Denton v. Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway Co.

Citations

• 90 Kan. 51
• 133 P. 558
• 1913 Kan. LEXIS 159

Syllabus

<p>SYLLABUS BY THE COURT.</p> <p>1. Negligence by Violation of Statute — Injury Must be of a Kind Contemplated by Act. In order for the violation of a criminal statute to constitute actionable negligence the injury complained of must be of the sort the legislation was intended to prevent.</p> <p>2. - Same. The statute making it a misdemeanor for a railway company to allow cars to stand upon a street for more than ten minutes at a time, in such a way as to reduce the opening in the traveled part thereof to less than thirty feet, is intended to prevent obstructions to travel, and acts in violation thereof do not necessarily constitute negligence for the purposes of an action in which the plaintiff relies upon'the fact that the position of the ears, by obscuring his view of the track, prevented his seeing an approaching engine in time to avoid a collision.</p> <p>3. - City Ordinance — When it Takes Effect. An ordinance requiring a railway company to provide a flagman at a street crossing, which purports to take effect upon publication, is in force from that time, irrespective of whether the company had actual notice, or in the exercise of reasonable diligence ought, to have learned of it.</p> <p>4. Contributory Negligence of Husband — Not Imputable to> Wife. Inhere a woman is injured through the negligence of a railway company, she is not precluded from recovery by the fact that a contributing cause of her injury was the failure of her husband to exercise due care in the management of the automobile in which they were riding.</p> <p>5.. Special Findings — Fact Determined — Final on New Trial. A special finding that the defendant is not guilty of one of several acts of negligence charged against him, which is not affected by any erroneous ruling, may be treated as a final determination of that question, notwithstanding a new trial is .granted upon other issues.</p>