ECKINGTON AND SOLDIERS' HOME RAILWAY CO. v. McDEVITT

Citations

• 191 U.S. 103
• 24 S. Ct. 36
• 48 L. Ed. 112
• 1903 U.S. LEXIS 1467

Syllabus

<p>Plaintiff (below) contracted with defendant street railway company to convey to it a right of way through her land and to pay five hundred dollars in five years, it to construct extension over such right of way and operate same, running cars at certain designated hours. The right of way was , conveyed, the note given, the extension constructed and operated for several years, after which the railroad company ceased and refused to run its cars at the times designated, whereupon, her note being then overdue and unpaid, plaintiff demanded the removal of the tracks which was done. In an action to recover damages for breach of contract the trial court instructed the jury that the measure of damages was the excess, if any, in the market value of the land at the time the defendant entirely ceased to run its cars upon that part of the line which extended to and through the plaintiff’s land with the ears running in accordance with the terms of the contract of the parties in evidence, and the expectation of their continuing so to run in the future, over the market value of the said land at the same time without any cars running on said part of said line and without any expectation that they would ever run thereon.</p> <p>Held, That the instruction was not sufficiently guarded and was erroneous. That what might have been made by selling the land at a value enhanced by the operation of the extension in perpetuity was too dependent on uncertain contingencies to justify peremptorily instructing the jury that such anticipated gains were probable and contemplated consequences of the breach. . ■</p>