Ann Arbor Railway Co. v. Amos

Citations

• 85 Ohio St. (N.S.) 300

Syllabus

<p>Railroad agent issues ticket to passenger — Negligently inserting therein wrong station — As traveller's stated’ destination — Passenger entitled to passage to correct station, when — Conductor refuses ticket tendered and ejects passenger — Such act regarded as act of company — Injured party entitled to damages, when — Law of contracts — Liabilities of common carrier.</p> <p>1. The general principle that where a party does all that he is required to do under the terms of a contract into which he has entered, and is only prevented from reaping the benefit of such contract by the fault or wrongful act of the other party to it, the law gives him a remedy against the other party for such breach of contract, applies to a railroad ticket issued to a passenger by a railroad company for passage over its road.</p> <p>2. Where a passenger on a railroad car presents to the conductor a ticket issued by authority of the railroad company claiming a right to ride thereon, the language of which ticket is ambiguous and of doubtful import, it should be construed most strongly against the carrier and in favor of the purchaser.</p> <p>3. Where such ticket is for the passage over three lines of road and specifies upon its face that it is good for one first-class passage from the point of starting to a point on the third line, (being the point to which the passenger desires to be carried), and calls for an exchange at the office of the intermediate line, and, in making the exchange the ticket agent of such line, carelessly and negligently, and without the knowledge of the passenger, writes in the ticket issued by him the proper destination but writes in the coupon attached thereto as the point of destination the name of a station on the third line some miles nearer than the point called for by the ticket itself and by the initial ticket, the passenger, not being himself guilty of negligence, having done all that is incumbent on him to do under the circumstances, is entitled to be carr