Belknap v. Boston & Maine Railroad
Supreme Court of New Hampshire
Trespass, by Wm. H. Belknap against the Boston & Maine Railroad, for an assault upon the plaintiff, on the twenty-fifth day of June, 1867, and ejecting him from defendant’s cars, at Melrose, in the state of Massachusetts, while lawfully riding therein, on his passage from Boston to Exeter, causing him detention from his business, and subjecting him to expense and great mortification. There are three counts in the declaration, one of which is for a common assault and battery.
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Trespass, by Wm. H. Belknap against the Boston & Maine Railroad, for an assault upon the plaintiff, on the twenty-fifth day of June, 1867, and ejecting him from defendant’s cars, at Melrose, in the state of Massachusetts, while lawfully riding therein, on his passage from Boston to Exeter, causing him detention from his business, and subjecting him to expense and great mortification. There are three counts in the declaration, one of which is for a common assault and battery. The defendant pleads the general issue, which was joined, also a special plea, alleging that the plaintiff entered the…
1Opinion of the CourtSargent, J.
The rule for exemplary damages is, that they are not to be given except in cases of fraud, malice, gross negligence or oppression; that where neither of these is found, the damages are to be confined to compensation for the injury. But when either of these elements mingles in the controversy, the law,, instead of adhering to the system or even the language of compensation, adopts a wholly different rule, and permits the jury to give what it terms punitory, vindictive, or exemplary damages ; in other words, blends together the interests of society and of the aggrieved individual, and gives…
2Cases cited14 opinions
- Coffin v. CoffinMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1808
- Blunt v. LittleU.S. Circuit Court for the District of Massachusetts · 1822
- Coleman v. SouthwickNew York Supreme Court · 1812
- Doyle v. DixonMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1867
- Lincoln v. HapgoodMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1814
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3Cited by9 opinions
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- Dávila Nieves v. Meléndez MarínSupreme Court of Puerto Rico · 2013
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