Ewing v. Chicago & Alton Railroad

Citations

• 72 Ill. 25

Syllabus

<p>1. Negligence in railroads—failure to fence—what is a village. A railroad company is not required to fence its track within the limits of a village, but when an animal is killed near a village by a train of cars of the company, the presumption is, that the houses compose the village, and-if the place where the animal is killed is beyond them, it is beyond the village, and if the town extends beyond the houses, the railroad company must prove it in order to relieve itself of the necessity of fencing its road at such point.</p> <p>2. Where a railroad company fails to fence its track, as required by law, it is sufficient, to fix its liability, if the plaintiff’s stock, in consequence thereof, and without any contributory negligence on his part, goes upon the track of the railroad, and is there killed or injured by the company’s locomotive or train.</p> <p>3. The fact that the owner of stock permits it to run at large, in violation of the act prohibiting domestic animals from running at large, does not relieve railroad companies from their duty to fence their roads, or their liability for stock injured in consequence of their failure to do so.</p> <p>4. Same—contributory negligence—permitting cattle to run at large contrary to law. In a suit against a railroad company for stock, killed or injured in consequence of the neglect of the company to fence its road, where it appears that such stock was permitted to run at large in violation of law, the question whether the owner of the stock has been guilty of contributory negligence in permitting them to run at large is one of fact, to be determined by the jury from the circumstances of the case.</p> <p>5. It is not sufficient, to charge a plaintiff with contributory negligence, in a suit against a railroad for injury to stock, to show simply that the owner permitted the stock to run at large in violation of law; but it must appear that he did so under such circumstances that the natural and probable consequence of so doin