Gleeson v. Virginia Midland Railroad

Citations

• 140 U.S. 435
• 11 S. Ct. 859
• 35 L. Ed. 458
• 1891 U.S. LEXIS 2477

Syllabus

<p>A land slide in a railway cut, caused by an ordinary fall of rain, is not an “act of God” which will exempt the railway company from liability to passengers for injuries caused thereby while being carried on the railway.</p> <p>It.is the duty of a railway company to so construct the banks of its cuts that they will not slide by reason of the action of ordinary natural causes, and by inspection and care to see that they are kept in such condition; and the failure to do so is negligence, which entails liability for injuries to passengers caused by their giving way.</p> <p>An accident to a passenger on a railway caused by the train coming in contact with a land slide, raises, when shown, a presumption of negligence on the part of the railway company, afid throws upon it the burden of showing that the slide was in fact the result of causes beyond its control.</p>