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What鈥檚 Inside The Box? (The Case Of) - YouTube
Channel: LegalEagle
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made by and for creators like me a
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platform guard rushes to give him a
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helpful push from behind that push
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ensures that he makes it onto the train
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but it also knocks the box out of his
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arms so what's in the box what's in the
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box Harry when are you responsible for
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an accident imagine you're driving along
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and you stop at a red light a car then
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rear-ends you and sends you flying into
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the car in front of you who's
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responsible if you hadn't been there
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there wouldn't have been an accident but
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does that put you on the hook legally
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speaking if you knock down one Domino
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are you responsible for all of the other
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dominoes falling when a butterfly flaps
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its wings the effects echo outward like
[60]
ripples on a pond and no one knows where
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the effects will stop and what point
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though do we say that the butterfly
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caused the harm at what point do we say
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that the downstream ripples are too
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attenuated to pin it on the butterfly
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when someone's sloppy mistake puts your
[83]
life and limb at risk who must pay what
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duty do we owe each other that's the
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question that we must answer in the case
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of poor mrs. pulsecraft she never saw it
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coming
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[Music]
[100]
submitted for your adjudication our
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story begins innocently enough with a
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family trip to the beach
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the year is 1924 the place Brooklyn New
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York on a hot and muggy August morning
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Helen Palsgraf prepares to take her two
[118]
daughters on a long-awaited trip to
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Rockaway Beach the girls have been on
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their very best behavior for weeks
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helping around the house working
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tirelessly at their jobs in the nearby
[128]
clothing factory they diligently counted
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down the days to today they earned this
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break from the tiresome monotony of the
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daily grind mrs. Paul's graft to worked
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hard to have this rare day off she works
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two full-time jobs doing back-breaking
[144]
work both as a housekeeper and as a
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janitor she rarely sleeps instead
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painstakingly saving every penny earned
[152]
to scrape just enough together to be
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able to afford the train fare and take
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the girls out for one summer day
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it was meant to be a respite a breath of
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fresh air in every sense but fate had
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other plans
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having meticulously packed their bags
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the Palsgraf family slowly makes the
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trek over to the Atlantic Avenue train
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station at the ticket booth mrs. Paul's
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breath pauses briefly considering the
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expense of the tickets she looks down at
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her children's filthy but beaming faces
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their smiles are well worth it she
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dutifully hands over her hard-earned
[191]
wages and purchases three tickets on the
[193]
Long Island Rail Road destination
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Rockaway Beach the women make their way
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down to the train platform as they
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patiently stand in the sweltering heat
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waiting for their train to arrive they
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daydream about the sand the surf fresh
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air that await them little did they know
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they would never reach their destination
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meanwhile several blocks away
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a man is abruptly awoken by the
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thump-thump-thump of his landlord's fist
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pounding on his door will call this man
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Hot Mess Harry Harry starts this morning
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like most warnings running two steps
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behind he is over selecting he is three
[236]
months late on the rent and knows that
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his landlord is inching ever closer to
[240]
fulfilling his frequent promise to break
[242]
his legs if he doesn't come up with the
[244]
money soon in just in case he has
[246]
momentarily forgotten the landlord
[248]
reiterates the point
[250]
barking through the door to come out and
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that he knows he's in there
[253]
Harry scoops up his rumpled clothes from
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off the floor and throws them on as
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quickly and quietly as possible he hops
[259]
around the room shoving his feet into
[260]
his shoes while trying to simultaneously
[262]
button his shirt he turns raises the
[265]
bedroom window and prepares to sneak out
[267]
down the fire escape but he pauses and
[269]
doubles back to grab a large box before
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hang out through the back box in hand
[273]
Harry now tears down the street and into
[275]
the train station leaving a path of
[277]
chaos and destruction in his wake
[279]
come hell or high water he has to make
[282]
it to the Train but Harry pauses for a
[285]
moment at the bottom of the stairs
[286]
leading up to the train platform panting
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he swears to himself wishing that he
[291]
weren't being slowed down by the weight
[293]
of this inconvenient parcel it's heavy
[296]
but he's got to get rid of that damn box
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just then he catches a glimpse of the
[301]
Train
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it's already here he picks up the pace
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throwing caution and innocent bystanders
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into the wind as he Sprint's up the
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stairs the train crew is making their
[310]
final preparations to leave the station
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this is gonna be a close one he reaches
[314]
for the Train just as the doors begin
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closing the crew pity him but time in
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the Long Island Rail Road wait for no
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man Harry makes a desperate leap onto
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the now moving train a platform guard
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rushes to give him a helpful push from
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behind that Bush ensures that he makes
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it onto the train but it also knocks the
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box out of his arms so what's in the box
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what's in the box Harry fireworks legal
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eagles the box is chock-full of
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fireworks and what happens next depends
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on who you ask
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it's a narrow way in the first scenario
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the train employees push knocks the box
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out of Harry's arms and into the air for
[353]
a moment it seems to float suspended in
[356]
midair but then it begins its inevitable
[359]
descent downward taking an unlucky
[361]
bounce off the very edge of the platform
[363]
it ricochets off and bounces again this
[366]
time off the side of the train itself
[368]
and then continues bobbling its way down
[370]
onto the train track cavity itself where
[372]
it eventually settles into its final
[374]
resting place lodged between the two
[376]
track beams inches from the train wheels
[378]
which have begun to move out of the
[381]
station at this point it's worth noting
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a piece of metal on the undercarriage of
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the trains caboose which loosened over
[387]
the years of wear and tear juts out ever
[389]
so slightly to one side perfectly
[391]
aligned on a collision course with the
[393]
box
[394]
this metal occasionally scrapes against
[396]
the tracks creating a burst of
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screeching sparks when it does and just
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as the caboose passes near the box the
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metal meets the track again the ensuing
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spark set off just one firework at first
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then another until like popcorn all of
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the fireworks go off in a rapid
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succession
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the explosion causes a stampede as
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panicked passengers push and shove their
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way towards the exits luggage is left
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behind knocked over first open and
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trampled on undershirts nightgowns
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toiletries are strewn about the floor
[425]
people shout trying to find their loved
[427]
ones in the thick smoky fog in the
[429]
middle of it all mrs. Paul's Graff
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blindly searches for her way out she
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cannot see the man fumbling pastor who
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himself unable to see knocks into an
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enormous floor scale at just the right
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angle to cause the scale to topple over
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and it comes down right on top of poor
[446]
mrs. Paul's graph that's right folks
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an industrial heavy brass guess your
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weight old tiny scale though not so
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old-timey for mrs. Paul's graph the
[457]
scale is coin-operated and those coins
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now begin to slowly trickle out clunking
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her right on top of her head as it
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slowly crushes her with all of its
[465]
mighty weight or the second scenario
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maybe it happened like this the train
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employees push knocks the box out of
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Harry's arms the box a veritable powder
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keg immediately explodes upon impact on
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the ground floor so the explosion is so
[481]
powerful that it knocks the scale next
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to mrs. Paul's graph over and it falls
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right on top of her with its mighty
[486]
weight either way these particular facts
[490]
are unimportant the point is that mrs.
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Paul's graph is badly hurt her
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daughter's rushed to her aid still
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pinned under the crushing weight of the
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scale she meekly tells them that she's
[500]
very sorry but she doesn't think she'll
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be able to join them at the beach today
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she's in shock and denial unable to yet
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comprehend that her life has been
[509]
irrevocably changed she suffers bruises
[512]
all over her body and experiences
[514]
chronic headaches
[515]
doctors will later diagnose her with
[517]
traumatic hysteria
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she develops a stammer and becomes
[520]
depressed she is no longer able to work
[524]
and must give up both of her jobs she
[527]
requires expensive medicines and brown
[529]
the clock hair her bones eventually heal
[535]
but mrs. Palsgraf is never quite the
[537]
same
[537]
when she is lucid enough to recount the
[540]
events of that fateful August day and
[542]
helplessly watch the medical bills pile
[544]
up she is above all else angry but this
[550]
is America and someone has to pay for
[552]
what happened to her but what about Hot
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Mess Harry while clearly he's at fault
[558]
here and should be liable for the
[560]
damages that's not what this story is
[562]
about Harry never paid mrs. Palsgraf a
[566]
dime for two reasons
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one he didn't have any money and two he
[571]
was never seen or heard from again
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and even if mrs. Palsgraf were able to
[576]
track him down and he were served with a
[578]
lawsuit he would have been useless to
[580]
her he's what we call judgment proof
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meaning that he wouldn't have had the
[585]
funds to cover a judgment against him in
[587]
any case this is often a sad reality
[590]
about litigation and with nowhere else
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to turn
[594]
mrs. Paul's Graf sues the Long Island
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Railroad company she claims that the
[600]
railroad was negligent when its employee
[602]
pushed Harry on to the train and
[603]
although Harry is primarily at fault she
[606]
was also harmed by the negligence of the
[608]
railroad company at trial a jury Awards
[611]
her six thousand dollars in damages
[613]
around $900,000 by today's standards but
[617]
the railroad appeals mrs. Paul's Graf
[620]
wins again
[622]
and finally the case makes its way all
[624]
the way up to New York's highest court
[626]
the Court of Appeals the issue on the
[629]
table was the Long Island Railroad
[631]
Company negligent towards mrs. Palsgraf
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could they have foreseen that someone
[636]
would bring fireworks on the train in
[639]
other words what exactly is negligence
[644]
we now turn to Albany where courtroom
[647]
proceedings are just getting underway
[653]
this Court has had the opportunity to
[656]
review the record our counselors ready
[658]
for oral argument yes your honor
[660]
William McNamara representing the
[662]
appellant the Long Island Railroad
[663]
company Matthew would sir representing
[666]
the appellate mrs. Helen Paul's graph ok
[669]
then gentlemen let's get started
[670]
thank you and may it please the court
[672]
your honors my client the Long Island
[675]
Railroad has been accused of negligence
[677]
toward Helen Palsgraf when one of its
[679]
employees helped a passenger onto his
[681]
train by giving him a supportive nudge
[683]
aboard there was no negligence here how
[687]
could we possibly expect that employee
[689]
to know that the Box in the passengers
[691]
arms was packed with fireworks
[694]
there was no signage or any other sort
[696]
of indication that the box contained
[697]
dangerous contents there was simply no
[700]
way for a reasonable person to know that
[702]
if this particular box were dropped it
[704]
would explode my client was not
[707]
negligent on the contrary the employee
[709]
was doing the right thing don't we want
[711]
to live in a society in which people
[713]
feel able to help each other rather than
[715]
second-guess every move they make and
[717]
fear of future liability the passenger
[720]
is the only one to blame here your
[722]
honors and the railroad was clearly
[723]
negligent here the employee pushed the
[726]
man out of the Train far too hard his
[728]
carelessness forced the passenger to
[730]
drop the box which directly caused the
[733]
explosion that has devastated for mrs.
[735]
Palsgraf if not for the railroads
[738]
actions mrs. Paul's graph would not have
[740]
been injured it's a logical certainty
[742]
mr. McNamara let's assume that the
[745]
railroad employee was in fact negligent
[747]
here with regard to the passenger would
[749]
mrs. Palsgraf be entitled to damages
[751]
your honors even if we accept that there
[754]
could have been negligent
[755]
gents in how the employee helped the
[756]
passenger board the train that remains a
[759]
matter exclusively between the passenger
[761]
and my client mrs. Palsgraf
[763]
just has nothing to do with it your
[766]
honors my client has everything to do
[768]
with it she did everything right that
[769]
fateful August day she was a paying
[772]
customer on the Long Island Rail Road
[773]
who obeyed all the rules minded her
[775]
business and waited exactly where the
[777]
railroad told her and what exactly would
[780]
you suggest that the railroad owes to
[781]
paying customers councilor and the
[783]
railroad owes mrs. Palsgraf and all of
[786]
its customers a duty of care and it
[788]
breached that duty when its employees
[790]
negligence created an unsafe environment
[792]
causing my clients harrowing injury if
[795]
an injury can be traced back to a
[797]
wrongful act and there are no
[799]
intervening events that is sufficient to
[801]
establish liability but if we hold the
[804]
railroad negligent to mrs Palsgraf
[806]
where do we draw the line we simply
[808]
cannot hold my client responsible for
[810]
the consequences of all actions no
[812]
matter how extraordinary or bizarre that
[815]
impact customers of the railroad the
[817]
duty of care must be limited to those
[819]
who are reasonably foreseeable under the
[822]
circumstances counselor don't you think
[824]
that mrs. Powell's Graf's injuries were
[826]
reasonably foreseeable though
[828]
regrettable her injuries were not
[830]
foreseeable who could know that the box
[832]
would explode upon falling and that that
[835]
explosion would knock over a scale all
[837]
the way across the platform and that
[839]
scale would somehow topple on top of her
[842]
the chain of events here is too tenuous
[844]
but my client was foreseeable Your Honor
[847]
she was in the zone of foreseeable
[849]
danger mrs. Paul's graphs close physical
[852]
proximity to the careless Act matters
[854]
here she was waiting on the designated
[856]
platform for her imminent train about 10
[859]
feet from the site of the explosion she
[861]
was clearly at risk of direct physical
[863]
impact mr. McNamara what do you say to
[866]
that
[866]
even if we accept the zone of danger
[868]
test mrs. Palsgraf
[870]
was still too far away from the
[871]
explosion to have a successful
[873]
negligence claim under that standard it
[875]
is definitely not reasonably foreseeable
[878]
that a scale all the way on the other
[880]
end of the station could fall on top of
[882]
her as a result of one employees
[884]
careless push there are just too many
[886]
variables in between the two occur
[888]
thank you gentlemen this matter is
[890]
adjourned chief judge and future Supreme
[897]
Court justice Cardozo wrote the decision
[899]
of the New York Court of Appeals in what
[901]
is considered by many to be the single
[903]
most influential torts case in all of
[905]
American jurisprudence do you have what
[907]
it takes to think like a future Supreme
[909]
Court justice pause this video put on
[911]
your favorite black robe and grab your
[913]
gavel and let me know in the comments
[914]
how you think this case was decided all
[917]
wait
[920]
Cardoso sided with the railroad company
[922]
and found that they did not have a duty
[924]
of care to mrs. Palsgraf her injuries
[926]
were not reasonably foreseeable because
[928]
the explosive box didn't appear to be
[931]
dangerous and a reasonable person would
[932]
not have foreseen that a scale would
[934]
topple on top of mrs. Palsgraf as a
[936]
result of the box falling and exploding
[939]
not only was her judgment reversed but
[942]
mrs. Paul's graph actually ended up
[943]
owing the Long Island Railroad company
[945]
five hundred and sixty dollars to cover
[947]
their attorneys fees the equivalent of a
[950]
year's worth of her wages this case is
[953]
probably the most famous American tort
[955]
case in all of jurisprudence its legacy
[958]
however has eroded over time the
[960]
dissents in this case found that because
[962]
there was little to no gap in time or
[964]
space between the train employees
[966]
negligence and mrs. paul scraps injuries
[968]
the injuries were a natural consequence
[970]
of the series of events that followed
[972]
and while some states still follow
[974]
Cardozo's approach and find no liability
[976]
for an unforeseeable plaintiff most
[978]
states now agree with the dissent and
[980]
focus on the proximity and time and
[982]
space to the negligence and the
[983]
plaintiffs injuries this true crime
[985]
series is a huge experiment for this
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channel I hope you like it because it
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