Seawell v. Raleigh & Augusta Railroad
Supreme Court of North Carolina
This was a civil action, originally commenced before a Justice of the Peace, and, on appeal, tried before Shipp, J., at August Term, 1889, of the Superior Court of Moore County. The action is brought to recover damages of the defendant for killing plaintiff’s bull by the negligent running of defendant’s train.
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This was a civil action, originally commenced before a Justice of the Peace, and, on appeal, tried before Shipp, J., at August Term, 1889, of the Superior Court of Moore County. The action is brought to recover damages of the defendant for killing plaintiff’s bull by the negligent running of defendant’s train. The killing was admitted, and there was evidence as to the value of the animal, It was also in evidence that “ the bull was one and one-half miles from the house of the plaintiff when killed.” The defendant introduced as a witness its engineer, B. R. Lacy, who testified: “1 was engineer…
1Opinion of the Court
Davis, J.:
We think his Honor erred in charging the jury “that, in this case, if the traiu was run faster than schedule time, and was running at the time at so rapid a rate that it could not be controlled or stopped within the distance when the object was discovered, it would have been negligence.” The defendant can be held to no such rigid rule of accountability as this. According to the only testimony upon the question the engineer whs permitted to run thirty miles an hour. He was running 'twenty or twenty-five miles an hour, and if, as soon as he saw, or with proper care might have seen,…
2Cases cited1 opinion
- Winston v. Raleigh & Gaston RailroadSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1884
3Cited by1 opinion
- Malloy v. City of FayettevilleSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1898