Fleming v. Northern Tissue Paper Mill

114 N.W. 841, 135 Wis. 157, 1908 Wisc. LEXIS 88
CourtWisconsin Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 31, 1908
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 114 N.W. 841 (Fleming v. Northern Tissue Paper Mill) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wisconsin Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fleming v. Northern Tissue Paper Mill, 114 N.W. 841, 135 Wis. 157, 1908 Wisc. LEXIS 88 (Wis. 1908).

Opinion

[166]*166Tlie following opinion was filed January 28, 1908:

MARSHALL, J.

Did tbe court err in bolding tbat tbe evidence was not sufficient to support tbe answer of tbe jury to tbe third question? Each of six apparently disinterested and credible witnesses testified tbat be worked at tbe cutter machine before appellant was injured and tbat occasionally tbe knife made a second downward movement with one pressure of tbe lever. Some of the witnesses testified tbat, at times, tbe knife would make more than a second such movement. Others testified tbat upon tbe machine so operating,, some readjustment was made and then tbat it ran all right, and still others testified tbat after making one second downward movement it was liable to' run regular as before without any readjustment.

Tbe testimony of David Robinson is a fair sample of tbat of tbe other witnesses. It is in substance as follows: I worked at the paper-cutter machine before Fleming was injured. Tbe knife came down a second time more than once while I worked with tbe machine. I should say it did three times. Tbe second drop was not in response to a second pressure upon tbe lever.

Arthur Howarth testified that be worked with tbe machine and tbat the knife would occasionally make a second downward movement; sometimes once, twice or three times in succession, usually in tbe morning. Tbat it did so sometimes on two or three occasions in a week.

Oliver Latour testified substantially tbe same way. He-said tbat at times tbe knife would repeat more than once in response to one pressure upon tbe lever. Tbat it would go-down a second or third time, stopping on tbe last occasion before it got clear down, and that lie spoke to J ames Salters, who was the superintendent, about it.

There was a large amount of tbe class of testimony indicated in connection with tbe evidence of appellant tbat bis. [167]*167injury was caused by a second unexpected downward movement of tbe knife and evidence conflicting tberewitb. Tbe evidence as a whole was uncontroverted tbat tbe abnormal movement of tbe knife testified to by appellant, if it occurred, happened under the same conditions as those said to have occurred prior to tbe accident. It must be conceded tbat if tbe evidence of this large number of witnesses is credible, a strong case was made tbat tbe cutter knife during all tbe time tbe machine was used in tbe mill, covering a period of some four years, was accustomed to operate as it did' when appellant was injured. Tbe upshot of tbe matter is tbat six, at least, apparently fair witnesses probably committed perjury or there was room in tbe evidence for tbe jury’s answer to tbe third question.

Tbe trial judge met tbe situation stated, as indicated in the history of tbe case, by bolding tbat-since there was no evidence of any specific defect in the machine to which tbe abnormal movements of tbe knife could be attributed, and it appeared to be physically impossible for such knife to make such a second or third downward .movement as tbe witnesses testified occurred, their testimony was not worthy of belief; tbat tbe same was contrary to “nature’s unchanging and unchangeable laws and tbe unvarying and invariable principles of mechanics,” and so could not be true.

The judge bad very superior advantages, it must be admitted, for determining whether tbe witnesses testified to tbe truth. He saw tbe machine and its mode of operating and thus bad the best opportunity tbat could well be afforded for fully understanding tbe evidence, and in tbe light thereof be reached tbe conclusion tbat upon tbe shaft operating tbe cutter knife making one complete revolution, tbe lever, which was pressed down to start it in motion, would necessarily be thrown up-, positively causing tbe clutch to slide away from tbe shell, when, instantly, tbe steel band would, necessarily, cease to engage tbe friction and tbe brake would [168]*168be set, compelling the knife to remain motionless at its highest point from the cutter table, where it would necessarily remain till the clutch was again pushed against the revolving shell by another downward movement of the level*.

After giving full weight, as we must, to the circumstance that the judge had the superior advantage mentioned and the rule that in such a situation a trial judge’s conclusion should not be disturbed except upon its appearing to be clearly wrong (Powell v. Ashland I. & S. Co. 98 Wis. 35, 13 N. W. 573; Nolan v. Kroening, 130 Wis. 79, 109 N. W. 963), it is the opinion of the court that the very large amount of evidence from the mouths of witnesses to the effect that the cutter machine did in fact operate exactly as the jury found, is not wholly impeached. ,

True, if the mechanism of the machine was such as to render the abnormal movement of the knife claimed to have happened impossible, then the testimony of any number of witnesses that it did make such a movement would not warrant the jury’s finding. True, also1, ordinarily testimony that a machine made an unexpected movement which it could not have made if properly adjusted and in a proper state of repair, is unworthy of belief in the face of a clear case that the machine uniformly before and after the alleged unexpected movement, without anything being done to change it in any way, ran all right and there was no discoverable defect therein. Vorbrich v. Geuder & P. Mfg. Co. 96 Wis. 277, 71 N. W. 434; Chybowshi v. Bucyrus Co. 127 Wis. 332, 106 N. W. 833; Dingley v. Star K. Co. 134 N. Y. 552, 32 N. E. 35; Redmond v. Delta L. Co. 96 Mich. 545, 55 N. W. 1004. It is to be noted that in all, or substantially all, cases of the character of those cited, there was but one or a few unexpected or abnormal movements claimed to' have occurred, one happening at the time of the accident, and the occurrence itself was relied upon to show imperfection in original construction, or some want of repair of the appa[169]*169ratus, the doctrine res ipsa loquitur being invoked. However, it must be confessed that ordinarily a physical situation which would unquestionably impeach the evidence of one witness would likewise impeach evidence of the same character of any number of witnesses. It is nevertheless true that under some circumstances what might appear to one impossible, supported by the testimony of a single interested witness, as was the case in most of the authorities referred to and others of like character, might not so appear upon an .investigation stimulated by the testimony of so large a number of apparently disinterested witnesses as to render it at least next to impossible that they all testified falsely.

Facing the testimony of the numerous witnesses here as to what did in fact occur’, not once or twice only, but many times during a period of years, after the most careful consideration thereof and study of the whole situation and with due regard to the decision of the learned circuit judge, the opinion has been reached by the court that the abnormal movements of the machine claimed to have happened may have occurred. The witnesses could not have been mistaken. They testified to the truth or. they individually knowingly testified falsely. The machine was obviously of a somewhat complicated character. The most accurate adjustment of many parts of many kinds was required to produce instant and certain operation of the entire combination and bring about, under all conditions of work, the particular result designed and none other. The jury saw the apparatus.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
114 N.W. 841, 135 Wis. 157, 1908 Wisc. LEXIS 88, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fleming-v-northern-tissue-paper-mill-wis-1908.