The Law of Electricity: A Treatise on the Rules of the Law Relating to Telegraphs, Telephones, Electric Lights, Electric Railways, and Other Electric Appliances

Front Cover
Central Law Journal Company, 1891 - Electric engineering - 525 pages
 

Contents

graph and telephone companies
95
Right of contribution by municipal corporation against
107
Contributory negligence of the traveler
109
Injuries from overhanging wires
115
electric light company
117
Obstructing navigation
118
Electric trains frightening norses
119
Certain evidential matters
120
SECTION PAGE 9 Injuries to the companys servants
122
gerous
123
Injuries through the contributory negligence of the servant
124
Injuries to workmen by reason of live wires sagging upon dead wires
125
Averring one kind of negligence and recovering on another
127
CHAPTER V
129
SECTION PAGE 100 Description of a telephone
130
The telephone patents
131
Mistakenly pronounced a common carrier
133
A public agency and subject to public regulation
134
Compelled by mandamus to serve the public equally
136
Contract with parent company no defense
137
Compelled to furnish equal facilities to telegraph com panies
138
A contrary view
139
What if company have lines extending into other States
140
State regulation of interstate messages void
141
State may regulate price of service
142
Power of State to regulate charges
143
Decisions under Indiana statute
144
Attempted evasions of statutory penalty
145
Regulation as to improper language
146
Admissibility of conversations received through a public tel ephone operator
147
Admissibility of answers of persons called up where voice not recognized
148
Reasons for holding such testimony admissible
149
Taxation of telephone companies
154
Taxation of stock of parent corporation in local corporation
156
License tax
157
CHAPTER VI
160
Not liable as common carriers
161
Reasons for distinguishing their liability from that of com mon carriers
163
Remote analogy to the undertaking of a common carrier
165
View that they are liable for a high degree of diligence skill and care
166
Whether the requisite degree of care was employed is a question for a jury
168
And under reasonable regulations
169
Illustration of the foregoing
171
Not liable for cashing fictitious money order
173
Liable for transmitting libelous messages
174
Not liable for mistake of their agent in correcting erroneous message
176
Not bound to transmit oral messages
177
CHAPTER VII
179
which they are received
180
Indiana statute giving penalty for bad faith partiality or discrimination
182
Missouri statute giving a penalty
183
Not liquidated damages but a penalty
186
Arkansas statute giving penalty
188
How far statutes apply to interstate messages
189
Validity of statute imposing a penalty where dispatch is sent to another State
190
No action for penalty for nondelivery of message delivered to be sent on Sunday
192
Exception where the dispatch relates to a work of necessity
193
Burden of proof as to necessity
194
The necessity may be a moral or social necessity
195
The necessity may be created by negligence
196
Retention of the money not a ratification by the telegraph company
197
When notice to the company necessary
198
Justices of the peace
199
CHAPTER VIII
200
Such regulations must be reasonable
203
View that they can stipulate against liability except for gross negligence willful misconduct or fraud
204
Evidence of gross negligence within this rule
206
Cannot stipulate against liability for simple negligence
207
Reason of this rule
209
May stipulate against liability for mistakes due to climatic influences
210
Valid except in cases of gross negligence or fraud
217
View that sender is bound by rules of whose existence
226
Illustrations continued
227
Cases of exoneration under this rule
246
Receiver of message under no obligation to have it
253
STIPULATIONS AND LIMITATIONS AS TO TIME
260
CHAPTER IX
270
Company receiving message from connecting line cannot
275
CHAPTER XI
303
of the parties
304
That rule as explained in a leading case in New York 306
306
English case in illustration of the rule
309
Conclusions flowing from these rules
310
PROXIMATE AND REMOTE DAMAGES SECTION PAGE 318 Only direct or proximate damages recoverable
312
Intervening fraud of a third person
314
Nondelivery of message asking for information
316
Error in message notifying date of trial of a cause
318
Nondelivery of a message requesting postponement of a judicial trial
319
Other instances of damages too remote
320
Loss of fee by a professional man
321
Losing a chance of obtaining employment
322
Nebraska statute
324
Loss OF PROFITS SECTION PAGE 335 Mistake in transmitting message ordering sales or making or directing purchases
329
Mistakes in dispatches ordering goods
330
Ordering broker to buy or sell
331
Mistake resulting in goods being sent to the wrong place
333
Damages arising from mistake in quoting prices
335
Cases in illustration
336
Dispatch quoting prices sent by a volunteer
338
Loss of weight of cattle
339
View that rule is inapplicable where object is speculation
340
Loss of contingent profits not
341
Application of this principle
342
Illustrations of it
343
Further illustrations
346
Further illustrations
347
A modified holding
348
Option deals
350
CIPHER AND UNINTELLIGIBLE DISPATCHES SECTION PAGE 357 Application of the rule in Hadley v Baxendale to unintel ligible dispatches
351
ages only
353
Rule applicable to unintelligible dispatches though not in cipher
354
An English case illustrating the rule
355
American cases illustrating it
356
Extrinsic information of the importance of the message
357
Sufficient that the company is put upon inquiry
359
General information sufficient
361
Further illustration
363
Damages given for injury to the feelings alone
369
Illustrations
375
Further on this subject
387
CHAPTER XII
393
Plaintiff not bound to invest further money
399
Under Indiana statute giving special damages 419
402
Under Missouri statute giving special damages
420
Husband suing for wifeTexas code
421
CHAPTER XIV
422
What the plaintiff must aver and prove
423
Examples of good declarations or complaints
424
Another example
425
Example of a petition bad because damages too remote
426
Uniting claim for statutory penalty with claim for damages
427
EVIDENCE SECTION PAGE 458 Declarations of the companys agents
428
Evidence on the question of damages
429
Other points of evidence
430
Evidence of claim of indemnity duly made of company
431
Parol evidence of contents of such claim
432
Secondary evidence of the contents of the telegram
433
OTHER MATTERS SECTION PAGE 469 Service of process on such companies
435
Immaterial special findings
436
CHAPTER XV
437
CHAPTER XVI
450
Has evidentiary effect of a letter
466
Real property
468
Injunction against the use of telegraph ciphers
469
Municipal taxation of telegraph companies outside of city limits
470
What municipal and State taxation interferes with inter state commerce
471
Leasing line and breach of contract for continuous business
472
Loss of opportunity to save debt by attachment 325
477
Operator fraudulently withholding message announcing failure of bank 327
483
Damages for failure of husband to attend his wife in case
485
Question as depending upon priority of occupancy
492
60
498
Further of the Massachusetts doctrine
518
Poles blown down by storms
519
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Page 101 - We think that the true rule of law is that the person who, for his own purposes, brings on his land and collects and keeps there anything likely to do mischief if it escapes, must keep it in at his peril ; and if he does not do so, is prima facie answerable for all the damage which is the natural consequence of its escape.
Page 305 - But, on the other hand, if these special circumstances were wholly unknown to the party breaking the contract, he at the most could only be supposed to have had in his contemplation the amount of injury which would arise generally, and in the great multitude of cases not affected by any special circumstances...
Page 59 - That any telegraph company now organized, or which may hereafter be organized under the laws of any State in this Union, shall have the right to construct, maintain, and operate lines of telegraph through and over any portion of the public domain of the United States...
Page 305 - Where two parties have made a contract, which one of them has broken, the damages which the other party ought to receive, in respect of such breach of contract, should be such as may fairly and reasonably be considered either arising naturally, ie according to the usual course of things, from such breach of contract itself, or such as may reasonably be supposed to have been in the contemplation of both parties at the time they made the contract, as the probable result...
Page 278 - There must be reasonable evidence of negligence; but where the thing is shown to be under the management of the defendant or his servants, and the accident is such as in the ordinary course of things does not happen if those who have the management use proper care, it affords reasonable evidence, in the absence of explanation by the defendant, that the accident arose from want of care.
Page 236 - ... nor for mistakes or delays in the transmission or delivery, or for non-delivery, of any repeated message beyond fifty times the sum received for sending the same, unless specially insured; nor in any case for delays arising from unavoidable interruption in the working of its lines, or for errors in cipher or obscure messages...
Page 305 - ... contract, which they would reasonably contemplate, would be the amount of injury which would ordinarily follow from a breach of contract under these special circumstances so known and communicated.
Page 306 - ... may fairly be supposed to have entered into the contemplation of the parties when they made the contract, that is, must be such as might naturally be expected to follow its violation; and they must be certain both in their nature and in respect to the cause from which...
Page 5 - An act to aid in the construction of telegraph lines, and to secure to the Government the use of the same for postal, military, and other purposes...
Page 79 - The mayor and aldermen of any city, or the selectmen of any town, may...

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