Missouri Pacific Railroad v. Bartlett

Citations

• 69 Tex. 79
• 6 S.W. 549
• 1887 Tex. LEXIS 779

Syllabus

<p>1. Negligence — Damages—Railway Company. — When no issue is made involving the contributory negligence of the plaintiff who sues a railway company for damages caused by fire emitted from its passing engine, the burden of proof is on the company to show that there was in fact no negligence on its part in causing the damage. If such an issue is made the burden of proof is first upon the plaintiff to show that he was not guilty of negligence.</p> <p>B. Same. — If the owner of cotton or other inflammable material designed for shipment on a railroad, deposit it for shipment on a railway platform so near to where the locomotive engines pass as to cause danger of its being ignited by sparks emitted from the locomotive, the railway company in a suit for damages caused by its destruction from fire, would not be required to show that it had used all reasonable and necessary precaution to guard against fire, in order to relieve itself irorn liability. This rale applied in a case where the company agent had informed the plaintiff a few days before the fire that, the company had no cars to transport freight, and when it was shown that the company agent would not receive cotton for shipment unless it was on the platform.</p>