Boston & Lowell Railroad v. Boston & Maine Railroad

<p>Case for negligence. Plea, the general issue. Trial by jury at the' June Term, 1905, Caledonia County, Munson, J., presiding. Yerdiet and judgment for the plaintiff. The defendant excepted.</p> <p>The plaintiff is the surviving mother of Homer A. Mc-Duffee, and the administratrix of his estate. He left neither father, nor wife, nor issue. The declaration consisted of counts seeking to recover, for the benefit of said estate, the damages sustained by the intestate on account of his alleged injuries from the date of the accident to his decease; and other counts seeking to recover for plaintiff’s own benefit, as next of kin, the damages sustained by her because of the intestate’s death. Yer-diet for the plaintiff for $3,500, — $500 for the benefit of said estate, and $3,000 for the plaintiff, as next of kin. It appeared that from about March 1, 1903, till October 10, 1903, the intestate was employed as freight brakeman on “the railroad,” and that he was born June 8, 1882. It appeared that at a point north of the railroad station at Newport, Yermont, on the east side of the main line railroad track and ten or twelve feet therefrom, stood a water tank, with spout thereto attached. Plaintiff’s evidence tended to show that on Saturday, October 10, 1903, about 12:10 P. M. the intestate looking southerly, was riding on the top of a freight ear moving northerly by said.station at the speed of about two or three miles an hour; that when passing said water tank the back of his head came in contact with said water spout throwing him “forward” upon the roof of the car, his cap falling to the ground; that he arose, descended from the car, picked up his cap, remounted the car, and continued his duties as freight brakeman that afternoon on a train running from Newport to Lyndonville, where he resided; but that on that afternoon, on the trip to Lyndonville, he told a trainman that he “felt rotten,” his “head ached,” and that on his return home that afternoon he complained to plain

<p>Bill in equity filed July 1, 1873, alleging that the plaintiff was and for more than a year had been a stockholder of the defendant corporation, which was a corporation owning a railroad in Chis Commonwealth, and which was and had been for many years consolidated with a corporation of the same name, created by the State of New Hampshire, and owning a railroad in that state, and with another corporation of the same name, created by the State of Maine, and owning a railroad in that state; that a corporation, called the Lowell and Andover Railroad Company, had been created, under the general law in relation to railroad corporations of this Commonwealth, for the purpose of constructing a railroad from Lowell to Andover, there to connect with the railroad of the Boston and Maine Railroad; that the Lowell and Andover Railroad Company had done nothing towards the construction of their road, and neither had nor could obtain sufficient means to construct it, unless they were enabled to do so by the credit obtained by making a lease of their road to the defendant corporation; that it had agreed with the directors of the defendant corporation to lease their railroad, when constructed, to that corporation for ninety-nine years, for seven per cent, a year upon the cost of its construction; and that the defendant’s directors had agreed to take this lease when it should be approved by the vote of a majority of its stockholders ; that the directors called a meeting of the stockholders to vote upon the question of authorizing the directors in behalf of the corporation to make the lease, when the road should be constructed; that this meeting was held June 3, 1873, and that the stockholders then voted to approve of the terms of the proposed lease, and to authorize its execution; that this lease had been agreed upon for the purpose of giving credit to the Lowell and Andover Railroad Company, so as to enable that company to obtain means to construct the road, which otherwise it could

<p>This is an action of assumpsit, brought by the plaintiffs against Oliver, the defendant, in which the Salmon Balls Bank and Morton are summoned as trustees of Oliver.</p> <p>The following facts appear upon the disclosures made by the president of the bank, and by Morton, and the accompanying papers. Mr. Morton is the cashier of the bank, and one of the sureties of Oliver, the principal defendant, for his accounting for and paying over to the plaintiffs all moneys he should receive on their account; he being a ticket master and freight collector on their road. On the 23d of March, 1852, Oliver came into the bank, and settled with Morton a book account Morton had against him,' and paid him the balance, twenty-one dollars. Oliver then threw down upon the bank counter a roll of bank bills, saying, “ There is six hundred dollars; take that.” Morton asked him if he would take a bank-book, or a certificate of deposit, and he said, “ No, no; do you take it and keep it till I call for it,” and immediately left the bank, and on the same day absconded. Morton, without knowing or suspecting his intention to abscond, or that he was in arrear or indebted to the Railroad, and supposing that Oliver only wished him to take care of the money for a few days, without any direction from Oliver, and as said Morton now believes contrary to his intention, entered said six hundred dollars as a deposit to his credit on the books of the bank, and it so remained without the cashier’s hearing or thinking any thing about it, or about Oliver, till April 1st, 1852, when he was informed that Oliver had absconded, and that he was greatly indebted, and in arrear to the Railroad.</p> <p>After it was known that Oliver had absconded, the Railroad alleged that he had received more than two thousand dollars on their account, and for which he was indebted to them, and called upon Morton to pay the amount of his bond, which he did, and the bond was discharged on the 9th of April.</p> <p>Upon learning tha