St. Louis & S. F. R. v. Dewees

Citations

• 153 F. 56
• 82 C.C.A. 190
• 1907 U.S. App. LEXIS 4377

Syllabus

<p>1 Trial — Question fob Court oe Jury — Negligence—Direction of Verdict.</p> <p>It is undoubtedly true that cases are not lightly to be withdrawn from the jury, and that ordinarily negligence is so far a question of fact that it Should be submitted to and determined by them; but it is equally true .that when the. evidence and the inferences to be reasonably drawn from it arc undisputed, or are of such conclusive character that the exercise of a sound judicial discretion would permit the court to give effect to but one verdict, the case may and should be withdrawn from the jury and a verdict directed for the plaintiff or the defendant, as the one or the other may be proper.</p> <p>[Ed. Note. — For cases in point, see Cent. Dig. vol. 46, Trial, •§§ 377, 379.]</p> <p>2. Master and Servant — Rules—Obedience by Servant.</p> <p>Where the duties of a servant in given circumstances are particularly specified in the unambiguous and reasonable rules of the master, of which the servant has knowledge and' to which he has assented by entering and continuing in the service, his nonobservanee or disobedience of them at a time when they are capable of observance is negligence as matter of law, and is not to be judged by the undefined and varying requirements of ordinary care.</p> <p>[Ed. Note. — For cases in point, see Cent. Dig. vol. 34, Master and Servant, § 759-775.]</p> <p>8, Same — Rules—Reasonableness—'Violation—Negligence.</p> <p>Rules of a railroad company requiring the engineer to keep a careful lookout for signals, to stop the train when a signal is not understood, or is imperfectly displayed or absent from its usual place, and expressly requiring that he “must know,” when approaching a switch, that it is in proper position, are reasonable and valid. And where the engineer, in approaching a known switch, at which designated and known signals were customarily displayed to indicate whether the switch was closed or open, either took proper observations, learned that the sw