Behm v. Western Union Tel. Co.
U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Indiana
At law. Action [by Godlove O. Behm against the Western Union Telegraph Company] for alleged damages caused by delay in transmitting a telegram from Monticello to Lafayette, Indiana.
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At law. Action [by Godlove O. Behm against the Western Union Telegraph Company] for alleged damages caused by delay in transmitting a telegram from Monticello to Lafayette, Indiana. The telegram was left by the plaintiff with the messenger, at the telegraph office at 11:55 a. m., April 2, 1877, and forwarded by the operator on his return from dinner, at 12:45, and delivered at the office of A. O. Behm, to whom it was addressed, at 3 p. m., a few minutes too late, as plaintiff claimed, to enable the desired transaction to be closed.
1Opinion of the Court
GRESHAM, District Judge,
(charging the jury.) It was the duty of the telegraph company to send the message with reasonable dispatch. What was a reasonable time for sending a dispatch, you will determine from all the facts and circumstances. It is in evidence and not disputed that Monticello is a small town, where little business was done' by the telegraph company; that the usual line for business between Monticello and Lafayette was through Logansport, where there was a repeating office; that on the other line there was only a single wire, used exclusively for railroad business, with no…
2Cited by5 opinions
- Primrose v. Western Union Telegraph Co.Supreme Court of the United States · 1894
- Smith v. Western Union Telegraph Co.Court of Appeals of Kentucky · 1885
- Western Union Telegraph Co. v. WilsonSupreme Court of Florida · 1893
- Western Union Telegraph Co. v. NeelTexas Supreme Court · 1894
- Western Union Telegraph Co. v. Reynolds Bros.Supreme Court of Virginia · 1883