Court Opinion

ID: 9651244
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 16:11:12.51141+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:12:24.571193
License: Public Domain

SPARKS, Circuit Judge
(dissenting).
The theory of this complaint is negligence in violation of Boiler Inspection Act and Employers’ Liability Act, 45 U.S.C.A. §§ 23 and 51. As stated in the complaint and the majority opinion, there are three separate acts of alleged negligence relied upon: (1) That defendant negligently permitted its locomotive to be placed in service in interstate commerce, with defects in it, which permitted the journal on its front axle to become overheated; (2) that it negligently permitted its locomotive to be used in interstate commerce with a defective journal on its front axle; and (3) that it negligently ordered its locomotive and train to be operated in interstate commerce, after it became known to defendant’s employees and officials that the journal of the locomotive was overheated. A journal, as applied to machinery, is that portion of a rotating axle which turns in a bearing.
It is clear that the first act complained of is that defendant furnished decedent with an engine for his use in interstate commerce which was defective at the time he received it and which defect permitted the journal to become overheated. Hence, this charge of negligence is based not on the overheated axle, but on the defect in the mechanism, which plaintiff alleges caused the overheating. This must be true, for in argument before this court he urged with emphasis that if the journal was not defective when it was furnished decedent, it would not have become overheated.
I cannot accept this factual conclusion as true, for it is common knowledge that any metal bearing will become overheated if it is not kept sufficiently oiled, regardless of whether or not it was in perfect condition and properly oiled when the use of it began. This record discloses that a “hot box” may be caused by lack of sufficient oil in the bearing or the presence therein of some hard foreign substance, such as sand or gravel. There is no evidence whatever of the presence in this journal of any hard foreign substance, and there is substantial uncontradicted evidence that this bearing was oiled and in good condition when it left Valparaiso in charge of decedent on the day of the accident.
True, metal bearings may become abnormal and defective if they are continuously subjected to excessive heat which *883eventually weakens or destroys some element of the mechanism or its function. Prior to that event it cannot be properly said that the bearing or box was abnormal, or defective, but it would comport with the facts to say that the box or bearing here in issue was being subjected to an abnormal and defective use. Hot boxes on engines and trains are not unusual and they do not always denote a defective mechanism, but they do denote a defective and dangerous condition or use which may result in a defective journal and great damage if not attended to properly.
This case was tried to a jury. Defendant’s motion for a peremptory instruction at the close of the evidence was overruled, and the jury returned a general verdict for the defendant. This carried with it a finding that defendant was ‘not negligent and that decedent’s negligence was the sole cause of the accident. By these findings we are bound, if supported by substantial evidence, unless we can say as a matter of law that defendant was negligent. No one here denies decedent’s gross negligence, although the majority opinion states that defendant was negligent because it violated Title 45 U.S.C.A. §§ 23 and 51, which the opinion holds are pari materia. I agree that the two statutes should be construed pari materia, but I am convinced that the defendant did not violate such statutes when considered either separately or in pari materia.
I agree with the analysis of these statutes as set forth in the majority opinion. It says, “If the defendant in violation of Section 23 furnished the plaintiff’s decedent with a locomotive that was defective and unsafe to operate, that would be negligence per se and would authorize an action under Section 51 of the same Title.” However, the verdict of the jury, based upon uncontradictcd evidence, discloses that the engine when furnished decedent by defendant at Valparaiso, was not defective in any manner. Plaintiff’s only answer to this finding of the jury is not based on evidence, but rather on the plaintiff’s unsupported thesis that if it had not then been defective, the box would not have gotten hot. The jury did not accept this thesis and it is my understanding that my associates do not accept it. Indeed, the majority opinion states that there was no apparent defect at that time, and the uncontradicted evidence discloses positively that there was no such defect at that time. However, the majority opinion states that all the above charges of negligence are proved “without question by the evidence.” This is tantamount to saying that when the engine was permitted by defendant to be placed in interstate commerce service by decedent at Valparaiso there was a defect in the journal which caused it to become overheated. It was at Valparaiso that this engine was furnished decedent and received by him for interstate commerce service. The complaint alleges that the defect in the engine then existed which caused the journal to become overheated. I understand that we are agreed that this is an erroneous conclusion of fact, and that the journal or “box” was without defect when it left Valparaiso, notwithstanding the contrary allegation in the complaint, and the statement in the majority opinion that all allegations of the complaint are proved “without question by the evidence.” The majority opinion seeks to parry the force of this argument by contending that defendant furnished decedent a defective engine at Indiana Harbor, after he had finished twenty-three miles of his trip to Chicago. Here it was that the engineer and conductor were first informed of the hot box. This confirms my contention that there was no defect in the engine when it left Valparaiso, hence no violation of the statutes up to that time. This fact, of course, did not end defendant’s obligations to its employees, including this engineer. During the trip to Chicago it was liable in damages under section 51 for the engineer’s injury or death resulting in whole or in part from the negligence of any of its officers, agents, or employees by reason of any defect or insufficiency, due to its negligence, in its engine.
What was the negligent act of defendant, after the train arrived at Indiana Harbor, which by reason of any defect or insufficiency in the engine due to defendant’s negligence, resulted in whole or in part in decedent’s death? Clearly it was not the mere fact that the box became hot, but *884rather, it was defendant’s alleged act in permitting or ordering decedent to use the engine with a hot box from Indiana Harbor to the place of the accident. It was the same engine which had been furnished decedent at Valparaiso. True, it was furnished to decedent for a continuous service, but that act on the part of defendant was fully executed by delivery at Valparaiso, and as admitted by my associates, without negligence of the defendant, and without a violation of either of' the statutes on its part.
To create liability under the statutes referred to, it seems clear to me that plaintiff was required to prove the existence of such defect when it was delivered to the engineer at Valparaiso, or if such defect or insufficiency in the engine arose thereafter while in such service, plaintiff was required to prove that decedent’s death resulted in whole or in part from defendant’s negligence. This follows the precise language of the statutes and I have found no federal decision which has held otherwise.
Of course, under section 23 of the Statute, defendant was prohibited from using or permitting to be used on its line any locomotive unless all its parts and appurtenances were in proper condition and safe to operate, regardless of its condition when leaving Valparaiso. Decedent was employed by defendant to see that these conditions were complied with on the trip to Chicago. He was a locomotive engineer of many years experience with the defendant. He had complete charge of the management and control of this engine, except as he was signaled to start and stop by the conductor. The engineer knew more about the engine’s condition»and capabilities than any of defendant’s employees on that train, and he was the final arbiter in those respects. He was employed for that purpose, and it was his duty, as an employee and the sole present representative of' the defendant in those respects, to exercise care proportionate to the danger to be avoided. When he failed to do this he should not be heard to' say that the defendant used, or permitted its defective engine to be used by him in violation of' the statutes' referred to; It was his acts alone which permitted the fatal act to happen to himself, and it is not contended, nor can it be, that such acts on his part were in the scope, or apparent scope, of his authority. This was not a latent defect in the engine, it was highly patent and extremely hazardous, unless kept under control. The ordinary method of handling a “hot box” is to slacken speed and to oil it on the way, and, if it does not improve, to stop the engine. He never slackened his speed, and he oiled the journal but once.
Valparaiso is 44 miles from Chicago. This train was a local passenger train and there were seventeen stops. This hot box was first noticed by decedent and the conductor at Indiana Harbor, which is 23 miles from Valparaiso. There decedent oiled the journal whpre the hot box was. He signaled the conductor that “he was O. K., and to go,” and the train proceeded to Whiting, a distance of three to three and one-half miles. There the condition was no better, and the conductor signalled decedent to go on to Colouer, about a mile distant, and get another engine. In response thereto decedent gave the “high sign” to go, which means “we will proceed.” It further meant that his engine was in proper condition to go.
All signals of the conductor “to go” are required by the rules of defendant to be acknowledged and answered by a sign from the engineer. If things at the engine are in a safe condition to proceed, he answers by what they term as a “high sign” or “O. K.” and proceeds;' if the engine is not in a safe condition to proceed, the conductor’s sign is not answered and the train does not, pr should not, move. In' other words, the conductor’s “go” sign is also an inquiry to the engineer as to the condition of his engine. At every stop between Valparaiso and the point of the accident, an approximate distance of forty-two miles, in which there were about a dozen stops, the engineer answered the conductor’s “go” sign 'by an “O. K.” sign. Moreover, he disobeyed the conductor’s signal to stop at Colouer and get a new engine. Along the line from Indiana Harbor almost to the point of the accident he Was signaled that his engine had a' hot *885box by various employees of defendant, as was their duty. He acknowledged these warnings, smiled and continued his course. At Englewood, which is at 63rd Street in Chicago, the conductor talked to him while in his cab, and asked him if he wanted an engine at 59th Street. This conductor testified that he said: “We will make it down town. He told me to get on the train, we were going.” From the evidence it is clear that the hot box became worse after leaving Indiana Harbor, and decedent knew it, and at Englewood station a number of people were standing near the engine observing the hot box.
The majority opinion relies on the case of Kilburn v. Chicago M. & St. P. R. Co., 289 Mo. 75, 232 S.W. 1017. In that case the lower pressure cylinder on the left side of the engine had blown out while en route on November 28, 1915. As here, the engineer was the boss of the engine crew and his directions were controlling. He directed the train to proceed. Steam was continually escaping from the engine which caused the fireman’s clothing to become very wet. From this he contracted pneumonia and died, and his representatives were permitted to recover. It was his duty to follow the order of the engineer and he did so. The engineer was not damaged in any way. He represented the Company, and, in so far as the fireman was concerned, the engineer was acting within the apparent scope of his authority. Of course, as between the engineer and the fireman, the defendant was liable for the acts of the engineer within the apparent scope of his authority, which caused the fireman’s death. This would be true in the case at bar if an injury to any person other than the engineer were involved in this case. It would seem unbelievable that the statute could be so unreasonably construed as to permit an engineer, or his representative, to recover under such circumstances where his own defiant conduct is the sole cause of the injury.
The opinion further relies on Baltimore & Ohio R. v. Groeger, 266 U.S. 521, 45 S.Ct. 169, 69 L.Ed. 419. In that case there was a defective boiler furnished the engineer at the beginning of his trip. It had a latent defect, and it exploded during the trip, killing the engineer. There was a verdict and judgment for the plaintiff, and the Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed it. It was reversed, however, by the Supreme Court on account of a defective instruction.
It seems to me that neither of these cases supports plaintiff’s contention here.
I agree with the majority opinion that when the railroad company violates the Safety Appliance Act, plaintiff’s decedent cannot be deemed to have assumed the risk. However, this principle does not come into effect where, as here, the engineer has every knowledge of the defect, which arises after his trip has begun, and he defiantly ignores the obvious dangers and fails to obey the conductor’s order and request to get a new engine. In such case, he certainly assumes the risk, not of the defendant’s negligence, but of his own, for in that event, the Company has not in any way violated the Safety Appliance Act. The accident happened just below Twenty-Second Street, at least three miles from the last place the conductor asked him to obtain a new engine.
Under these circumstances I think it cannot be said that the death here complained of resulted in whole or in part from the negligence of any of defendant’s officers or agents or employees except the gross and defiant negligence of decedent himself, nor did it result by reason of any defect or insufficiency in its engine, which was due to defendant’s negligence. Neither it, nor any of its officers, had the slightest knowledge of the defect except as the knowledge of the engineer and conductor is imputed to it. Knowledge may sometimes be imputed to another, but under section 51, which is construed in pari materia with section 23, the sole negligence of the engineer should not be imputed to the defendant, where no negligent act of defendant, as set forth in section 51, is shown.
It is not claimed by plaintiff that any of defendant’s officers, agents or employees, other than the engineer, and perhaps the conductor, were guilty of negligence which caused or contributed to the second and third alleged acts of negligence, as I have *886numbered them. However, it was argued, and is strongly intimated in the majority opinion, that the conductor was negligent in not compelling the engineer to stop and get a new engine, even though the latter had informed the conductor by signal at each stop that his engine was in safe condition to proceed. It is common knowledge that a conductor’s position ordinarily is not at the engine/ and he and the engineer communicate by signals, and where as here the competency of neither is questioned, they and the defendant have a right to rely on those signals in so far as they are concerned. I think there is no merit in this contention.
The majority opinion further states that, “Only one question is (here) presented, and that is whether the court properly instructed the jury.” In view of the uncontradicted evidence, the instructions, when construed as a whole, properly stated the law. I think the case should be affirmed.