Mills v. Baltimore, Chesapeake & Atlantic Railway Co.

Pearce, J., delivered the opinion of the Court. This is a suit brought by Lafayette Mills, the appellant, against the appellee, the Baltimore, Chesapeake and Atlantic Railway Company, a corporation engaged in the business of a common carrier between Baltimore and Ocean City, Md., ²⁶¹ its route being by steamer from Baltimore to Claiborne, in fendant demurred to tbe declaration, and tbe demurrer being Talbot County, and tbence by rail to Ocean City. The deoverruled, be refused to plead over, and judgment was entered for tbe defendant on the demurrer. The declaration alleged that on August 17th, 1908, the defendant advertised and ran an excursion from Ocean City to Chesapeake Beach, in Calvert County, and to Washington City; that on that day the plaintiff bought at Salisbury, a station on defendant’s line, a ticket from Salisbury to Chesapeake Beach and return; that relying on the statements of the advertisement of said excursion, be bought from some person in uniform on the defendant’s steamer between Claiborne and Chesapeake Beach, whom he believed to be acting as agent for the defendant, a ticket entitling him to transportation from Chesapeake Beach to Washington and return, both said tickets being good for that day only; that on reaching Chesapeake Beach he entered one of the cars of the Chesapeake Beach Railway Company, a corporation engaged in business as a common carrier over its own line between Chesapeake Beach and Washington, D. C., and was carried to Washington on said last-mentioned ticket; that on the same day, and upon the return coupon of said last-mentioned ticket, be was carried from Washington to Chesapeake Beach by the cars of the Chesapeake Beach Railway Company, but by reason of the negligence, of that company he did not reach Chesapeake Beach until after 7 o’clock P. M., which was the hour advertised for the steamer to leave Chesapeake Beach on the return to Claiborne, and when be arrived the steamer bad then left the wharf, though still within sight and bearing, but that the officers of the steamer would not return for him and others who held tickets similar to plaintiff.

There can be no difficulty upon this state of facts in sustaining the ruling upon the demurrer. The declaration expressly states that the ticket purchased at Salisbury only entitled the plaintiff to transportation to Chseapeake Beach and return from that point to Salisbury ²⁶² on that day, and that after making that contract of carriage, and while en route from Claiborne to Chesapeake Beach, he entered into another contract of carriage with the Chesapeake Beach' Railway Company, through a person whom he believed to be an agent of the defendant, because he was in uniform, for transportation from Chesapeake Beach to Washington and return on that day, and that because of the negligence of the Chesapeake Beach Railway Company, he failed to connect with the steamer of the defendant, and suffered loss and damage thereby. The declaration does not show what the statements of the advertisement were upon which he relied in purchasing the last-mentioned ticket; what were its stipulations or form; what uniform the person wore from whom the ticket was purchased, or any fact which warranted him in believing that he was an agent for defendant. All this is left to the imagination.

The bare proposition is that he purchased a ticket from one corporation for transportation to one point and return, and that he purchased another ticket from another corporation for transportation from the first terminus to another point and return, and that by reason of the negligence of the latter corporation he has sustained an injury,