Goff against The Great northern Railway Company
| Jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Judgment Date | 13 February 1861 |
| Date | 13 February 1861 |
| Court | Court of the Queen's Bench |
English Reports Citation: 121 E.R. 594
IN THE QUEEN'S BENCH.
S. C. 30 L. J. Q. B. 148; 3 L. T. 850; 7 Jur. 286. See Barwick v. English Joint Stock Bank, 1867, L. R. 2 Ex. 266. Distinguished, Poulton v. London and South Western Railway, 1867, L. R. 2 Q. B. 535. Referred to, Van den Eynde v. Ulster Railway, 1871, Ir. E. 5 C. L. 337. Approved, Moore v. Metropolitan Railway, 1872, L. R. 8 Q. B. 38. Applied, Kirkstall Brewery Company v. Furness Railway, 1874, L. R. 9 Q. B. 471. Distinguished, Bank of New South Wales v. Owston, 1879, 4 App. Cas. 285. Observations applied, Edwards v. Midland, Railway, 1880, 6 Q. B. D. 290. Distinguished, Farry v. Great Northern Railway of Ireland, [1898] 2 Ir. R. 354; Knight v. North Metropolitan Tramway Company, 1898, 78 L. T. 228. Applied, Lambert v. Great Eastern Railway, [1909] 2 K. B. 782.
[672] goff against the great northern railway company. Saturday, February 9th, Wednesday, FebruaiarlStb, 1861. A railway Company, though it be a corporation, is liable in an aonuu for false imprisonment, if that imprisonment be committed by its authority. Such authority need not be under seal ; but it lies upon the plaintiff to give evidence justifying the jury in finding that the persons actually imprisoning him, or some of them, had authority from the Company to do so. - -The Railways Clauses Act, 1845, 8 Viet. c. 20, by sects. 103, 104, imposes a penalty on any person^ravelling on a railway without having paid hia fare, with intent to avoid payment thereof; and empowers all officers and servants on behalf of the Company to apprehend such person until he can conveniently be taken before a justice.- Held that, inasmuch as the exigency of deciding whether or not a particular passenger shall be arrested by a railway Company's servants under this statute must be naturally expected to arise "Ö~1 frequently in the ordinary course of the Company's business, and is of such a nature that the decision must be made promptly on the Company's behalf, it is a reasonable inference that the Company have on the spot, at their stations, S EL. & EL. 6T3. GOFF t'. THE GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY CO. 595 officers with authority to make the decision promptly for them.-In an action againat a railway Company for the false imprisonment of plaintiff on an unfounded charge under the statute, the evidence for plaintiff shewed that he, having travelled on defendants' line with a return ticket from L. to W. and back, at the end of the return journey gave up to defendants' ticket collector at the L. station the return half of another ticket which had then expired, and which he had put in his pocket by mistake for the right one. The ticket collector thereupon took him ta th& ticket office, where he explained the mistake. Thence the collector took him to defendants' paid inspector of police at the station, and the collector arid inspector thence took him to the office, also at the station, of the superintendent of the line, who, refusing to accept plaintiff's explanation, said to the inspector, "I think you had better take him, but first you had better obtain the concurrence of the secretary." The inspector thereupon left, but returned shortly afterwards (whether or not having obtained the secretary's concurrence did not appear), when he directed a police constable, also in defendants' pay, to take plaintiff before a magistrate on the charge. The constable did so, and the magistrate, plaintiff's story proving true, dismissed the complaint. Held, that the conduct of all defendants' other officers, in referring to the superintendent of the line as the superior authority, was sufficient evidence to go to the jury that he was an officer having authority to act for defendants in arresting plaintiff. [S. C. 30 L. J. Q. B. 148 ; 3 L. T. 850 ; 7 Jur. 286. See Barwick v. English Joint Slock Bank, 1867, L. R. 2 Ex. 266. Distinguished, Poulton v. London and Smith Western Railway, 1867, L. R. 2 Q. B. 535. Referred to, Van dun Eynde v. Ulster Bailway, 1871, Ir. R. 5 C. L. 337. Approved, Mowe v. Metropolitan Bailway, 1872, L. R. 8 Q. B. 38. Applied, Kirkstall 'Brewery Company v. Furness Railway, 1874, L. R. 9 Q. B. 471. Distinguished, Bank of New South Wales v. Owston, 1879, 4 App. Caa. 285. Observations applied, .Edwards v. Midlandt Railway, 1880, 6 Q. B. D. 290. Distinguished, Farry v. Great Northern Eailway of Ireland, [1898] 2 Ir. R. 354; Knight v. North Metropolitan Tramway Company, 1898, 78 L. T. 228. Applied, Lambert v. Great Eastern Railway, [1909] 2 K. B. 782.] Declaration : For that defendants assaulted plaintiff and took him into custody and to a police station, and imprisoned and detained him there without reasonable and probable cause; and took him before a magistrate upon a false and unfounded charge of having committed an offence punishable by law, whick charge the said magistrate, on hearing, dismissed. Plea. Not guilty. Issue thereon. [673] The action was brought by the plaintiff, a builder and carpenter working on his own account, against the defendants for taking him into custody and before a magistrate oh a charge of attempting to defraud them. The cause was tried before Blackburn J., at the Surrey Summer Assizes, 1860, when a verdict was found for' the plaintiff, with 501. damages ; leave being reserved to the defendants to move to enter a...
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