REYNOLDS, ADMINISTRATRIX,
v.
ATLANTIC COAST LINE RAILROAD CO.
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
The Court affirmed the Alabama Supreme Court's decision, finding no error in its determination that the facts alleged in the complaint did not establish proximate cause.
Petitioner's husband, a brakeman, was killed when he fell while crossing between cars of a moving freight train. The complaint alleged negligence in t…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Wrongful Death Under Fela cases and more on FLexlaw
Per Curiam.
The petitioner brought this suit under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act in an Alabama state court. As permitted by the practice in that state, all the facts which the petitioner expected to prove to establish her cause of action were set forth in the complaint so that any objections to a verdict in her favor based on evidence of those facts could be disposed of prior to trial. The respondent demurred to the complaint on the ground that the facts as thus set forth did not constitute a cause of action. The demurrer was sustained by the trial court and its action was affirmed by the Supreme Court of Alabama.1 We granted certiorari.2
It appears from the complaint that the petitioner’s husband was a brakeman whose duties customarily required him to cross between cars on moving freight trains. On one such crossing he fell and was killed. This crossing occurred as part of a required journey from the caboose to a car from which a signal was to be given. The signal ordinarily would have been given from the sixth car from the caboose. The complaint charged, however, that because the railroad had negligently allowed canes to grow alongside the roadbed the deceased could not safely signal from the sixth car and so had to cross to the seventh in order to give the required signal. On this additional crossing he was killed. The complaint also charged that the deceased would not have had to make this particular journey at all if the railroad had provided a competent assistant brakeman. Neither the journey nor the crossing on which the accident occurred was alleged to be any more hazardous than that usually undertaken by railroad brakemen.
The Alabama Supreme Court conceded that the complaint adequately charged negligence in the failure to remove the canes and in the failure to provide a competent fellow servant. It held, however, that the facts alleged did not show that the accident resulted proximately , in whole or in part, from that negligence. We cannot say that the Supreme Court of Alabama erred.
Affirmed.
Mr. Justice Frankfurter is of opinion that this is also a case in which the petition for certiorari should not have been granted. See Wilkerson v. McCarthy, 336 U. S. 53, 64 (concurring opinion). However, inasmuch as the case does not call for an independent examination of the record in order to appraise conflicting testimony, but merely turns on the facts presented in the pleadings, he joins in the Court’s disposition of it.
Mr. Justice Black, Mr. Justice Douglas, Mr. Justice Murphy and Mr. Justice Rutledge dissent. See Lillie v. Thompson, 332 U. S. 459; Anderson v. Atchison, T. & S. F. R. Co., 333 U. S. 821.
251 Ala. 27, 36 So. 2d 102 (1948).
335 U. S. 852 (1948).
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By (11 total)
-
Loftin v. Howard, 82 So. 2d 125 (Fla. 1955)…2d 213, 217; Seaboard Air Line R. Co. v. Gentry, Fla., 46 So. 2d 485; Atlantic Coast Line R. Co. v. Clarke, Fla., 59 So. 2d 778; Pennsylvania R. Co. v. Chamberlain, 288 U.S. 333, 53 S.Ct. 391, 77 L.Ed. 819 and Reynolds v. Atlantic Coast Line R. Co., 336 U.S. 207, 69 S.Ct. 507, 93 L.Ed. 618. A railroad yard is- not expected to be kept in the full dress condition that one would find a drawing room or a baseball diamond. The very nature and purpose of it contemplates that it will be littered and untidy much o…
-
Ferguson v. Moore-McCormack Lines, Inc., 352 U.S. 521 (U.S. 1957)…ndant reversed. Penn v. Chicago & N. W. R. Co., 335 U. S. 849;* reversal of judgment for plaintiff reversed. Wilkerson v. McCarthy, 336 U. S. 53; affirmance of directed verdict for defendant reversed. [*558] Reynolds v. Atlantic Coast Line R. Co., 336 U. S. 207;* affirmance of judgment for defendant on demurrer affirmed. Hill v. Atlantic Coast Line R. Co., 336 U. S. 911;* affirmance of nonsuit reversed. 1949 Term. Carter v. Atlanta & St. A. B. R. Co., 338 U. S. 430; affirmance of judgment for defendant…1 / 2
-
Inman v. Baltimore & Ohio R.R. Co., 361 U.S. 138 (U.S. 1959)…ertiorari has been granted impairs the integrity of the practice of allowing the vote of four Justices to bring up any case on certiorari.3 Participation by the whole Court at least in some of these cases (cf. Reynolds v. Atlantic Coast Line R. Co., 336 U. S. 207, 209) is partial performance of. our pledge to Congress. For the opinion below see 224 F. 2d 637. “After an accident has happened- it is usually easy to see how it could have been avoided but \egligenee is not a matter to be judged after an occurr…
Previewing 3 of 11 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Wilkerson v. McCARTHY, 336 U.S. 53 (U.S. 1949)
- Lillie v. Thompson, 332 U.S. 459 (U.S. 1947)
- Anderson v. Atchison, 333 U.S. 821 (U.S. 1948)
- Nye & Nissen v. United States, 335 U.S. 852 (U.S. 1948)