Wallace

Plaintiff, on January 14, 1925, was engaged as an express messenger for the American Railway Express Company (hereinafter called Express Company) upon an express car operated by the Pacific Electric Railway Company (hereinafter called Railway Company). A collision of the express car and the rear end of a train occurred through the admitted negligence of the Railway Company, but both defendants deny that any injury resulted therefrom to plaintiff. The judgment as rendered is in favor of the plaintiff and against the Railway Company. Nevertheless, both defendants have appealed, separately, but have joined in the filing of briefs and have presented six propositions for our consideration. We shall discuss them in the order presented.

Point one: “The court erred in ruling as a matter of law that plaintiff was not employed jointly by both defendants.”

The operations of the express business over the lines of the Railway Company were conducted under a contract between the two defendants. They claim that the proper interpretation of that contract is that defendants were partners in the express transportation business, or, if not partners, that they were at least joint adventurers. The…