- - - -
MERCHANTS - - -
- SKILES
& SKILES
A Firm of Shelby Lawyers Famous Throughout the Length
- and
Breadth of the Land.
- _____________________________________
Railroad Cases Their Specialty
March 11, 1898
With a national reputation for their legal abilities and remarkable
- achievements
in winning cases of far-reaching importance, especially
- to
employees of powerful corporations, the Skiles Brothers reflect
credit
- at
once upon themselves and the town in which they have fought their
- way
from even local obscurity to widespread fame. They are without
- exaggeration
or the least attempt to magnify their accomplishments at the
- bar,
brilliant examples of what intellectual force, allied with literally
stubborn
- determination
to conquer apparently insurmountable obstacles in the path
- of
success, can do in this latter-day age of keen competition and
rivalry.
The Skiles Brothers are the oldest firm in name and continuous
activity
- Shelby
possesses, next to them coming Seltzer & Steele, merchants.
They
- have
been over 20 years practicing law and still occupy the same office
in
- which
they made their humble start in life. Intensely self-made men,
they
- have
been engaged in fighting cases in nearly all the courts of the
country
- from
the Supreme court down to the lowest, and their victories have
been
- phenomenal.
So that whenever some case turns up that is particularly difficult,
- no
matter in what city or town, or how distant from Shelby, Skiles
& Skiles
- are
more likely to be called upon than any other legal firm to take
hold of it.
This is especially so in railroad accident cases. It’s safe
to say, that Skiles
- &
Skiles are easily the most popular lawyers in the country among
railroad
- employees,
for they have gone into the courts time and time again with cases
- that
seemed hopeless, on account of the iron-clad rules adopted by
the
- companies
to protect themselves against paying damages for the accidents
- that
so often happen to men who are employed in both freight and passenger
- service.
A recent instance is to hand. At Elyria, O., on March 9th a jury
in the
- Common
Pleas Court rendered a verdict of $8,500 in favor of Chas. Hudson
- against
the Big Four railway for damages he received in 1896 while acting
as
- brakeman
for the company. This was a very hard case to handle, for a technical
- point
was involved that established a precedent, and the result affected
every
- railroad
man in the United States. Hudson was not in his place of duty,
- according
to the book of rules, at the time of the accident, and the company
- of
course hoped to win without trouble. But the court held that
so long as the
- injuries
he received were not the direct result of his being in another
part of
- the
train than his assigned position when the accident happened,
or in other
- words
through his own contributory negligence, he was entitled to damages.
- Hence
the verdict. The case lasted four days, and was a fierce forensic
battle,
- in
which the Big Four’s great Indianapolis counsel was pitted
against our
- Shelby
attorneys. Hudson sued for $50,000. This is one of innumerable
- examples
of success that Skiles Brothers have scored during their long
career.
W.W. Skiles is president of the Citizens’ bank, president
of the Shelby
- Electric
company, a director in the Shelby Water company, a director in
- the
Shelby Steel Tube company and a stockholder in the Shelby Cycle
- Manufacturing
company.
G.M. Skiles is vice-president of the Shelby Electric company,
vice president
- of
the Shelby Water company, director in the Citizens’ bank,
and director
- in
the Cycle Works.
Article
contributed by Ruby Bonecutter
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