Florida Statutes Title XXVII. Railroads and Other Regulated Utilities § 363.04. Refusing messages for transmission;  damages;  evidence

Any telegraph company owning or operating any telegraph line or lines wholly or partly in this state and engaged in transmitting messages, for a consideration, who shall refuse to receive for transmission any legible message tendered to it or to any of its agents or employees for transmission at any office or place where such messages are usually received for transmission during the usual hours in which the messages are received at such office or place for transmission to the destination to which the message so refused is addressed, provided, such destination is a place to which messages are usually transmitted, together with the usual charge for the transmission of such a message, shall be liable to the sender and addressee of such message in a penalty of $50, and in addition thereto shall be liable both to the sender and to the addressee of such message for all damages which they or either of them may sustain in consequence of the refusal to receive, transmit and deliver such message unless it shall be made to appear that the line or lines over which such message should be transmitted is or are in such condition that such message could not be transmitted by means thereof, and the burden of showing such a condition of said line or lines shall be upon the company.