Featherstone v. Lowell Cotton Mills

74 S.E. 918, 159 N.C. 429, 1912 N.C. LEXIS 294

• Court: Supreme Court of North Carolina
• Decided: May 15, 1912
• Status: Published

Opinion

Per Curiam.

Under our decisions tbe stockholders, officers, or employees of tbe casualty company would not be impartial or competent jurors to determine tbe issue, and under all ordinary conditions tbe questions asked by counsel on tbe voir dire were not improper. Norris v. Cotton Mills, 154 N. C., 474; Blevins v. Cotton Mills, 150 N. C., 493.

It bas also been beld with us, however, that the'fact that a principal defendant is- protected from liability by an insurance policy is not a relevant circumstance on tbe trial of the issue (Lytton v. Manufacturing Co., 157 N. C., 331) ; and before jury impaneled, if it should be made to appear that questions of this character have been asked in bad faith and have likely operated to defendant’s prejudice, a recovery should not be allowed to stand. In this case, on tbe facts as presented, both tbe questions asked of tbe jurors, tbe same being as a rule competent, and that addressed to defendant’s counsel, are matters which must be left largely to tbe discretion of the court below, and it must be presumed that tbe character and good sense of tbe jurors selected have protected them from improper bias or that any such tendency bas been effectually checked and corrected by tbe learned and impartial judge who presided at tbe trial.

We find no error in tbe record to justify tbe. Court in disturbing tbe results of tbe trial, and tbe judgment in plaintiff’s favor is therefore affirmed.

No error.