Laws v. North Carolina Rail Road
Supreme Court of North Carolina
This was an action of trespass vi et armis, tried before Dick, The action was brought to recover the value of a cow which ' was killed on the defendants’ railroad, by running-over it with a locomotive. It was agreed' that judgment should be rendered for the plaintiff for $30 and costs of suit, unless upon the further facts stated, the Court should be of opinion in favor of the defendant.
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This was an action of trespass vi et armis, tried before Dick, The action was brought to recover the value of a cow which ' was killed on the defendants’ railroad, by running-over it with a locomotive. It was agreed' that judgment should be rendered for the plaintiff for $30 and costs of suit, unless upon the further facts stated, the Court should be of opinion in favor of the defendant. The- defendant was the proprietor of the track, by purchase, and for one hundred feet on each side of it when the cow was killed, and. the plaintiff was owner of no adjacent lands. The train, at the time-,…
1Opinion of the CourtBattle, J.
The case agreed presents the question, whether it was the duty of the plaintiff to keep his cattle within his own enclosure, so as to prevent them from trespassing upon the road of the defendant. In England, where all, or nearly all the lands are enclosed by the respective owners, the law requires that each proprietor shall keep his horses, cattle, and other live stock on his own premises, and if he permit them to go upon the land of another it will be a trespass, for which he will be responsible. In the first settlement of this country by our ancestors, the condition of things was so…
2Cited by3 opinions
- State v. . MathisSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1908
- Marshburn v. . JonesSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1918
- Enloe v. Southern Railway Co.Supreme Court of North Carolina · 1919