Brief Fact Summary. Petitioner, the administrator of the estate of L.E. Haney (Haney), brought suit under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (Act) against the trustees of the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway Company and the Illinois Central Railroad Company (Respondents). Under the act, recovery is permitted for personal injuries to an employee of a railroad engaged in interstate commerce.
Synopsis of Rule of Law. An appellate court’s function in reviewing a jury verdict is exhausted when an evidentiary basis for that jury’s decision becomes apparent, it being immaterial that the court might draw a contrary inference or feel that another conclusion is more reasonable.
It is not the function of an appellate court to weigh conflicting evidence, judge the credibility of witnesses and arrive at a conclusion opposite from the one reached by the jury, where there is a reasonable basis in the record for the jury's verdict.
View Full Point of LawIssue. Was there a sufficient evidentiary basis from which the jury could have sustained a verdict in favor of the Petitioner?
Held. There was sufficient evidence of negligence on both the part of the St. Louis-San Francisco trustee and the Illinois Central trustee to justify the submission of the case to the jury and to require appellate courts to abide by the verdict rendered by the jury. There was evidence presented in which a jury could infer that the end of the mail hook struck Haney in the back of the head. This inference was not unreasonable because Haney fell forward toward the main track so that his head was five and one-half feet north of the rail. The inferences made were not so unreasonable, so as to remove the case from the jury.
Discussion. In this case there was evidence tending to show both that it was impossible for the hook to strike Haney and that it might reasonably be inferred that Haney was murdered. Because there was a reasonable basis in the record for the jury’s conclusion that the hook struck Haney, it would be an undue invasion of the jury’s function for an appellate court to weigh the conflicting evidence and arrive at a conclusion opposite the one reached by the jury.