Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1915-03-19
IMPORTANT LOCAL
GASES SUBMITTED
nREEN VS.. IOWA CENTRAL, OLD
kELLEHER CASE, AGAIN IN
SUPREME COURT.
SECOND APPEAL AFTER
THREE TRIALS HERE
Action Of johnson, Administrators, W.
Commercial Mems Association, and
PIantx W. krsutzer q Wasen, Are
Other Local Cases Appealed by De-
PENDANTS, That Have Been Submitted.

Inree local cases Oh ulOIe IhaH "
! binary Importance have just been ar
gued and submitted to the state SUI
preme court on appeals taken from the
district court. They are the cases OF
J. w. Breen VS.. the Iowa Central, Ben
1amin F. Johnson, administrator, vs.
the Hawkeye Commercial Mems Assoc
citation and Plantz VS.. kreutzer q
Wasem.
Among these the Breen case has be-
come historic locally as law suit that
has been waged for long time, ana
which has been tried in the trial court
no less than three times. The railroad
attorneys made defense under 1ed-
eral statute, and on that ground they
are preparing to carry the case on 10
the United States supreme court IL
beaten in the state court.
Is Old keIleher Case.
The case has been tried so often
here, and the issues have been so Of
ten argued, that the public Is fairly
familiar with them The law suit
grew out of the injury to Myles Kelle-
her, a former locomotive engineer, who
was badly injured in October, 1908.
His claim was assigned to one j. w.
Breen, of ST. Louis.
Breen got a verdict of $4,000 at the
! first trial The railroad company ap-
pealed to the supreme court, which set
aside the verdict and remanded the
case for retrial. The second trial gave
Breen verdict for s14,500. Clarence
| Nichols, the trial Judge, set aside this
| verdict on a technical question of
plea dings and proof A third trial, in
the fall of 1913, gave Breen verdict
for $500. On this the railroad COM
pany appealed.
Pleads Federal Law.
| After the first trial and appeal to the
| supreme court, the railroad attorneys
discovered that congress had passed
a federal employers liability act in
| 1865 that the lawyers believed should
govern in this litigation as all persons
| engaged in interstate commerce were
| brought under it. Since then this has
| been the railroads defense, and so
strongly have they felt entrenched be-
| hind 1t that at the last two trials the
railroad adduced no evidence in its
/ behalf.
Briefly, the Iowa Central attorneys
claim under this act is that Kelleher
was operating an engine that pulled
a train that was engaged in inter-
state commerce. Such being the case,
he was engaged in Interstate commerce.
| That being so he was brought under
! the provisions of the federal employ
ers' act, and if he had any cause for
action it should have been brought un-
der that act. But it was not 50
brought, but instead it was begun I'M
der the state law, and having been
| brought under the state law, where
Breen had no cause for action, the time
limit when suit could be begun under
the federal statute had expired in the
| meantime and had barred Breen by.
statute of limitation. In other words
| it has been argued for the railroad
that Breen had no legal basis for ac-
ton under the state laws, and was
barred by the expiration Of the time
| limit from recovering under the federal
employers act
| butcher & Davis, of the Iowa City
firm of Wade, butcher & Davis, for
the plaintiff, and c. H. E. Boardman,
for the defendant company, submitted
the case.
Insurance Company Appeals.
The action Of Benjamin F. Johnson
| administrator of the Ferdenhager es-
! tate, VS.. the Hawkeye Commercial
Mems Association, was appealed by the
iuCo SOIAPdiS. JOIHlSOIl was SlS.
en- a verdict for $4,000 by Judge Lee
in the district court here Oct 13, 1913.
The suit was to recover on an insurance
policy. F'erdenhager was killed by the
c.. B. & @. at LeGrange, ILL.,, while
crossing the railroad tracks. The in
surance company resisted payment Of
the claim and appealed on the ground
that Ferdenhager was trespassing on
the company's property which, under
the Illinois state law, is a crime. c. H.
E. Boardman, for the. plaintiff, and
Bradford & Johnson, for the defendant
were the attorneys.
Piantz Case For Personal Injury.
The case OF Fred Plantz VS.. Kreut-
zer &Wasem is an action for personal
injury. Plantz was given a verdict
for $1,000 and the defendant company
appealed.
Plantz was injured when team he
was driving started up quickly and
ran thru driveway door in the lumber
shed. Plantz struck the edge of the
opening and was knocked off the
wagon. He died a few weeks ago in
Des Moines. Bradford & johnson were
prosecuting and c.. H. VanLaw was de-
Tending this action.
- - - q - a