116 Ga. 448 | Ga. | 1902
Mrs. Hunt obtained against the railroad company a verdict in a case in which personal injuries were claimed. The motion for a new trial contained, among others, the general grounds-that the verdict was contrary to law and the evidence, and a bill of exceptions was taken to the judgment of the court overruling this motion. ' We are constrained to reverse the judgment of the court below, upon the ground that the plaintiff’s evidence did not sustain her case, particularly in the light of the great weight of testimony introduced in behalf of the railroad company. We fully recognize that questions of fact are for the jury, and that their discretion as to the facts is a wide one. We believe, also, that they are better judges of the facts than are courts, and we have great respect for their verdicts. They are often affirmed in cases where it seems clear to the members of the appellate court that if they had been in the jury-box they would have rendered a different verdict. We recognize, also, that the discretion to set aside a verdict on the ground that it is strongly and decidedly against the weight of the evidence is reposed by law in the presiding judge,
The declaration of the plaintiff proceeds upon the idea that the company’s agents, against her will, forcibly and violently removed her from a moving train, in reckless, if not in wanton, disregard of her rights and her safety. The third paragraph of the petition, after setting forth that just before the train reached the station of the plaintiff’s destination, she arose rapidly, with her babe in her arms, and went upon the platform in order to alight, then alleges: When petitioner reached the platform the train had begun to move, and while petitioner stood on the steps, not feeling safe in stepping off with her babe in her arms while the train was in motion, the conductor and another employee of the said railroad company caught
The case, however, by the evidence and by the argument of counsel for the defendant in error, is predicated upon her forcible removal. Certainly this is the theory of the declaration, by which the plaintiff must stand or fall. An examination of the evidence of the plaintiff herself shows that she failed to sustain this theory. It must be borne in mind that this court has more than once ruled that where a party to a suit makes statements upon the stand concerning his or her case which are not harmonious, that one must be taken as true which bears most strongly against his or her right to recover. Concerning this point there áre several statements. The plaintiff below says: “ Train had started. Conductor took one 'arm and flagman the other and pulled me off. Train gave a lurch when I got to the door.” Again: “ I was undecided what to do, when conductor took one arm and flagman the other and jumped me to the ground with my baby.” In another place she
According to the conductor (whose testimony showed that he had been acting in this capacity for more than thirty-two years and had never before had any trouble, or even been a witness in a case against the railroad), the train-hand who assisted the conductor .and the other two lady passengers who alighted at the same time, thé plaintiff was assisted to the ground politely and gently, and nothing happened which could possibly have caused her any damage. This defense of the railroad company was supported by a great deal of corroborative evidence. If it served any useful purpose, it could be shown that the testimony adduced by the plaintiff in rebuttal merely corroborated her as to the fact that the train had started to move when she was on the steps. It is not consistent with the theory that any sort of violence, rudeness, or improper conduct was observed towards her. - Recognizing, however, that the wide discretion of the jury could permit them to predicate the verdict upon the testimony of the plaintiff herself, no matter how great the preponderance on the other side, we have been careful to show what the theory of the plaintiff’s declaration is, and her own evidence, which, in our opinion, does not sustain that theory. Re
Judgment reversed.