State ex rel. Burr v. Tavarse & Gulf Railroad

Citations

• 78 Fla. 329

Syllabus

<p>1. It is the absolute duty of a comm’on carrier railroad company to provide and maintain adequate and safe roadbed and tqack for the safe and efficient transportation of persons and property over its lines, and this duty cannot be avoided if it is possible to be performed.</p> <p>2. A certificate showing a performance of the acts commanded to be done is the proper response to a peremptory writ of mandamus.</p> <p>3. All defenses in mandamus proceedings should be presented to the alternative writ and are to be determined before the peremptory writ is ¡awarded.</p> <p>4. If a peremptory writ of mandamus cannot be enforced, it will not be issued.</p> <p>5. A peremptory writ of mandamus will not be issued to require a railroad company to repair its roadbed and track “and in doing so to have due regard for” an order of the railroad commissioners giving details for reconstructing the entire line of the company’s roadbed and track, especially where the financial inability of the company to comply with the 'order is admitted.</p>