Legal Opinion

Godfrey v. Meridian Light & Railway Co.

Mississippi Supreme Court

Decided October 15, 1911PublishedCited by 13 opinions

Appeal from the circuit court of Lauderdale county. Hon. John L. Buckley, Judge. Suit by Miss Susie Russell Godfrey against the Meridian Railway & Light Company. From a judgment for defendant plaintiff appeals. The appellant brought suit against the appellee for the sum of five thousand dollars damages for the alleged failure of the defendant to stop its car and admit her as a passenger at a street crossing in the city of Meridian.

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Appeal from the circuit court of Lauderdale county. Hon. John L. Buckley, Judge. Suit by Miss Susie Russell Godfrey against the Meridian Railway & Light Company. From a judgment for defendant plaintiff appeals. The appellant brought suit against the appellee for the sum of five thousand dollars damages for the alleged failure of the defendant to stop its car and admit her as a passenger at a street crossing in the city of Meridian. The declaration alleges that plaintiff went to a corner in the business section of the city for the purpose of taking a car, and signaled for it to stop; that the…

1Opinion of the Court

Whitfield, C.

The sixth instruction given for the defendant is fatally erroneous, for two reasons: First, it assumes what was certainly in controversy that Freeman and Chatham *568were the motorman and conductor on this particular street car; and, secondly, it took entirely from the consideration of the jury the question of whether the defendant was guilty of gross negligence. Punitive damages are recoverable, not only for willful and intentional wrong, but for such gross and reckless negligence as is the equivalent of willful wrong in the eye of the. law. This is not the law. If this charge were…

Also in this document: Per curiam.

2Cases cited6 opinions

  1. Hawthorne v. StateMississippi Supreme Court · 1881
  2. Harper v. StateMississippi Supreme Court · 1903
  3. Skates v. StateMississippi Supreme Court · 1887
  4. Owens v. StateMississippi Supreme Court · 1902
  5. Wilson v. New Orleans & Northeastern R. R.Mississippi Supreme Court · 1885

1 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.

3Cited by13 opinions

  1. Planters Wholesale Grocery v. KincadeMississippi Supreme Court · 1951
  2. Neal v. Newburger Co.Mississippi Supreme Court · 1929
  3. Dame v. EstesMississippi Supreme Court · 1958
  4. Teche Lines, Inc. v. PopeMississippi Supreme Court · 1936
  5. Atkinson v. Dixie Greyhound Lines, Inc.Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · 1944

8 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.

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