Case Name: BACHMANN v. UNION RY. CO. OF NEW YORK CITY
Court: New York Supreme Court, Appellate Term
Jurisdiction: New York
Decision Date: 1908-07-07
Citations: 111 N.Y.S. 586
Docket Number: 
Parties: BACHMANN v. UNION RY. CO. OF NEW YORK CITY.
Judges: 
Reporter: West's New York Supplement
Volume: 111
Pages: 586–588

Head Matter:
BACHMANN v. UNION RY. CO. OF NEW YORK CITY.
(Supreme Court, Appellate Term.
July 7, 1908.)
Carriers—Injury to Passenger—Street Cars—Contributory Negligence.
As a street car approached the corner of a street, plaintiff signaled the conductor that he desired to alight. The conductor nodded his head, and plaintiff went onto the platform and then stood on the step, waiting for the car to reach the corner. He had one foot on the step and the other in the air, his hand on the rail, while the car was still between blocks, and as it suddenly accelerated its speed plaintiff was thrown off. There was no evidence that the conductor had signaled the motorman to stop at the corner, nor that the car prior to the accident had slowed down to enable plaintiff to alight. Held, that plaintiff voluntarily placed himself in a position of danger and was chargeable with contributory negligence.
[Ed. Note.—For cases in point, see Cent. Dig. vol. 9, Carriers, §§ 1371, 1375-1380.)
Seabury, J., dissenting.
Appeal from City Court of New York.
Action by Emil Bachmann against the Union Railway Company of New York City- From a judgment for plaintiff, and from an order denying defendant’s motion for a new trial, it appeals.
Reversed, and new trial ordered.
Argued before GILDERSLEEVE, P. J., and MacLEAN and SEA-BURY, JJ.
James L. Quackenbush (Bayard H. Ames and Walter Henry Wood, of counsel), for appellant.
August P. Wagener, for respondent.

Opinion:
GILDERSLEEVE, P. J.
The plaintiff was a passenger on defendant's closed car. As the car was approaching the corner of Brook avenue and 138th street, he signaled to the conductor that he wished to alight at the said corner. The conductor nodded his head, and plaintiff went onto the platform and then stood on the step, waiting for the car to reach said corner. He had one foot on the step and was swinging his other foot in the air, while his hand was on the rail on the body of the car. The car was then going very slowly. Before it had reached the corner the car suddenly accelerated its speed, and plaintiff was thrown off and injured. The jury gave him a verdict for $650. Defendant appeals.
While there is evidence that plaintiff signaled to the conductor, there is no proof whatever that the conductor communicated the signal to the motorman, or that the latter slowed up his car for the purpose of allowing plaintiff to alight. The mere fact that the car was going slow is not necessarily an indication that the motorman knew of plaintiff's wish to get off the car, as it will be remembered that the accident occurred while the car was between blocks, and not at the corner where plaintiff desired to alight. The slowing down of the car may well have been to avoid collision with some vehicle or pedestrian, in accordance with defendant's duty to exercise proper care in the running of its cars, and of itself cannot be taken as a notice to plaintiff of an inten- _ tian to stop the car in order to allow plaintiff to alight; nor is there' any indication that the acceleration of speed was in response to any signal of the conductor, or with knowledge on the part of the motorman of plaintiff's wish to alight. It is quite reasonable to suppose that, if plaintiff had waited in a safe position until the car had reached the corner, the car would have been stopped by the motorman, in response to a timely signal from the conductor, and plaintiff would have alighted without accident. Instead of doing this, he anticipated the stopping of the car before the proper time, and voluntarily placed himself in a position of danger, thereby contributing to the injury. See Armstrong v. Met. St. Ry. Co., 36 App. Div. 525, 55 N. Y. Supp. 498, affirmed 165 N. Y. 641, 59 N. E. 118.
Judgment reversed, and new trial ordered, with costs to appellant to abide the event.
MacLEAN, J., concurs.