Charleston & Western Carolina Railway Co. v. Thompson

Background

Lizzie Thompson was injured while a passenger on a train traveling from South Carolina to Georgia. The railroad said she rode on a free pass issued to her as the wife of an employee under the Hepburn Act of June 29, 1906, and that the pass disclaimed the carrier’s liability. At trial the railroad’s plea was struck out and a requested instruction that the pass barred recovery was refused, producing a motion for a new trial and an appeal.

Reasoning

The Court asked whether the statute’s phrase “free pass” should be taken to mean just that. Justice Holmes explained the statute draws a clear contrast between the railroad’s published fares and the special free passes it may give to employees and their families. The opinion noted §6 forbids charging different compensation, so the law treats these passes as gratuitous rather than paid for by employee service. Because the passes are truly free under the statute, their written terms — including clauses that limit recovery for negligent injury — are valid. The Supreme Court reversed the lower courts’ contrary rulings.

Real world impact

Railroads may enforce the terms of statutory free passes and rely on written conditions that limit recovery for injuries. People traveling under such passes, including employees’ family members, may be barred from suing for negligence where the pass so states. The Court said earlier Supreme Court decisions support this view, and it reversed the judgments in this case and a related appeal by agreement.