Dunn v. Dominion Atlantic Railway Co.

Dunn v. Dominion Atlantic Railway Co.

Where a passenger is in such an advanced state of intoxication that he is unable to take care of himself, a railway conductor may not lawfully eject him at a closed, unlit station at night without taking precautions; ejecting under those circumstances is negligent and, if the harm (death) was a reasonably foreseeable consequence, that negligence is a proximate cause making the company liable.

Citation
(1920) 60 SCR 310
Parties
Plaintiff Appellant: Reginald V. Dunn, Administrator of the Estate of Stanley L. Dunn; Defendant Respondent: The Dominion Atlantic Railway Company
Court
Supreme Court of Canada
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
6 April 1920
Procedural Posture
Tort Wrongful Death/personal Injury (railway) / Appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada From the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia
Outcome
Appeal allowed; judgment for appellant (reversing trial judge)
Legal Topics
Ejectment of Passenger, Duty of Care, Drunken Passenger, Proximate Cause, Conductor Powers, Foreseeability
Source Language
English
Transportation Torts Negligence Railway Law Ejectment of Passenger Duty of Care Drunken Passenger Proximate Cause +2 more

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Parties

Reginald V. Dunn, Administrator of the Estate of Stanley L. Dunn

Plaintiff Appellant

The Dominion Atlantic Railway Company

Defendant Respondent

Procedural Posture

Tort Wrongful Death/personal Injury (railway) / Appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada From the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Was the conductor justified in ejecting a drunken, disorderly passenger?
  2. 2 Was Hantsport station at 1 a.m. a fit and proper place to leave a drunken passenger?
  3. 3 Was the passenger in a state unable to take care of himself when ejected?

Ratio Decidendi

Where a passenger is in such an advanced state of intoxication that he is unable to take care of himself, a railway conductor may not lawfully eject him at a closed, unlit station at night without taking precautions; ejecting under those circumstances is negligent and, if the harm (death) was a reasonably foreseeable consequence, that negligence is a proximate cause making the company liable.

Court Disposition

Appeal allowed; judgment for appellant (reversing trial judge)

Orders

  • Judgment entered for plaintiff according to the jury verdict for $2,000 with costs throughout
  • Judgment of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia reversed