83 So. 678 | Miss. | 1920
delivered the opinion of the court.
The appellant telegraph company has an office in Marks, Miss., where its agent was also the agent for the railroad company. The appellee, Sam Eubanks, desired to send a message to a relative in Memphis, Tenn., with reference to the death of his sister. He went to the office at the railroad station, and, finding no one there, went out upon the cotton platform near by, where he found the agent busy loading cotton, and said to the agent, “I want you to deliver- a message to Memphis for me on the case of my dead sister.” The agent, who was a Mr. Graves, said in reply to appellee, “I be damned if I stop loading cotton and send any message,” whereupon appellee left the station for the pur
This appeal by the telegraph company presents several questions for our decision, one of which is whether or not the conduct of the agent in failing and refusing to accept the message was such as to warrant recover of punitive damages. It is unnecessary, however, to decide this point, because a decision of another important question will end the case, and that is whether or not the conduct of the agent was in intei*state commerce, and governed by the federal law with reference to the recovery of punitive damages.
It will be observed that the message offered for transmission was from a point within this state to a point within the state of Tennessee; therefore it was an interstate message. It being an interstate message, the federal law as to the recovery of punitive damages must ncessarily govern. Postal Telegraph Cable Co. v. Warren-Godwin Lumber Co., 251 U. S. ——, 40 Sup. Ct. 691, L. Ed. (Dec. 8, 1919).
Under the federal rule no recovery of punitive damages can be had on account of the wilful conduct of the servant, unless the commission of the wrong was authorized by the master, participated in by him or ratified by him. There is no proof in this record that the commission of the wrong in this case Avas either authorized, participated in, or ratified by the master; consequently there can be no recovery of punitive damages.
To be more specific on another phase of the question: Was the wrong complained of committed in interstate commerce ? In other words, was the wrongful act of the agent committed before the telegram was received into
It has been held by the United States supreme court that penalities under a state statute for a refusal to receive interstate shipments of freight could not be recovered, because such right would be in conflict with the federal rule under the Commerce Act (U. S. Comp. St., section 8563 et seq.), So. Ry. Co. v. Reid, 222 U. S. 424, 32 Sup. Ct. 140, 56. L. Ed. 257; W. U. Tel. Co. v. Peter Boegli, 251 U. S. -, 40 Sup. Ct. 167, 64 L. Ed. — (Jan. 12, 1920); So. Ry. Co. v. Prescott, 240 U. S. 632, 36 Sup. Ct. 469, 60 L. Ed. 836.
The judgment of the lower court accordingly is reversed, and judgment here for appellant.
Reversed and, judgment here.