50 S.E. 537 | S.C. | 1905
March 7, 1905. The opinion of the Court was delivered by This appeal is from an order of the Circuit Judge refusing a motion to make the complaint more definite and certain, and to strike out an allegation of the complaint as to mental anguish. The complaint is founded on the alleged negligence of the defendant in failing to deliver the following telegram:
"Beaufort, S.C. 2-29, 1904. To C.W. Butler. No letter received. Send to Yemassee conductor in morning. W. E. Capers."
Obviously the telegram gave no intimation of what was to be sent to the conductor by the addressee, and in what respect it was specially important. It is essential to a recovery based on the special nature of the telegram, that knowledge by the defendant of its special importance should appear from the words of the message itself, or that it be alleged and proved that defendant was otherwise informed of the special importance. The only allegation as to knowledge of the defendant is found in the fifth paragraph: "That this defendant, well knowing the importance of delivering such message or telegram before the train went over the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad to Yemassee, so wilfully, wantonly and carelessly neglected its duty in that behalf that it did not deliver such electric message or telegram to the said C.W. Butler until 11 o'clock in the forenoon of the said 1st day of March, 1904, when it was too late to send to Yemassee conductor." In the general sense here alleged, the defendant is, of course, charged with the knowledge of the importance of the prompt delivery of all telegrams. There is no allegation of knowledge of the significance of this telegram or the special importance of its prompt delivery, except the general knowledge that it was *31
important to deliver it before the conductor left. The motion to make the allegations on this point more definite and certain should have been granted. Mood v. Tel. Co.,
Even if the plaintiff had expressly alleged that the message meant a direction to C.W. Butler to send a certain sum of money by the conductor to the Beaufort Bank to prevent a dishonor of plaintiff's check drawn on that institution, it is evident the plaintiff would have stated no cause of action against the defendant for the injury resulting from the dishonor of his check, without an allegation that Butler would have sent the money to the bank by the conductor, and he would have undertaken to deliver it if the telegram had been delivered in time. The principle is covered by Wallace v. R.R. Co.,
The remaining question is, whether the plaintiff's allegation "that he suffered thereby great mental anguish and distress," should be stricken out as irrelevant. As we understand, the action is to recover both actual and punitive damages for failure to promptly transmit and deliver a telegram ordering money to be sent to protect plaintiff's check, which in consequence of the delay was dishonored. This was a breach of duty from which direct pecuniary injury would ordinarily flow, and the question is whether the mental anguish statute was intended to authorize a recovery for the feeling of disappointment, annoyance and vexation which the sender or addressee would naturally feel because of the dishonor of his check, or other business disappointment. So far as we can discover, when this question has arisen before the courts which sustain recoveries for mental anguish independent of statute, every decision has been to the effect that such recoveries must be restricted to failure to deliver telegrams relating to social matters. Robinson v. Tel. Co.,
It is true, the doctrine in this State is based on a statute very board in its general terms:
"All telegraph companies doing business in this State shall be liable in damages for mental anguish or suffering, even in the absence of bodily injury, for negligence in receiving, transmitting or delivering messages.
"Nothing contained in this section shall abridge the rights or remedies now provided by law against telegraph companies, and the rights and remedies provided for by this section shall be in addition to those now existing.
"In all actions under this section the jury may award such damages as they conclude resulted from negligence of said telegraph companies." (Code, 1902, vol. 1, sec. 2223.)
If the meaning of the statute is clear, the courts have nothing to do with the consequences of enforcing it. In the construction of this statute, however, we have to interpret the expression "mental anguish" as a legal term, and endeavor to ascertain its signification, and the limitation of its meaning in a legal sense as used in this statute, as distinguished from the meaning it might have in the refinements of etymology. Manifestly the statute was remedial. The courts of several States of the Union had adopted in telegraph cases the doctrine of damages for mental anguish as to social and personal matters, as distinguished from business transactions. A contrary view had been taken by the courts of a number of other States. In Lewis v. Tel. Co.,
But there is another view which is still more conclusive. When doubtful questions of construction arise, it is the duty of courts to give to statutes an interpretation which accords with the Constitution, in preference to one that would be in violation of it. The statute now under consideration, was held constitutional in Simmons v. Tel. Co.,
The judgment of this Court is, that the judgment of the Circuit Court be reversed.
MR. JUSTICE GARY did not sit in this case on account ofillness. *36