Southern Bell Telephone & Telegraph Co. v. Scogin

James Edwin Scogin, Jr., aged 19, was riding on top of a truck loaded with hay as it proceeded along a public road in Houston County, Georgia. The truck was driven by an adult, who was aware that certain telephone wires crossed above the road, but Scogin had no such knowledge. When the truck was driven under the wires, Scogin was brought abruptly against the wires and injured. He filed suit against the owner of the wires, to wit: Southern Bell Telephone & Telegraph Company.

The wires were thirteen feet and nine inches above the roadway according to defendant’s testimony. (R. p. 94). The law…