in transit from McClure to Illmo some three hours and arrived about eight o’clock on the night of the 15th, and when it did arrive at Illmo was delivered to the defendant, the Southwestern railway, at its stock yards. In the usual operation of that railroad, the next train «on which the carload of stock could have been sent out after arrival under the schedules upon which trains were run Avas eleven o’clock that night, and plaintiff requested that the stock be sent out on that train. After the stock had been SAvitched around its yards by the defendant, the Southwestern railway, the car was ready to be attached to the train that was to carry it south, but when the trainmen of said defendant were about to send the car out, it being then about 10:30 p. m. on the night of January 15th, aud while they were attempting to couple the car, they discovered that plaintiff’s stock in the car was in very bad condition. On making an examination, they found the stock badly injured,
It will be recalled that among the defenses set up by the defendant, the Southwestern railway, was the misjoinder of parties defendant. The petition, as we have seen, alleges a joint liability, and the specific grounds of negligence charged against both defendants are (I) that the Iron Mountain railway “negligently and carelessly loaded said consignment of live stock in. an unsound, improper and unfit car and that said consignment was shipped in such car and that defendant,. St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company, received said’ consignment- and permitted same to remain in said unsound, improper and unfit car;” (2) “that said consignment was negligently and carelessly switched, around by defendants on way to said point, Illmo, Mo., and on yards at Illmo, and were knocked down, trampled upon, beaten and bruised and mangled by the-
This case, as is seen, is based on a joint tort, and the cause of action cannot be supported by proof of a cause of action founded on separate torts of the alleged joint tortfeasors, but it is. indispensable in order to sustain the joint action that there must have been such concurrent action between the defendants as to create a joint liability. In such case the difference between the allegations and the proof is not to be regarded as a mere variance, which is cured by verdict under the statute, but is a total failure of proof when the defect is raised as provided by statute. Consequently, in order for plaintiff to sustain his action against both defendants it became necessary for him to show by evidence that he had a joint cause of action against the defendants. [Meyers v. Railway Co., 120 Mo. App. l. c. 292, 96 S. W. 737.]
One of the defenses set up in the answer of the Southwestern railway was that there was no joint action by the defendant companies; that each of said companies had entered into separate and distinct contracts with the plaintiff relative to the shipment of said stock, and that no through rate or through bill of lading was issued to the plaintiff, and that defendants cannot be jointly liable for the damages, occasioned to plaintiff’s stock, if any.
The evidence tended to show that defendants maintained joint stock yards at Illmo, Missouri, and they jointly used the same track from East St. Louis, Illinois, to Illmo. That McClure was on the Illinois division of the Iron Mountain and that the Southwestern had no local station on those ráils but that Illmo was a station
As herein previously stated, this was an interstate shipment, from McClure, Illinois, by way of Illmo, Missouri, to Clarendon,.Arkansas, in which the defendant, Iron Mountain railway, was the. initial carrier and the Southwestern railway the connecting carrier. Under the Interstate Commerce Act, the initial carrier was liable for any loss, damage or injury to plaintiff’s stock caused by it or by any common carrier, railroad or transportation company to which such property was delivered or over whose lines such property might pass; such Interstate Commerce Act provided: “That any common carrier, railroad or transportation company receiving property for transportation from a point in one state to a point in another state shall issue a receipt or bill
The plaintiff himself makes the following statement as to what occurred in regard to the car at McClure: “Mrs. Rockwell, the agent of the Iron Mountain at McClure, called my attention to the fact that she would communicate with the train dispatcher and suggested to me that the car in which I proposed to ship my stock was not a suitable car and that she would get another one for me if I would wait until the next day. I decided to load my stock in that car as it was and did load it on that date. I am the man who nailed the boards on it. I saw the car before I put the stock in.” The evidence further shows that this car was an unusually small car for the loading of stock; that it was only 32 feet 6 inches, inside measurement,- in length, and 6 feet 10 inches in width, which is not standard and which is not large enough to handle ordinary shipments of stock. The evidence showed that the car would contain twenty head if the car was properly bedded and the stock was given the proper care by the shipper when he loaded the same. The car was also, in proportion, low in height and was not standard. The evidence for the defendants tended to show that on the bottom of the car was some 14 to 18 inches of bedding and also some saw-dust; that the bedding was in excess of what it should' be some 12 inches; that a car of this kind, bedded in this manner, would be likely to cause the stock to fall down; that the car had grain doors, that is, the doors to hold grain in a car, and they had been nailed from the inside against the sides of the car giving it the appearance of being a box-car rather than a stock car, and these nails protruded in some places and projected on the inside as much as an inch; and the nails
The allegation that the defendant, Southwestern railway, received the stock in an unfit car and permitted the same to remain in it is not supported, but is entirely disproved, by the evidence. As soon as this company discovered the kind of car the animals were in, it proceeded to unload them and put them in a larger and more commodious car, and this was the cause tif the delay of the stock at Illmo. It is not sufficient that the plaintiff show merely that there was a delay in order to render the defendants liable, but he must further show that the delay was occasioned by the carriers’ negligence. [Ecton v. Railway Co., 125 Mo. App. 223, 102 S. W. 575; McCrary v. Railroad, 109 Mo. App. 567, 83 S. W. 82; Wright v. Railroad, 118 Mo. App. l. c. 396, 94 S. W. 555.] And defendant, Southwestern railway, cannot be convicted of negligence when it acted in good faith and protected plaintiff’s, property.
A further specific charge of negligence in the petition is that the defendants at Illmo negligently and carelessly switched the plaintiff’s carload of stock in such a way as to cause them to be knocked down, bruised and mangled. The only evidence of damages from negligent handling and switching of the car is the condition in which the stock was found on arrival at Illmo and delivery to the Southwestern railway and after the car had been switched into the latter’s stock yards. No evidence is offered by the plaintiff as to how the injuries occurred, or when, or where, but the evidence goes no farther than to show that the stock was in good condition when loaded at McClure and was discovered badly injured and damaged while in the stock yards at Ill-mo. As- to how or where or by whose negligence the injuries were inflicted the evidence gives no answer. The
The other charge, as we have stated, of specific negligence is the detention of plaintiff’s stock some twelve hours at Illmo, during which time, the petition claims, it was exposed to the winter weather without
The plaintiff makes this further statement in his petition: “Plaintiff • states that he is unable to determine the exact amount of liability to be attached to each defendant on account of said defendants being so closely connected in their business arrangements and on account of them having the. same- agent and jointly using the same yards at said point, Illmo, Mo., where the greatest damage was discovered.” This allegation was not sufficient to relieve the pleader of properly stat
The evidence wholly fails to sustain the allegation of negligence on the part of the defendant, Southwestern railway, and the judgment as to said company is reversed. The judgment as to the defendant, Iron Mountain railway, is reversed and the cause remanded.