Wiggins v. St. Louis, Memphis & Southeastern Railway Co.
Missouri Court of Appeals
Appeal from Wayne Circuit Court. — Hon. E. M. Dearing, Judge. The witnesses in this case were permitted to give their opinion as to the damages sustained by the plaintiff, which is error.
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Appeal from Wayne Circuit Court. — Hon. E. M. Dearing, Judge. The witnesses in this case were permitted to give their opinion as to the damages sustained by the plaintiff, which is error. To allow a witness to give his opinion as to the amount of damages sustained in any given case is, as a general rule, usurping the province of the jury, and determining for them a question of which they are peculiarly the judges, and for which purpose they are selected triers of a case sounding in damages. Spencer v. Railroad, 120 Mo. 154, 23 S. W. 126; Watkins v. Railroad, 44 App. 255; Sallee v. St. Louis,…
1Opinion of the CourtNortoni, J.
Plaintiff sued the defendant for the value of eight or ten panels of board fence and the destruction of ten or twelve acres of timothy meadow, both of which were destroyed by fire communicated thereto by one of defendant’s locomotive engines on its line of railroad which passes through his farm. The jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff and defendant sues out a writ of error. On the trial there was no evidence introduced tending to prove the value of the fence a.t the time of the fire nor what it would cost to replace it, nor was there evidence tending to show the value of plaintiff’s…
2Cases cited6 opinions
- Matthews v. Missouri Pacific Railway Co.Supreme Court of Missouri · 1898
- Spencer v. Metropolitan Street Railway Co.Supreme Court of Missouri · 1894
- Sallee v. City of St. LouisSupreme Court of Missouri · 1899
- Graves v. Kansas City, Pittsburg & Gulf RailroadMissouri Court of Appeals · 1897
- Gates v. Chicago & Alton RailroadMissouri Court of Appeals · 1891
1 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by15 opinions
- Marron v. Great Northern Railway Co.Montana Supreme Court · 1913
- Hiatt Investment Co. v. BuehlerMissouri Court of Appeals · 1929
- Federal Oil & Gas Co. v. CampbellSupreme Court of Oklahoma · 1917
- Smith v. NormanMissouri Court of Appeals · 1979
- Carter v. Wabash RailroadMissouri Court of Appeals · 1907
10 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.