INDEX

160. Jones v. New York R. Co., 211 Mass. 521; De Boer v. Brooklyn Wharf Co., 51 App. Div. 289 Accord. Compare Hillman v. Boston R. Co., 207 Mass. 478.

This case is often cited as though it decided that the defendant was liable to the plaintiff for harm suffered by the plaintiff on account of a defect in the premises; e. g., defective planks on the crossing. For a more correct view of the real question involved see the able argument of Mr. Thorndike in Stevens v. Nichols, post.

Liability of owner or occupier of a place manifestly intended for public or general use: see Crogan v. Schiele, 53 Conn. 186; Howe v. Ohmart, 7 Ind. App. 32; Davis v. Central Congregational Society, 129 Mass. 367; Holmes v. Drew, 151 Mass. 578; Gordon v. Cummings, 152 Mass. 513; Kelly v. Southern R. Co., 28 Minn. 98; Marsh v. Minneapolis Brewing Co., 92 Minn. 182; Rachmel v. Clark, 205 Pa. St. 314.

Liability of owner or occupier who passively acquiesces in use by others: see White v. France, 2 C. P. D. 308; Alabama R. Co. v. Godfrey, 156 Ala. 202; Herzog v. Hemphill, 7 Cal. App. 116; Pastorello v. Stone, 89 Conn. 286; Etheredge v. Central R. Co., 122 Ga. 853; Nave v. Flack, 90 Ind. 205; Evansville R. Co. v. Griffin, 100 Ind. 221; Martin v. Louisville Bridge Co., 41 Ind. App. 493; Zoebisch v. Tarbell, 10 Allen, 385; Bowler v. Pacific Mills, 200 Mass. 364; Habina v. Twin City Electric Co., 150 Mich. 41; Moore v. Wabash R. Co., 84 Mo. 481, 488; Kelly v. Benas, 217 Mo. 1; Barry v. Calvary Cemetery Assn., 106 Mo. App. 358; Walsh v. Fitchburg R. Co., 145 N. Y. 301; Fox v. Warner Asphalt Co., 204 N. Y. 340; Monroe v. Atlantic R. Co., 151 N. C. 374; Phillips v. Orr, 152 N. C. 583; Railroad Co. v. Harvey, 77 Ohio St. 235; Breckenridge v. Bennett, 7 Kulp (Pa.) 95.

161. The report in 155 Mass. 472 does not give any portion of the arguments. The following passages are extracts from the printed brief for the defendants.

162. Smith v. London Docks Co., L. R. 3 C. P. 326; Holmes v. Northeastern R. Co., L. R. 4 Ex. 254, L. R. 6 Ex. 123; Wright v. London R. Co., L. R. 10 Q. B. 298, 1 Q. B. D. 252; Berlin Mills v. Croteau, (C. C. A.) 88 Fed. 860; Smith v. Day, (C. C. A.) 100 Fed. 244; Currier v. Trustees, (C. C. A.) 117 Fed. 44; Rhode v. Duff, (C. C. A.) 208 Fed. 115; Middleton v. Ross, (C. C. A.) 213 Fed. 6; Alabama R. Co. v. Godfrey, 156 Ala. 202; Schmidt v. Bauer, 80 Cal. 565; Herzog v. Hemphill, 7 Cal. App. 116; Pauckner v. Wakem, 231 Ill. 276; Franey v. Union Stockyards Co., 235 Ill. 522, 138 Ill. App. 215; Purtell v. Coal Co., 256 Ill. 110; Northwestern R. Co. v. O’Malley, 107 Ill. App. 599; Deach v. Woolner, 187 Ill. App. 524; Faris v. Hoberg, 134 Ind. 269; Baltimore R. Co. v. Slaughter, 167 Ind. 330; Thiele v. McManus, 3 Ind. App. 132; Wilmes v. Chicago R. Co., 175 Ia. 101; Lackat v. Lutz, 94 Ky. 287; Smith v. Trimble, 111 Ky. 861; Kentucky Distilleries Co. v. Leonard, (Ky.) 79 S. W. 281; Bell v. Houston R. Co., 132 La. 88; Dixon v. Swift, 98 Me. 207; Patten v. Bartlett, 111 Me. 409; Elie v. Lewiston R. Co., 112 Me. 178; Plummer v. Dill, 156 Mass. 426; Gauley v. Hall, 168 Mass. 513; Cowen v. Kirby, 180 Mass. 504; Norris v. Nawn Contracting Co., 206 Mass. 58; Lepnick v. Gaddis, 72 Miss. 200; Glaser v. Rothschild, 221 Mo. 180; Davis v. Ringolsky, 143 Mo. App. 364; Bryant v. Missouri R. Co., 181 Mo. App. 189; True v. Meredith Creamery, 72 N. H. 154; Flanagan v. Atlantic Asphalt Co., 37 App. Div. 476; Buchtel College v. Martin, 25 Ohio Cir. Ct. R. 494; Smith v. Sunday Creek Co., 74 W. Va. 606; Ross v. Kanawha R. Co., 76 W. Va. 197; Hupfer v. National Distilling Co., 114 Wis. 279; Muench v. Heinemann, 119 Wis. 441 Accord. See also Blossom v. Poteet, 104 Tex. 230 (wife bringing husband’s dinner to mill where he was employed); Southwestern Cement Co. v. Bustillos, (Tex. Civ. App.) 169 S. W. 638 (child bringing lunch to employee).

But compare Mandeville Mills v. Dale, 2 Ga. App. 607; Furey v. New York Central R. Co., 67 N. J. Law, 270; Gorr v. Mittlestaedt, 96 Wis. 296.

163. That is, 155 Mass.

164. McClain v. Bank, 100 Me. 437; Moffatt v. Kenny, 174 Mass. 311 Accord.

Hanson v. Spokane Water Co., 58 Wash. 6 Contra. Compare Buckingham v. Fisher, 70 Ill. 121.

Liability to one who has business with an abutting owner who has a right to use the way: see Cavanagh v. Block, 192 Mass. 63.

As to what constitutes an implied invitation, see Bryan v. Stewart, 194 Ala. 353; Baltimore R. Co. v. Slaughter, 167 Ind. 330; Pittsburgh R. Co. v. Simons, 168 Ind. 333; Stanwood v. Clancey, 106 Me. 72; Kalus v. Bass, 122 Md. 467; Walker v. Winstanley, 155 Mass. 301; Plummer v. Dill, 156 Mass. 426; Chenery v. Fitchburg R. Co., 160 Mass. 211; Tracey v. Page, 201 Mass. 62; Shaw v. Ogden, 214 Mass. 475; Romana v. Boston R. Co., 218 Mass. 76; Allen v. Yazoo R. Co., 111 Miss. 267; Black v. Central R. Co., 85 N. J. Law, 197; Heskell v. Auburn Light Co., 209 N. Y. 86.

165. The statement has been much abridged.

166. Anderson v. Robinson, 182 Ala. 615; Hedskin v. Gillespie, 33 Ind. App. 650; Shackford v. Coffin, 95 Me. 69; Rolfe v. Tufts, 216 Mass. 563; Brady v. Klein, 133 Mich. 422; Korach v. Loeffel, 168 Mo. App. 414 (but see Graff v. Lemp Brewing Co., 130 Mo. App. 618; Marcheck v. Klute, 133 Mo. App. 280); Dustin v. Curtis, 74 N. H. 266; Schick v. Fleischhauer, 26 App. Div. 210; Stelz v. Van Dusen, 93 App. Div. 358; Kushes v. Ginsberg, 99 App. Div. 417; Boden v. Scholtz, 101 App. Div. 1; Mitchell v. Stewart, 187 Pa. St. 217; Davis v. Smith, 26 R. I. 129 Accord. See also Clyne v. Helmes, 61 N. J. Law, 358. Compare Miles v. Janvrin, 196 Mass. 431, 200 Mass. 514; Flanagan v. Welch, 220 Mass. 186.

Sontag v. O’Hare, 73 Ill. App. 432; Schwandt v. Metzger Oil Co., 93 Ill. App. 365 (but see Cromwell v. Allen, 151 Ill. App. 404); Good v. Von Hemert, 114 Minn. 393; Glidden v. Goodfellow, 124 Minn. 101; Keegan v. Heileman Brewing Co., 129 Minn. 496; Merchants Cotton Press Co. v. Miller, 135 Tenn. 187; Lowe v. O’Brien, 77 Wash. 677 Contra. See Moore v. Steljes, 69 Fed. 518.

Liability where landlord makes repairs negligently: see Mann v. Fuller, 63 Kan. 664; Gill v. Middleton, 105 Mass. 477; Thomas v. Lane, 221 Mass. 447; Finer v. Nichols, 175 Mo. App. 525; Carlon v. City Sav. Bank, 85 Neb. 659; Wynne v. Haight, 27 App. Div. 7; Marston v. Frisbie, 168 App. Div. 666; Flam v. Greenberg, (App. Div.) 158 N. Y. Supp. 670; Wilcox v. Hines, 100 Tenn. 538.

167. See Hutchinson v. The Newcastle, York, & Berwick Railway Company, 5 Exch. 343; Wiggett v. Fox, 11 Exch. 832.—Reporter’s Note.

168. Whether the result in the above case is correct is a question not yet decided in most of the United States, and upon which conflicting opinions have been expressed. See Hart v. Cole, 156 Mass. 475; Knowlton, J., in Coupe v. Platt, 172 Mass. 458, 459; Bigelow on Torts, 7th ed., pp. 362, 363, sections 740–743, 8th ed., p. 158; Burdick on Torts, 3d ed., sect. 555; 2 Shearman & Redfield on Negligence, 4th ed., sect. 706; Barman v. Spencer, (Ind.) 49 N. E. 9, 11, 12; Beard v. Klusmeier, 158 Ky. 153; Land v. Fitzgerald, 68 N. J. Law, 28.

169. Pennebaker v. San Joaquin Light Co., 158 Cal. 579; Lunt v. Post Printing Co., 48 Col. 316; Gibson v. Leonard, 143 Ill. 182, 37 Ill. App. 344; Thrift v. Vandalia R. Co., 145 Ill. App. 414; Woodruff v. Bowen, 136 Ind. 431; Hamilton v. Minneapolis Desk Co., 78 Minn. 3; New Omaha Electric Light Co. v. Anderson, 73 Neb. 84; Woods v. Miller, 30 App. Div. 232; Eckes v. Stetler, 98 App. Div. 76; Houston R. Co. v. O’Leary, (Tex. Civ. App.) 136 S. W. 601 Accord. But see Wilson v. Great Southern Tel. Co., 41 La. Ann. 1041.

Liability to police officer or other person in by permission of law: see Casey v. Adams, 234 Ill. 350; Eckels v. Maher, 137 Ill. App. 45; Blatt v. McBarron, 161 Mass. 21; Racine v. Morris, 136 App. Div. 467; Woods v. Lloyd, (Pa.) 16 Atl. 43; Burroughs Adding Machine Co. v. Fryar, 132 Tenn. 612; Greenville v. Pitts, 102 Tex. 1.

But compare Kennedy v. Heisen, 182 Ill. App. 200; Parker v. Barnard, 135 Mass. 116; Learoyd v. Godfrey, 138 Mass. 315; Pickwick v. McCauliff, 193 Mass. 70.

Liability to volunteer salvor in case of fire: see Kohn v. Lovett, 44 Ga. 251; Gibson v. Leonard, 143 Ill. 182.

Liability to person who has contractual right to inspect the premises: see Dashields v. Moses, 35 App. D. C. 583.

170. The authorities on all sides of the question raised in this cause are collected and discussed in the cases that follow. See also Pollock, Torts, 6 ed., 496–497; Piggott, Torts, 231–232; 1 Jaggard, Torts, 904–909; Clerk & Lindsell, Torts, 6 ed., 511–522; Salmond, Torts, 4 ed., 415–424; Bohlen, Affirmative Obligations in the Law of Torts, 44 Am. Law Reg. 341.

171. The statement of facts by the reporter is omitted.

172. The statement of facts is omitted.

173. Arguments omitted.

174. See an elaborate criticism of George v. Skivington, L. R. 5 Ex. 1, in Blacker v. Lake, 106 Law Times Rep. (N. S.) 533, 537.

175. Liability of abstracter to third party injured by mistake or omission in abstract of title: see Thomas v. Guarantee Title & Trust Co., 81 Ohio St. 432; Bremerton Development Co. v. Title Trust Co., 67 Wash. 268.

Liability of water company to injured citizen where it has failed to provide water for extinguishment of fires according to its contract with the municipality: see Sunderland, Liability of Water Companies for Fire Losses, 3 Mich. Law Rev. 442; Kales, Liability of Water Companies for Fire Losses—Another View, 3 Mich. Law Rev. 501; note in 19 Green Bag, 129–133.

176. Part of case omitted; also arguments.

On the subject of this section the student may read profitably, Bohlen, Contributory Negligence, 21 Harvard Law Rev. 233; Clark, Tort Liability for Negligence in Missouri, Bull. of Univ. of Mo. Law Series, No. 12, pp. 25–43.

177. 1 Q. B. 29, 36.

178. Chicago R. Co. v. Levy, 160 Ill. 385; Toledo R. Co. v. Brannagan, 75 Ind. 490; Cincinnati R. Co. v. Butler, 103 Ind. 31 (but changed in case of injuries to the person, Acts of 1899, p. 58, Burns’ Ann. St. § 362); Greenleaf v. Illinois R. Co., 29 Ia. 14 (but changed in case of actions against a common carrier, Suppl. to the Code, 1913, § 3593 a); Brown v. Illinois R. Co., 123 Ia. 239; Dickey v. Maine Tel. Co., 43 Me. 492; Planz v. Boston R. Co., 157 Mass. 377 (but changed by Acts of 1914, ch. 553); Mynning v. Detroit R. Co., 67 Mich. 677; Curran v. Warren Chemical Mfg. Co., 36 N. Y. 153; City v. Nix, 3 Okl. 136; Bovee v. Danville, 53 Vt. 183 Accord.

Contra, contributory negligence an affirmative defence: Inland Coasting Co. v. Tolson, 139 U. S. 551; Montgomery Gaslight Co. v. Montgomery R. Co., 86 Ala. 372; Texas R. Co. v. Orr, 46 Ark. 182; Atchison v. Wills, 21 App. D. C. 548; MacDougall v. Central R. Co., 63 Cal. 431; Moore v. Lanier, 52 Fla. 353; City v. Hudson, 88 Ga. 599; Hopkins v. Utah R. Co., 2 Idaho, 300; St. Louis R. Co. v. Weaver, 35 Kan. 412; Hocum v. Weitherick, 22 Minn. 152; Buesching v. St. Louis Gaslight Co., 73 Mo. 219; Nelson v. City, 16 Mont. 21; O’Brien v. Omaha Water Co., 83 Neb. 71; Valley v. Concord R. Co., 68 N. H. 546; New Jersey Exp. Co. v. Nichols, 33 N. J. Law 434; Jordan v. City, 112 N. C. 743; Carr v. Minneapolis R. Co., 16 N. D. 217; Grant v. Baker, 12 Or. 329; Beatty v. Gilmore, 16 Pa. St. 463; Carter v. Columbia R. Co., 19 S. C. 20; Houston R. Co. v. Cowser, 57 Tex. 293; Richmond Granite Co. v. Bailey, 92 Va. 554; Johnson v. Bellingham Imp. Co., 13 Wash. 455; Fowler v. Baltimore R. Co., 18 W. Va. 579; Hoth v. Peters, 55 Wis. 405.

179. As to contributory negligence as a bar to an action for damage caused in part by defendant’s failure to perform a duty imposed on him by statute, see Bishop, Commentaries on the Written Laws, §§ 117, 117 a, § 131, pars. 2, 3, § 134, pars. 3,4, § 139, par. 1; Kelley v. Killourey, 81 Conn. 320; Catlett v. Young, 143 Ill. 74; Shultz v. Griffith, 103 Ia. 150; Hussey v. King, 83 Me. 568; Wadsworth v. Marshall, 88 Me. 263; Schutt v. Adair, 99 Minn. 7; Quimby v. Woodbury, 63 N. H. 370; Kilpatrick v. Grand Trunk R. Co., 72 Vt. 263.

180. Only so much of the case is given as relates to a single point.

181. Remainder of opinion omitted.

Start, J., in LaFlam v. Missisquoi Pulp Company, 74 Vt. 125. 143: “The defendants, by their second request, asked for an instruction that if, by the exercise of ordinary care and prudence upon the part of the plaintiff, he would not have been injured, he cannot recover. The court instructed the jury, that, if the plaintiff’s want of ordinary care or his negligence contributed in any material degree to the happening of the accident, he is not entitled to recover, even though the defendants were negligent. This was in accordance with the rule as it has sometimes been stated by this court. In Magoon v. Boston & Maine R. R. Co., 67 Vt. 184, 31 Atl. 156, and in Hill v. New Haven, 37 Vt. 507, 88 Am. Dec. 613, it is said that, if the negligence or carelessness of the person injured contributes in any material degree to the production of the injury complained of, he cannot recover; but in Reynolds v. Boston & Maine R. R. Co., 64 Vt. 66, 24 Atl. 134, 33 Am. St. Rep. 908, the holding is that, if the negligence of the plaintiff contributes in the least degree to the accident, there can be no recovery. We think this is the correct rule, and that the instruction should have conformed to it. The use of the word ‘material’ left the jury at liberty to consider the degree of the plaintiff’s negligence, which is not considered permissible in jurisdictions where the doctrine of contributory negligence prevails. To allow jurors to consider so-called degrees of negligence would, in effect, nullify this doctrine. 7 Am. & Eng. Enc. Law, (2d ed.) 379.”

“Negligence contributing as an efficient cause of injury will defeat an action therefor, irrespective of the quantum of negligence of the respective parties.” Jaggard, J., in O’Brien v. St. Paul City R. Co., 98 Minn. 205, 207–208.

“An effect often has many proximate, and many remote, causes. If the negligence of the plaintiff was one of the proximate causes of the injury,—if it directly contributed to the unfortunate result,—he cannot recover, even though the negligence of the defendant also contributed to it.” Sanborn, J., in Missouri Pac. R. Co. v. Moseley, 57 Fed. 921, 925.

“While purporting to give a legal definition of contributory negligence, this instruction demands that such negligence shall be found the sole and direct cause of the accident—an interpretation at war with the term ‘contributory’ itself.” Reyburn, J., in Hanheide v. St. Louis Transit Co., 104 Mo. App. 323, 330.

“... if it appears that his [plaintiff’s] negligence has contributed as an efficient cause to the injury of which he complains, the court will not undertake to balance the negligence of the respective parties for the purpose of determining which was most at fault. The law recognizes no gradations of fault in such case, and where both parties have been guilty of negligence, as a general rule, there can be no recovery. There is really no distinction between negligence in the plaintiff and negligence in the defendant, except that the negligence of the former is called ‘contributory negligence.’” Whittle, J., in Richmond Traction Co. v. Martin’s Adm’r, 102 Va. 209, 213.

“... there was a lack of ordinary care on his [the deceased’s] part, and where this occurs, contributing proximately to the injury, this lack will prevent a recovery, though the negligence of the other party may have much more contributed thereto.” Beard, C. J., in Memphis Gas & Electric Co. v. Simpson, (Tenn.) 109 S. W. 1155, 1158.

American Woolen Co. v. Stewart, (C. C. A.) 217 Fed. 1; Birmingham R. Co. v. Bynum, 139 Ala. 389; St. Louis R. Co. v. Musgrove, 113 Ark. 599; Denver R. Co. v. Maydole, 33 Col. 150; Robinson v. Huber, (Del.) 63 Atl. 873; O’Keefe v. Chicago R. Co., 32 Ia. 467; Pennsylvania R. Co. v. Roney, 89 Ind. 453; Atchison R. Co. v. Henry, 57 Kan. 154; Mann v. City, 154 Ky. 154; Marble v. Ross, 124 Mass. 44; Mynning v. Detroit R. Co., 59 Mich. 257; Hurt v. St. Louis R. Co., 94 Mo. 255; Village v. Holliday, 50 Neb. 229; Pennsylvania R. Co. v. Righter, 42 N. J. Law, 180; St. Louis R. Co. v. Elsing, 37 Okl. 333; Weaver v. Pennsylvania R. Co., 212 Pa. St. 632; Weir v. Haverford Electric Co., 221 Pa. St. 611; McLean v. Atlantic R. Co., 81 S. C. 100; McDonald v. International R. Co., 86 Tex. 1; Hazen v. Rutland R. Co., 89 Vt. 94; Chesapeake R. Co. v. Lee, 84 Va. 642; Franklin v. Engel, 34 Wash. 480; Tesch v. Milwaukee R. Co., 108 Wis. 593 Accord.

182. “The doctrine of comparative negligence no longer exists in this state.” Wilkin, J., in City v. Holcomb, 205 Ill. 643, 646.

“The intrinsic difficulty of the subject of contributory negligence has led to three distinct lines of decisions. In England and a majority of the States of the Union, the negligence of the plaintiff which contributes to the injury is held to be an absolute bar to the action. In the States of Illinois and Georgia the doctrine of comparative negligence has been adopted, that is, if on comparing the negligence of the plaintiff with that of the defendant, the former is found to be slight and the latter gross, the plaintiff may recover. In this State we hold that although the injured party may contribute to the injury by his own carelessness or wrongful conduct, yet if the act or negligence of the party inflicting the injury was the proximate cause of the injury, the latter will be liable in damages, the negligence or wrongful conduct of the party injured being taken into consideration, by way of mitigation, in estimating the damages. In other words, if defendant was guilty of a wrong by which plaintiff is injured, and plaintiff was also in some degree negligent or contributed to the injury, it should go in mitigation of damages, but cannot justify or excuse the wrong. East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia Railroad Company v. Fain, 12 Lea, 35. At the same time we hold that if a party by his own gross negligence bring an injury upon himself, or proximately contribute to such injury, he cannot recover; neither can he recover in cases of mutual negligence where both parties are equally blamable. Id. The principal difference between our rule and the English rule, as modified by the more recent decisions, is in allowing the damages to be mitigated by the conduct of the injured party. In this respect our rule meets the objection which Mr. Thompson, in his notes on contributory negligence, makes to the construction put by some of the courts on the English rule, or to the application of the rule in particular cases. ‘It is,’ he says, ‘nothing more than a declaration that although both parties have been guilty of negligence contributing to the injury, the party who suffered the damage is to be completely exonerated, and the other party is not to be exonerated to any extent; the former is to recover of the latter without any abatement on account of his own share of the fault, all the damages which he has suffered.’ ‘This is,’ he adds, ‘manifest injustice; and yet it is practiced every day in the courts of England and in those of nearly every State in the Union.’ 2 Thompson on Neg. 1155. Our rule, moreover, is merely an adaptation of the law which prevails in civil actions for assault and battery, where the conduct of the plaintiff in the way of provocation is always admissible in evidence to mitigate the damages. Jackaway v. Dula, 7 Yer. 82; Chambers v. Porter, 5 Cold. 273, 280; Suth. on Dam. 745.” Cooper, J., in Louisville R. Co. v. Fleming, 14 Lea, (Tenn.) 128, 135. But see Southern R. Co. v. Pugh, 97 Tenn. 624.

183. This refers to § 8657: “Every common carrier by railroad while engaging in commerce between any of the several States or Territories, or between the District of Columbia and any of the States or Territories, or between the District of Columbia or any of the States or Territories and any foreign nation or nations....”

184. See also Florida, Comp. L., 1914, § 3149; Georgia, Park’s Annotated Code, 1914, §§ 2781 (2332), 2783; Iowa, Supplement to Code, 1913, § 2071; Kansas, Laws of 1911, ch. 239, § 2; Maine, Pub. L. 1910, c. 258, § 4; Mississippi, Laws of 1910, c. 135; Nebraska, Rev. St. 1915, §§ 6054, 7892; Nevada, Rev. L. § 5651 (employees in mines); Ohio, Page & Adams, Ann. Gen. Code, §§ 6245–1, 9018; South Dakota, Laws of 1907, c. 219, § 2; Texas, McEachin’s Civ. St. art. 6649; Virginia, Acts of 1916, ch. 444, § 2; Wisconsin, Stat. 1915, ch. 87, § 1816 (3).

Compare Arkansas, Kirby’s Dig. § 6654; Illinois, R. S. c. 114, § 231; Indiana, Burns’ Ann. St. § 5277 c; Missouri, R. S. (1909) §§ 3164, 3172.

185. American Workmen’s Compensation Acts often provide that if the employer does not elect to act under the statute, he shall be liable to an action at law by the injured employee in which contributory negligence shall be no defence. See, for example, Ohio, Page & Adams, Annotated Gen. Code, § 1465–60.

186. Portions of opinion omitted. Argument for appellant omitted.

187. Planiol, Traité élémentaire de droit civil (6 ed.) II, § 899: “It frequently happens that one who suffers damage through the fault of another is not himself exempt from all fault; he has concurred in the accident and shares responsibility therefor with the other. In this case there is what we call in practice faute commune. This community of fault diminishes the responsibility of the principal author of damage who now only owes a partial reparation.”

German Civil Code, § 254: “If any fault of the injured party has contributed in causing the injury, the obligation to compensate the injured party and the extent of the compensation to be made depends upon the circumstances, especially upon how far the injury has been caused chiefly by the one or the other party.

“This applies also even if the fault of the injured party consisted only in an omission to call the attention of the debtor to the danger of an unusually serious injury which the debtor neither knew nor ought to have known, or in an omission to avert or mitigate the injury....”

[The word “debtor” is used here in the Roman sense, meaning the person bound in any sort of obligation—here the delictual obligation to make reparation for an injury due to fault.]

188. See The Drumlanrig, [1911] A. C. 16; Steamship Devonshire v. Barge Leslie, [1912] A. C. 634; St. Louis Packet Co. v. Murray, 144 Ky. 815. But compare Murphy v. Diamond, 3 La. Ann. 441; New York Towboat Co. v. New York R. Co., 148 N. Y. 574; Union Steamship Co. v. Nottingham, 17 Grat. 115.

189. The book cites Carth. 194 and 451 in the margin, which references do not bear on the point here in question.—Reporter’s note.

190. The usual mode of citation is 1 Q. B.

191. “The other instruction was in these words: ‘There is another qualification of this rule of negligence, which it is proper I should mention. Although the rule is that, even if the defendant be shown to have been guilty of negligence, the plaintiff cannot recover if he himself be shown to have been guilty of contributory negligence which may have had something to do in causing the accident; yet the contributory negligence on his part would not exonerate the defendant, and disentitle the plaintiff from recovering, if it be shown that the defendant might, by the exercise of reasonable care and prudence, have avoided the consequences of the plaintiff’s negligence.’

“The qualification of the general rule, as thus stated, is supported by decisions of high authority, and was applicable to the case on trial.” Gray, J., in Inland Coasting Co. v. Tolson, 139 U. S. 551, 558.

“Although the defendant’s negligence may have been the primary cause of the injury complained of, yet an action for such injury cannot be maintained if the proximate and immediate cause of the injury can be traced to the want of ordinary care and caution in the person injured; subject to this qualification, which has grown up in recent years (having been first enunciated in Davies v. Mann, 10 M. & W. 546) that the contributory negligence of the party injured will not defeat the action if it be shown that the defendant might, by the exercise of reasonable care and prudence, have avoided the consequences of the injured party’s negligence.” Lamar, J., in Grand Trunk R. Co. v. Ives, 144 U. S. 408, 429.

192. The statement of facts and portions of the opinion are omitted.

194. The statement of facts is condensed, and the arguments of counsel and part of the opinion are omitted.

195. Only a portion of the opinion is printed.

196. The statement of facts is abridged from the statement in the opinion and from the statement made by the reporter. The citations of counsel are omitted.

197. “... The wagon so loaded coming to the bridge and being unable to pass underneath it, the train stopped, and those who had charge of it, without looking to ascertain the cause of the stoppage, gave momentum to the engine to such an extent that the wagon with its load knocked the bridge down.” Statement of facts in opinion of Bramwell, B., L. R. 9 Exch. 72. Compare statement in L. R. 10 Exch. 102.

198. Printed papers in the case.

199. L. R. 9 Ex. 71.

200. L. R. 10 Ex. 700.

201. Arguments of counsel are omitted.

202. L. R. 9 Ex. at 72.

203. See also Cayzer v. Carron, 9 App. Cas. 873; McDermaid v. Edinburgh Tramways Co., 22 Sc. L. R. 13.

204. Only a portion of the opinion is printed.

205. This opinion of Carpenter, J., was given in the Circuit Court; and was quoted by Moore, J., in his dissenting opinion in the Supreme Court.

206. “We shall immediately see, moreover, that independent negligent acts of A and B may both be proximate in respect of harm suffered by Z, though either of them, if committed by Z himself, would have prevented him from having any remedy for the other. Thus it appears that the term ‘proximate’ is not used in precisely the same sense in fixing a negligent defendant’s liability and a negligent plaintiff’s disability.” Pollock, Torts, 6th ed. 447.

“... In determining whether the cause of the accident is proximate or remote, the same test must be applied to the conduct of the injured party as is to be applied to the defendant. The conduct of the latter cannot be judged by one rule and that of the former by some other rule.”—O’Brien, J., in Rider v. Syracuse R. Co., 171 N. Y. 139, 154.

[An instruction as to the meaning of the word “proximately” intimates] “that there is a difference between the meaning of the word when applied to the defendant and when applied to the plaintiff. There is no such difference. Contributory negligence on the part of the plaintiff must bear the same proximate relation to the result as the actionable negligence of the defendant. It need not be the sole cause, and it may contribute but slightly, but it must be a proximate cause in the same sense that the defendant’s negligence must be proximate.” Winslow, J., in Boyce v. Wilbur Lumber Co., 119 Wis. 642, 649–650.

207. The statement has been abridged and the arguments and part of the opinion are omitted.

208. Compare Rider v. Syracuse R. Co., 171 N. Y. 139.

209. The statement of facts and argument of counsel are omitted.

210. The statement of facts, arguments and parts of the opinions are omitted.

211. See also Bruggeman v. Illinois R. Co., 147 Ia. 187, 204–214; Anderson v. Minneapolis R. Co., 103 Minn. 224; Cavanaugh v. Boston R. Co., 76 N. H. 68; Scholl v. Belcher, 63 Or. 310, 323; Underwood v. Old Colony R. Co., 33 R. I. 319. As to the requirement of a “new act of negligence” see Rider v. Syracuse R. Co., 171 N. Y. 139.

212. Statement abridged. Only part of opinion is given.

213. Statement omitted, also a large part of opinion.

215. Statement abridged. Part of opinion omitted.

216. The statement has been abridged and the arguments and part of the opinion are omitted.

217. See also Weitzman v. Nassau R. Co., 33 App. Div. 585; Green v. Metropolitan R. Co., 42 App. Div. 160.

218. Statement abridged.

219. In Kierzenkowski v. Philadelphia Traction Co., 184 Pa. St. 459, the plaintiff was a girl three years old, who had been knocked down by one of defendant’s horse cars. The court (inter alia) instructed the jury, in substance, as follows:—

The law does not allow that children of this age can be guilty of contributory negligence; but you are obliged to consider the case as to the negligence alone of the defendant. If you were driving along the street with your horse and wagon, and a child runs under the feet of the horses and is killed, you are not responsible; not because the child is guilty of contributory negligence, but because you are not guilty of negligence. If it is an unavoidable accident, you are not responsible. If the jury believe from the evidence in this case that the child suddenly and unexpectedly appeared in the vicinity of the track under such circumstances that the driver of the car could not have discovered its presence in time to avoid the accident, the verdict must be for the defendant.

An exception to the charge was overruled.

220. Birmingham R. Co. v. Brantley, 141 Ala. 614; Baltimore Traction Co. v. Wallace, 77 Md. 435; Lassiter v. Raleigh R. Co., 133 N. C. 244; Memphis R. Co. v. Haynes, 112 Tenn. 712 Accord.

“Let us view this subject in a more concrete form. The last railroad statistics I have been able to find were issued by the Interstate Commerce Commission for the year 1906.

[The learned judge then copies a table from the report referred to and proceeds.]

It will be observed that while the road mileage and train mileage in Canada are each ten per cent of the entire road system and the entire train mileage, the number of trespassers injured or killed in that country was only three per cent of the total number; while in this State the road mileage is twenty-six per cent of the total road mileage and the train mileage twenty-five per cent of the total train mileage, forty-eight per cent of the total number of trespassers injured or killed were injured or killed in Missouri.

Illinois has thirty per cent of the road mileage and thirty-two per cent of the train mileage, and only twenty per cent of the total number of trespassers injured or killed were injured or killed in that State.

It is important to know both the train mileage and the road mileage, for the reason the greater number of trains that are run over a given road mileage the greater number of fatalities to trespassers will result. The train mileage, therefore, in the various States offers the most accurate basis for comparison.

A computation will show that one trespasser was killed for every eighty-one miles of road in Canada; for every seventeen miles in Michigan; for every forty-two miles in Ohio; for every thirty-one miles in Indiana; for every forty-six miles in Illinois; for every seventeen miles in Missouri; and for every forty-one miles in Iowa.

It will be observed that the number of miles for each trespasser killed in Missouri and Michigan is the same. This results, however, from the fact that the line from Chicago, St. Louis, and other points converging at Montpelier, Ohio, and thence all the traffic eastward goes over the one hundred and five miles of line located in the State of Michigan. The effect of this is also shown in the train mileage. Thus, while Michigan has only four per cent of road mileage, it has one-third or six per cent of the train mileage. The population along the Michigan mileage is very dense; about five miles of the line from Delray to Detroit run through a very densely populated district—practically a city.

It should also be noted that while Illinois has greater road and train mileage than Missouri, only sixteen trespassers were injured or killed while walking on tracks in that State, where thirty-nine persons were killed or injured while walking on the track in Missouri. If we also consider the more dense population of Illinois, the figures become more startling. And if we should extend these figures in the same proportion to all of the railroads of the State and country, we would then see the appalling number of trespassers killed and injured annually on account of this inhuman doctrine, which is approximately 7750.

In so far as I have been able to ascertain, the courts of all the other States than this hold that persons who walk upon railroad tracks do so at their peril, and I am thoroughly satisfied and convinced that this fact accounts for the small number of fatalities to track-walkers in those States as compared with Missouri; and by parity of reasoning I am also convinced that if said section 1105 was strictly enforced, as it should be, the contrast between those States and this would not be near so great as it is now; and that if we had a statute like that of Canada, making it a crime for persons to walk upon railroad tracks, then the percentage of fatalities to track-walkers in this State would fall still lower than what it is in any of the States mentioned. Such a policy and such a statute would exclude from the railroads all pedestrians, and thereby save this great sacrifice of life and limb, as well as the pecuniary loss incident thereto.” Woodson, J. (dissenting), in Murphy v. Wabash Railroad Company, 228 Mo. 56, 88, 108.

See also the observations of Professor Clark in University of Missouri Bulletin, Law Series, No. 12, 34–39.