Boyce v. Schroeder

51 N.E. 376, 21 Ind. App. 28, 1898 Ind. App. LEXIS 613
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedOctober 11, 1898
DocketNo. 2,328
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 51 N.E. 376 (Boyce v. Schroeder) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Boyce v. Schroeder, 51 N.E. 376, 21 Ind. App. 28, 1898 Ind. App. LEXIS 613 (Ind. Ct. App. 1898).

Opinion

Henley, C. J.

The original complaint in this cause was filed in the Laporte Circuit Court on the 9th day of April, 1891, and the trial of the cause which resulted in the judgment from which this appeal is prosecuted was had at the November term, 1895, of the Laporte Superior Court. The amended complaint upon which the cause went to trial was in two paragraphs. The first paragraph alleged in substance that on the 30th day of April, 1889, the appellee was employed by appellant to work in and about appellant’s lumber yard. That he was employed to operate what is commonly called a lumber “squill,” which is a two-wheeled truck, pulled by a team of horses, and used to transport lumber from place to place; that about the said 30th day of April, 1889, appellee while at work in'the proper discharge of his duties, driving a team of horses, which was hitched to and hauling the said truck loaded with lumber, and while appellee was so driving as aforesaid, “the truck broke; that is to say, that the pin or key which holds and keeps the wheel [30]*30on the axle was old, and worn out and became broken, thereby permitting the wheel and axle to become separated, and thereby causing the aforesaid truck and the lumber piled thereon to fall, and causing the lumber which was piled on said truck as aforesaid to fall on the plaintiff, whereby one of his legs was broken and otherwise greatly injured.” That appellee had no authority, and it was not his duty, to examine or repair said truck, but that his duty was to hitch his horses to the loaded truck, and to drive said horses with said load to the place where said lumber was to be stacked or loaded onto cars. That the breaking of said pin or key was caused by the defective and unsafe condition of said truck, which was unsafe for use, and worn out, which condition was known to appellant, who negligently and carelessly used said truck in .his business, but that the condition of said truck was unknown to the appellee. The general allegations as to the negligence of appellant and appellee’s freedom from fault are found in the complaint, which concludes with a demand for judgment in the sum of $1,999. The second paragraph of complaint differs from the first in but one respect. It counts on the appellant’s implied knowledge of the defect Avhich caused the injury by reason of the length of time the truck had been out of order. Appellant demurred to each paragraph of complaint, which was overruled, and the cause was put at issue by a general denial. There was a trial by jury, and a special verdict returned, which is in the form of interrogatories and answers, as is provided by the act of the General Assembly of 1895, in relation to special verdicts. Both parties to the action moved for judgment upon the special verdict. The motion of appellee was sustained, and that of appellant overruled. Appel[31]*31lant moved for a new trial, which was denied, . The errors assigned in this court are:

(1) That the court erred in overruling the demurrer of appellant to the first paragraph of complaint; (2) that the court erred in overruling the demurrer of appellant to the second paragraph of complaint; (3) that the court erred in sustaining appellee’s motion for judgment'on the special verdict; (4) that the court erred in overruling appellant’s motion for judgment on the special verdict; (5) that the court erred in overruling appellant’s motion for a new trial.

Counsel attack both paragraphs of complaint, and argue the question from the standpoint that appellee’s injury must have occurred from the risks and dangers naturally incident to his employment; that the complaint does not show'that appellee was without knowledge of the danger of the business in which he was engaged, etc. The complaint clearly proceeds upon the theory that appellant’s liability arises from the facts that he placed worn-out and defective tools in the hands of appellee, his servant, and that such defects were known to the master, and unknown to the servant. It was not necessary that the complaint aver that appellee carefully examined the truck before proceeding to use it, because, when the master places an implement in the hands of the servant, he, the master, impliedly undertakes that it is sound and fit for the use for which it is intended, and that he will exercise ordinary care and prudence to keep it in such condition. We think both paragraphs of complaint stated a cause of action, and that the court did not err in overruling the demurrer thereto.

In this case the jury was required to answer two hundred and fifty-three interrogatories. It was found by the jury that appellant, in the year 1889 operated and maintained a lumber yard in the city of Michigan [32]*32City, Indiana, and employed in such work between fifty and 100 men, and used in such work between thirty and fifty two-wheeled trucks or “squills;” that appellee was employed to work in said appellant’s lumber yard, and that his duties were to drive the horses which hauled the trucks which were used in moving lumber from place to place; that the lumber was placed on said truck by other employes, called “pilers;” that appellee was on the 30th day of April, 1889, engaged as aforesaid, in driving a team of horses attached to a loaded truck, when the truck broke down; that the truck was loaded with about one thousand feet of lumber, which was the ordinary load for a truck; that appellee was driving on the road ordinarily used to drive upon in hauling lumber from place to place where the truck was loaded to the place where he was directed to take it; that the roadway was plank,. and it was necessary, in driving a horse attached to a loaded truck, that the driver should walk closely alongside the truck, and to hold the lines in one hand, and place the other hand on the lumber on the truck, to aid in guiding the truck; that appellee was driving in the manner last described when the accident occurred; that no particular truck was used by appellee, but it was the practice of the man whose duty it was to load the trucks to take any truck that might be handy to load upon, and the men whose duty it was to hitch to and drive the horses attached to the loaded trucks took them as they were loaded; that the truck which broke down and caused appellee’s injury was hitched to in the usual course of the business, and was driven by appellee along said roadway in a slow and careful manner, and, while so driving said truck, it broke down, and the lumber fell upon appellee, and caused the injury for which he maintains this action for damages. [33]

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Bluebook (online)
51 N.E. 376, 21 Ind. App. 28, 1898 Ind. App. LEXIS 613, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/boyce-v-schroeder-indctapp-1898.