Goddard v. Grand Trunk Railway
Supreme Judicial Court of Maine
On exceptions and motion to set aside the verdict as being excessive. Trespass for an alleged assault by a servant of the defendants, in one of their first-class passenger cars, upon the plaintiff, a respectable and well-known member of the legal profession, having been county attorney, several times State senator, president of the senate, and representative of the country abroad, and being, at the time of the trial, j’ndge of the superior court for the-county of Cumberland.
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On exceptions and motion to set aside the verdict as being excessive. Trespass for an alleged assault by a servant of the defendants, in one of their first-class passenger cars, upon the plaintiff, a respectable and well-known member of the legal profession, having been county attorney, several times State senator, president of the senate, and representative of the country abroad, and being, at the time of the trial, j’ndge of the superior court for the-county of Cumberland. Upon the question of the defendants’ liability, the presiding judge instructed the jury inter alia,— That if, when…
1Opinion of the Court
’Walton, J.
Two questions are presented for our consideration : first, is the common carrier of passengers responsible for the willful misconduct of his servant ? or, in other words, if a passenger *212who has done nothing to forfeit his right to civil treatment, is assaulted and grossly insulted by one of the carrier’s servants, can he look to the carrier for redi’ess ? and, secondly, if he can, what is the measui’e of relief which, the law secures to him? These are questions that deeply concern, not only the numerous railroad and steamboat companies engaged in the transportation of passengers,…
2Cases cited20 opinions
- Philadelphia & Reading Railroad v. DerbySupreme Court of the United States · 1853
- Philadelphia, Wilmington, & Baltimore Railroad v. QuigleySupreme Court of the United States · 1859
- Wright v. J. & S. WilcoxNew York Supreme Court · 1838
- Hibbard v. . N.Y. and Erie R.R. Co.New York Court of Appeals · 1857
- New Orleans, Jackson, & Great Northern Railroad v. HurstMississippi Supreme Court · 1859
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3Cited by107 opinions
- Smith v. WadeSupreme Court of the United States · 1983
- American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Inc. v. Hydrolevel Corp.Supreme Court of the United States · 1982
- Winn & Lovett Grocery Co. v. ArcherSupreme Court of Florida · 1936
- Tuttle v. RaymondSupreme Judicial Court of Maine · 1985
- Jane Doe v. Celebrity Cruises, Inc.Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · 2004
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