Western Union Telegraph Co. v. Dozier

Citations

• 67 Miss. 288

Syllabus

<p>1. Telegraph Companies. Voluntary message. Case in judgment.</p> <p>Where persons requiring surgical aid have telegraphed ineffectually for physicians, and the operator gratuitously inquires in their behalf of the company’s operator in'another town if a certain physician is there, and is answered that he is not, whereupon no message is sent to such physician, the latter cannot recover damages of the company, althou’gh he was in fact in the town and would have responded to the call if notified.</p> <p>2. Same. Verbal messages. Course of business.</p> <p>It is common knowledge that messages are required to be written. In the absence of proof of a course of business by a telegraph company to re-receive for transmission messages orally delivered to operators, the failure to send such a message is not ground for recovery against the company, either by statute or common law. So held in this ease, where plaintiff's evidence tended to show that a message was orally dictated to the operator, who was told that it would be paid for, and the operator turned to his instrument as if to send it.</p>