Mississippi Central Railroad v. Caruth

Citations

• 51 Miss. 77

Syllabus

<p>1. Liability of a railroad for obstructing water course, and overflowing lands.</p> <p>Where a railroad company, by filling up a trestle under their road, and by malting ditches, cattle guards and culverts too small to carry off the water, overflows adjoining lands, and the owner of such lands sustains damages by reason thereof, the railroad company is liable to the owner of the lands for the amount of the damages actually sustained.</p> <p>2. S^me : Verdict for excessive damages. Buie on the subject.</p> <p>In actions sounding in damages, where the law furnishes no rule of measurement, save the discretion of the jury upon the evidence before them, courts will not disturb a verdict upon the ground of excessive damages, unless it be so flagrantly improper as to evince passion, prejudice, partiality or corruption. Upon a mere matter of damages, where different minds might, and probably would, arrive at different results, and nothing inconsistent with an honest exercise of j udgment appears, the verdict should be left as the jury found it.</p>