Wabash Railway Co. v. Elliott

Background

A brakeman named Welker was fatally injured while the Wabash Railway was under possession and operation by the United States, acting through the Director General of Railroads. Welker’s widow, acting as administratrix, hired an attorney, Miles Elliott, under a Missouri law that gave the attorney a lien for his percentage after notice. Elliott sued the railroad to enforce that lien. Before the railroad appeared, a claim agent for the Director General settled with the widow, paid her from federal railroad administration funds, and filed a dismissal in the state court without Elliott’s consent or payment to him.

Reasoning

The Court examined whether the private railroad could be held responsible when the federal government had exclusive control. The evidence showed the United States, through the Director General, had exclusive possession and made the settlement; the company itself did not cause the injury and was not involved in the compromise. Relying on federal statutes and published orders cited in the record, the Court held that claims arising during federal operation are against the Director General, not the private company. Because the settlement and payment were acts of the federal operator, the state-law lien could not be enforced against the railroad company in those circumstances.

Real world impact

The decision means that when the Government takes exclusive control and runs a railroad, injured workers and their lawyers cannot force the private owner to pay for settlements made by the federal operator. Any claim or lien arising from such events belongs, if at all, against the federal operator or its funds. The Court did not decide whether the state lien could be asserted directly against the Director General, because no appeal was taken from his favorable judgment.