Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway Co. v. Prentice
Supreme Court of the United States
ERROR TO THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS. This, was an action of trespass on the case,, brought October' 19, 1S86, in the Circuit Court of the United States for the Northern District of Illinois, by Prentice, a citizen of Ohio, against the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern. Railway Company, a corporation of Illinois, to recover damages for the wrongful acts of the defendant’s servants.
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ERROR TO THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS. This, was an action of trespass on the case,, brought October' 19, 1S86, in the Circuit Court of the United States for the Northern District of Illinois, by Prentice, a citizen of Ohio, against the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern. Railway Company, a corporation of Illinois, to recover damages for the wrongful acts of the defendant’s servants. The declaration alleged, and the evidence introduced at the trial tended to prove, the following facts: The plaintiff was a physician. The defendant was engaged in…
1Opinion of the CourtJustice Gray
The only exceptions taken to the instructions at the trial, which have been argued in this, court, are to those on the subject of punitive damages.. The single question presented, for our decision, therefore, is whether a Railroad corporation can be charged with punitive or exemplary damages for the illegal, wanton and oppressive conduct of a conductor of one of its trains towards a passenger.
This question, like others affecting the liability of a railroad corporation as a common carrier of goods, or passengers — such as its right to contract for exemption from responsibility for its…
2Cases cited29 opinions
- Hough v. Railway Co.Supreme Court of the United States · 1880
- Liverpool & Great Western Steam Co. v. Phenix InsuranceSupreme Court of the United States · 1889
- Railroad Co. v. LockwoodSupreme Court of the United States · 1873
- Day v. WoodworthSupreme Court of the United States · 1852
- Barry v. EdmundsSupreme Court of the United States · 1886
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3Cited by344 opinions
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- American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Inc. v. Hydrolevel Corp.Supreme Court of the United States · 1982
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