Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Railroad v. White

Citations

• 82 Miss. 120

Syllabus

<p>1. Railroads. Flag stations. Failure to stop. Ignoring signals. Exemplary damages.</p> <p>Where the engineer of a passenger train saw and understood, but disregarded a signal to stop at a flag station when it was his duty to have stopped, and no reasonable explanation of his failure to stop is made, a question of fact is presented for the jury to determine whether his acts were characterized by malice, willfulness, wantonness, etc., justifying the award of exemplary damages.</p> <p>2. Same. Instructions.</p> <p>In such case the plaintiff having asked and received an instruction to the effect that the jury might award exemplary damages if they believed the failure to stop was willful, reckless or capricious, it was error for the court to refuse an instruction asked for by defendant directing the jury not to award exemplary damages if the engineer did not act maliciously, deliberately, willfully or wantonly. ' *</p>