Chicago, R. I. & P. Ry. Co. v. Stepp
Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
In Error to the Circuit Court of the United States for the Western District of Missouri. On March 14, 1906, James M. Stepp, the father of the plaintiffs below, was struck and instantly killed by a train of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway Company, the plaintiff in error, on the depot platform at Randolph, Mo., a suburban station accommodating 400 or 500 people, and located seven miles east of the Union Depot in Kansas City.
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In Error to the Circuit Court of the United States for the Western District of Missouri. On March 14, 1906, James M. Stepp, the father of the plaintiffs below, was struck and instantly killed by a train of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway Company, the plaintiff in error, on the depot platform at Randolph, Mo., a suburban station accommodating 400 or 500 people, and located seven miles east of the Union Depot in Kansas City. The trains of three railway systems, the Wabash Railway Company, the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railway Company, and the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway…
1Opinion of the CourtAmidon, District Judge
(after stating the facts as above). There is the usual conflict in the evidence as to whether the signals were given, and in the briefs there is the familiar discussion of the relative weight of negative and positive evidence. In following out this distinction courts have sometimes overlooked the fundamental fact that in such a case the plaintiff is necessarily confined to negative evidence. If such evidence is unworthy of belief simply because it is negative, then the plaintiff must nearly always fail. The fact which he has to prove is negative, viz., that the bell was not rung or the…
2Cases cited11 opinions
- Ewing v. GoodeU.S. Circuit Court for the District of Southern Ohio · 1897
- Christianson v. Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railway Co.Supreme Court of Minnesota · 1896
- Elliott v. Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Co.Supreme Court of the United States · 1893
- Hill v. WinsorMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1875
- Warner v. Baltimore & Ohio RailroadSupreme Court of the United States · 1897
6 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by16 opinions
- Hines v. SweeneyWyoming Supreme Court · 1921
- Choquette v. Key System Transit Co.California Court of Appeal · 1931
- Ahlquist v. Mulvaney Realty Co.Montana Supreme Court · 1944
- Davis v. ScottSupreme Court of Arkansas · 1921
- Carruthers v. . R. R.Supreme Court of North Carolina · 1940
11 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.