No man'. Two highwaymen robbed a man (whose identity is undisclosed) at gunpoint in an Cordas v. Peerless Transportation City Court of New York, New York County, 1941 Rule: Reasonable and prudent action is based on the set of circumstances under which the actions took place. Thus abandoning his car and passenger the chauffeur sped toward 26th Street and then turned to look; he saw the cab proceeding south toward 24th Street where it mounted the sidewalk. [. If under normal circumstances an act is done which might be considered negligent it does not follow as a corollary that a similar act is negligent if performed by a person acting under an emergency, not of his own making, in which he suddenly is faced with a patent danger with a moment left to adopt a means of extrication. | Cordas v. Peerless Trans -Robber steals cab and driver jumps out while driving injuring P, P sues cab company -In an emergency situation, a individual cannot be held liable for negligence Roberts v. LA -Blind concessions worker walking to bathroom not using his cane and bumps into P -Reasonable person with same disability standard Robinson v. (C) 2022 - Dennis Jansen. Other employees prepare the orders. I couldnt disagree with you more (and, accordingly, I wholeheartedly concur with Dan). In Steinbrenner v. M. W. Forney Co., . If the philosophic Horatio and the martial companions of his watch were distilled almost to jelly with the act of fear when they beheld in the dead vast and middle of the night the disembodied spirit of Hamlets father stalk majestically by with a countenance more in sorrow than in anger was not the chauffeur, though unacquainted with the example of these eminent men-at-arms, more amply justified in his fearsome reactions when he was more palpably confronted by a thing of flesh and blood bearing in its hand an engine of destruction which depended for its lethal purpose upon the quiver of a hair? Here is a rundown with quotes from the courts opinion. You are viewing the full version,show mobile version. The hold-up man sensing his insecurity suggested to the chauffeur that in the event there was the slightest lapse in obedience to his curt command that he, the chauffeur, would suffer the loss of his brains, a prospect as horrible to an humble chauffeur as it undoubtedly would be to one of the intelligentsia. Use this button to switch between dark and light mode. He jumped in the back of D's cab, put a gun to his head, and told him to drive. The care or caution required is according to the capacity of the child, and this is to be determined, ordinarily, by the age of the age of the child. Then state whether the argument is valid or invalid. Examples: To hold thus under the facts adduced herein would be tantamount to a repeal by implication of the primal law of nature written in indelible characters upon the fleshly tablets of sentient creation by the Almighty Law-giver, the supernal Judge who sits on high. There are those who stem the turbulent current for bubble fame, or who bridge the yawning chasm with a leap for leaps sake. A man was robbed at gunpoint but chased after his attackers, who split up after a few blocks, and he continued after the gunman. 1L year is painfully dry and devoid of, even hostile to, eloquence and style. The defendant is the driver's employer. . The plaintiff-mother and her two infant children were there injured by the cab which, at the time, appeared to be also minus its passenger who, it appears, was apprehended in the cellar of a local hospital where he was pointed out to a police officer by a remnant of the posse, hereinbefore mentioned. See also: Koistinen v. American Export Lines, Inc., 194 Misc. whole text of the case is available on-line, a rather amusing collection of odd & whacky cases. Peerless Transp. As a result of the drivers actions, Cordas (plaintiff) and her two infant children were injured by the taxi cab. him, if he were not faced with a situation needing immediate response. CARLIN, Justice. As a lowly chauffeur in defendant's employ he became in a trice the protagonist in a breach-bating drama with a denouement almost tragic. The language is so ridiculous that its awesomely bad.
. Sign In to view the Rule of Law and Holding. Luckily this opinion is the exception (rather than the rule) for my textbooks. Negligence is 'not absolute or intrinsic,' but 'is always relevant to some circumstances of time, place or person.' Somewhere on that thoroughfare of escape they indulged the stratagem of separation ostensibly to disconcert their pursuer and allay the ardor of his pursuit. I.e., where are the flaws? Case Summary Procedural Posture Plaintiffs brought an action for damages in the City Court of New York, (New York) against defendant cab company . and he, shuffling off the coil of that discretion which enmeshed him in the alley, quickly gave chase, 3. LEXIS 1709 (N.Y. City Ct. 1941). 17: Iss. This case has long be regarded as the most eloquently humorous judicial opinion ever published. If the finder of fact determines such an excuse exists, the appropriate standard of care then becomes that established by the common law. His allusions to classical literature and mythology? The armed mugger jumps into a waiting cab, Mugger senses drama, so he presses the gun against the cabby, Peerless PDA View Full Version : Cordas v. Peerless D. Scarlatti 08-21-2005, 01:24 PM CARLIN, Justice. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. responding to an emergency that wasn't their fault and they are in immediate Available at: Plaintiff's children and wife were struck by a taxi, whose driver abandoned it. . Louisiana Bar- Louisiana Civil Procedure Exam, Elliot Aronson, Robin M. Akert, Samuel R. Sommers, Timothy D. Wilson, Alexander Holmes, Barbara Illowsky, Susan Dean, Inflammatory and Infectious Disorders of the. In an emergency situation, the law does not hold a person to the same standards as if he had opportunity for deliberate action. Motions, upon which decision was reserved, to dismiss the complaint are granted with exceptions to plaintiffs. ], Use of this website constitutes acceptance of the Terms and Conditions and To those commentators above who feel that the opinion is awesomely bad, or possibly the worst opinion ever, I am curious as to your basis, or bases, for coming to that conclusion. Cordas v PeerlessTransportation Company is a legal case illustrating the application of excuse to tort law (the civil law that governs medical negligence) . Cordas v. Peerless Transp. In emergency situations you don't have time to get info (P). Cordas v. Peerless Transportation Co. I'm a 1L reading this torts case. Conclusion: A tax increase will slow down the economy. Brief Fact Summary. Being dealt 555 cards from a standard 525252 -card deck and getting four of a kind (for example, four aces). A good example is Cordas v. Peerless Transportation Company,12 in which an armed, escaping robber jumped on the running board of the defendant's cab, the defendant lept from his moving cab, and the cab careened 17 Vol. Holding Issue 1. plaintiff: Skip to document Ask an Expert Sign inRegister Sign inRegister Home Ask an ExpertNew He is not compelled to use his infallible judgment, which would be expected of https://nsuworks.nova.edu/nlr/vol17/iss2/30, Home Memos & Mirth is a Texas-based photography blog by Dennis Jansen. Cordas v. Peerless Transportation Co. (Reasonable and prudent person) D had a chauffeur who was approached by 2 men in an alley they flashed a gun and then went on a highspeed chase. Rationale My Account Kolanka v. Erie Railroad Co., . circumstances where he has an opportunity for deliberate action. Co., 27 N.Y.S.2d 198, 199, 201 (City Court of N.Y. 1941). If the philosophic Horatio and the martial companions of his watch were 'distilled almost to jelly with the act of fear' when they beheld 'in the dead vast and middle of the night' the disembodied spirit of Hamlet's father stalk majestically by 'with a countenance more in sorrow than in anger' was not the chauffeur, though unacquainted with the example of these eminent men-at-arms, more amply justified in his fearsome reactions when he was more palpably confronted by a thing of flesh and blood bearing in its hand an engine of destruction which depended for its lethal purpose upon the quiver of a hair? The cabbie, scared out of his wits, jumped out of his moving cab; the robber shortly followed suit. Cordas v. Peerless Transportation Company appears as a principal case in at least two casebooks on the of Torts, and as a note case in at least three others. I think I just read the worst written opinion ever. The plaintiff and her infant children were injured by the cab. The defendant was a chauffeur and the victim of an armed car-jacking by a fleeing robber who threatened to blow the chauffeurs brains out. The circumstances dictate what is or is not prudent action. . Taxi driver hit the brakes and jumped out The taxi continued to roll onto the sidewalk, hitting the plaintiff andher two children. man with the pistol. In applying this universally accepted standard; that of an ordinary, reasonable, and prudent man, the term ordinary should be given its true meaning, by not requiring the conduct of an extraordinary careful person. The guy who got mugged (the muggee?) Cabby says, F-this! and jumps out of the cab. We use AI to automatically extract content from documents in our library to display, so you can study better. [. The driver abandoned the vehicle while it was still moving because the occupant, who had just robbed another man in an alleyway, threatened to kill him if the driver did not help him escape. To What Standard of Conduct Is a Child Held? of pressing danger was done or neglected involuntarily. It appears that a man, whose identity it would be indelicate to divulge was feloniously relieved of his portable goods by two nondescript highwaymen in an alley near 26th Street and Third Avenue, Manhattan; they induced him to relinquish his possessions by a strong argument ad hominem couched in the convincing cant of the criminal and pressed at the point of a most pursuasive pistol. The court found such actions reasonable under the circumstances. The plaintiffs sustained comparatively slight injuries. Breunig v. American Family Ins. The chauffeur -- the ordinary man in this case -- acted in a split second in a most harrowing experience. Co. - 27 N.Y.S.2d 198 (City Ct. 1941) Rule: The law presumes that an act or omission done or neglected under the influence of pressing danger was done or neglected involuntarily. And when such language does occur, it occurs almost invariably at the expense of legal analysis. CORDAS v. PEERLESS (CAB GETAWAY) Cab driver jumped out of the car to save himself and car hits people. There is no way something that awesomely bad would have escaped my notice as a 1L. When Macbeth was cross-examined by Macduff as to any reason he could advance for his sudden despatch of Duncan's grooms he said in plausible answer 'Who can be wise, amazed, temperate and furious, loyal and neutral, in a moment? Peerless Transportation Co. Facts (what happen) Criminal entered taxi after robbing anther individual. : an American History, 1.1 Functions and Continuity full solutions. If a person is placed in a sudden peril from which death might ensue, the law does not impel another to the rescue of the person endangered nor does it condemn him for his unmoral failure to rescue when he can; this is in recognition of the immutable law written in frail flesh. What case was this? The Standard of Care for Professionals HELLING v. 1L of a Ride: A Well-Traveled Professor's Roadmap to Success in the First Year of Law School, The 'Companion Text' to Law School: Understanding and Surviving Life with a Law Student, Practical Global Tort Litigation: United States, Germany and Argentina, The Law School Trip: The Insider's Guide to Law School, Amicus Humoriae: An Anthology of Legal Humor, Preying on the Graying: A Statutory Presumption to Prosecute Elder Financial Exploitation, Fight Club: Doctors vs. Lawyers - A Peace Plan Grounded in Self Interest, Neurotic, Paranoid Wimps - Nothing has Changed, Kiss and Tell: Protecting Intimate Relationship Privacy Through Implied Contracts of Confidentiality, Dead Sorrow: A Story About Loss and A New Theory of Wrongful Death Damages, A Thousand Words are Worth a Picture: A Privacy Tort Response to Consumer Data Profiling, The Public Health Case for the Safe Storage of Firearms: Adolescent Suicides Add One More 'Smoking Gun', Armed and Dangerous: Tort Liability for the Negligent Storage of Firearms, Good Cop, Bad Cop: Using Cognitive Dissonance Theory to Reduce Police Lying, Poetry in Commotion: Katko v. Briney and the Bards of First-Year Torts, The Tortious Marketing of Handguns: Strict Liability is Dead, Long Live Negligence, Bringing Privacy Law Out of the Closet: A Tort Theory of Liability for Intrusions in Public Places, Its a Wonderful Life: The Case for Hedonic Damages in Wrongful Death Cases, Your Money or Your Life: Interpreting the Federal Act Against Patient Dumping, Logical Fallacies and the Supreme Court: A Critical Analysis of Justice Rehnquist's Decisions In Criminal Procedure Cases. Justice Carlin wrote denouement, not denouncement. The two terms have completely different meanings. 942, U.S. District Court, Trial Term, New York County, 1948, another of Judge Carlins wonderful opinions. Kolanka v. Erie Railroad Co. says: The law in this state does not hold one in an View (1993) The Cordas case stands for the proposition that the "reasonable man" standard does not apply in emergency situations (e.g., a guy with a gun). driverless car and its passenger mounted the sidewalk on 24th street. It is not considered negligent when a person acts in a way that would be The chauffeur apprehensive of certain dissolution from either Scylla, the pursuers, or Charybdis, the pursued, quickly threw his car out of first speed in which he was proceeding, pulled on the emergency, jammed on his brakes and, although he thinks the motor was still running, swung open the door to his left and jumped out of his car. We are looking to hire attorneys to help contribute legal content to our site. No, the chauffeur was not negligent in abandoning the cab in aforesaid The cab runs onto the sidewalk and hits a mother and her two infant children, who sue the cabby for negligence. He did not appear at the trial. Professor Melissa A. Hale CaseCast - "What you need to know" play_circle_filled Cordas v. Peerless Transportation Co. 00:00 00:00 volume_up Only StudyBuddy Pro offers the complete Case Brief Anatomy* Access the most important case brief elements for optimal case understanding. Reasonable and prudent action is based on the set of circumstances under which the actions took place. Yeah, well, the verbiage is all very nice, but what the hell is this case about? Can you tell I got behind in my blawg reading? > A taxi driver working for the Defendant, Peerless Transportation Co. (Defendant), jumped from his taxi while it was running to escape an armed highwayman who was being pursued by his victim. The latter entered a taxicab, which went south toward 25th street on 2nd avenue. Richmond, Michael L. (1993) "The Annotated Cordas," Nova Law Review: Vol. Cordas v. Peerless Transportation Co. NYC City Court - 1941 Facts: Some hoodlum robbed someone and ran away. ., we ought rather to adhere to the rule which requires in all cases a regard to caution such as a man of ordinary prudence would observe. - Legal Principles in this Case for Law Students. A unanimous Strange Judicial Opinions Hall of Fame opinion is Cordas v. Peerless Transportation Co., penned in 1941 by Judge Carlin (no relation to George) of the New York City Court. For example, where you quote the Justice as writing: As a lonely chauffeur in defendants employ he became in a trice the protagonist in a breath-bating drama with a denouncement most tragic, you have two errors. In Cordas v. Peerless Transportation Co. (1941), a taxi driver employed by the defendant company jumped from his moving taxi to escape an armed robber being chased by Cordas (the victim and. Cordas v Peerless Transportation Co | Sudden emergency ex ante 1.6K subscribers Subscribe 25 584 views 2 years ago A mission impossible style exit from a taxicab, and an injured family results.. Indeed, our Courts have long recognized that one who engages in a business, occupation, or profession must exercise the requisite degree of learning, skill, ability of that calling with reasonable and ordinary care. Don't Miss Important Points of Law with BARBRI Outlines (Login Required). Full Document. Laden with their loot, but not thereby impeded, they took an abrupt departure and he, shuffling off the coil of that discretion which enmeshed him in the alley, quickly gave chase through 26th Street toward 2d Avenue, whether they were resorting 'with expedition swift as thought' for most obvious reasons. . Co., 27 N.Y.S.2d 198, Cordas v. Peerless Transp. The passenger of the car had also exited the car. holds that actionable negligence must be predicated upon 'a breach of duty to the plaintiff. dufry group uk head office address. alley near 26th Street and Third Avenue, Manhattan. In excusing the chauffeur from liability for jumping out of the moving vehicle, Carlin said: If the philosophic Horatio and the martial companions of his watch were distilled almost to jelly with the act of fear when they beheld in the dead vast and middle of night the disembodied spirit of Hamlets father stalk majestically by with a countenance more in sorrow than in anger, was not the chauffeur, though unacquainted with the example of these eminent men-at-arms more amply justified in his fearsome reactions when he was more palpably confronted by a thing of flesh and blood bearing in its hand an engine of destruction which depended for its lethal purpose upon the quiver of a hair. 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