Herzog v. Municipal Electric Light Co.

89 A.D. 569, 85 N.Y.S. 712
CourtAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
DecidedJanuary 15, 1904
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 89 A.D. 569 (Herzog v. Municipal Electric Light Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Herzog v. Municipal Electric Light Co., 89 A.D. 569, 85 N.Y.S. 712 (N.Y. Ct. App. 1904).

Opinion

Ingraham, J.:

The plaintiff sues as receiver for the benefit of creditors of Joseph Ryan, and in the discussion of the question presented upon this appeal we will designate Joseph Ryan as the plaintiff. The action was brought to recover the damages- caused by the destruction of a building on property of the plaintiff by fire on January 4, 1893. The complaint alleged that on the 19th day of July, 1892, the defendant agreed to wire the building 1059-1061 Broadway, Brook[570]*570lyn, for Joseph Ryan, and in consideration of the payment to it of the sum of $600 agreed to wire the said premises in a good, proper, careful and workmanlike manner, and to place upon said premises the wires and other necessary electric apparatus, so as to enable the said Ryan to supply the said premises with electric current for lighting the 275 sixteen-candle power lamps which the said defendant agreed to place upon said premises; and said defendant further agreed that it would place upon said premises such wires and other apparatus as would enable the said Ryan to introduce upon his premises a supply of electricity for lighting the same with entire safety, and that such wires and apparatus would be properly insulated and inspected by said defendant, so as to render the use thereof by said Ryan and the transmission of electricity by means thereof free from danger to the said Ryan and to his premises and the goods therein contained. That “ in violation of its aforesaid agreement, said defendant so carelessly, negligently and unskilfully wired the said premises and installed therein the said lamps that, by reason thereof and without any fault or negligence on the part'of said Joseph Ryan, the buildings and premises owned and occupied by the said Joseph Ryan, together with the stock of merchandise belonging to and owned by him, contained therein were on or about the fourth day of January, 1893, set on fire and completely lost and destroyed.”

The answer denies that the contract between Ryan and the defendant was correctly alleged ; alleges that the only contract or agreement between Ryan and the defendant was contained in a written agreement consisting of two written instruments, copies of which are' annexed to the answer. It admits that the defendant undertook to wire the premises and to install therein the 275 sixteen-candle power lamps as provided in the said agreement annexed to the answer, and denies the other allegations of the complaint to which attention has been called. The two writings annexed to the answer-are dated July 19, 1892; one is a request to the defendant corporation signed by Ryan to connect the main line with and supply the electric current for 275 sixteen-candle power incandescent lamps upon the premises Nos. 1059-1061 Broadway, Brooklyn, for which Ryan agreed to pay current electric rates; the other, dated the same day, is the order set out in the complaint.

The case has been three times tried; On the first trial the com[571]*571plaint was dismissed, the trial court holding that a clause in the contract which was annexed to the answer was a defense to the action. That dismissal was reversed by this court, the court holding that the question, whether both contracts annexed to the complaint were one contract, was a question for the jury. (Dechert v. Municipal Electric Light Co., 9 App. Div. 575.) Upon the second trial that question was submitted to the jury who found a verdict for the defendant. The judgment entered upon that verdict was reversed and a new trial ordered upon the ground that the evidence did not justify a finding that the conditions contained in this contract had been complied with so that the defendant was relieved from responsibility. (Dechert v. Municipal Electric Light Co., 39 App. Div. 490.) Upon the third trial one issue was presented, and that was as to the negligence of the defendant. At the end of the case the defendant made a motion to dismiss the complaint and "to direct a verdict for the defendant. The court submitted to the jury four questions. The first question was, “ Was the defendant guifty of negligence in August, 1892, in using single cap molding to put up the electric wires upon the ceiling of the upper story of the building leased by Joseph Ryan and known as No. 1065 Broadway, in the City of Brooklyn, as the business of electric wiring was then ordinarily practiced and understood by those conversant with the art \ ” That question was answered in the affirmative. The second question was, “ If the defendant was guilty of negligence, was such negligence the proximate cause of the fire of January 4th, 1893? ” This question was answered in the affirmative. Third. “ Were Ryan or any of his employees, guilty of negligence which contributed in any degree, directly or indirectly, to cause such fire ? ” This question the jury answered in the negative; and, fourth, “ What was the amount of damage suffered by Ryan by reason of the fire ? ” The jury answered $150,000, whereupon it was stipulated by the parties that “ the jury be discharged and that the May Term of Court be deemed continued and that the argument upon the pending "motions be made on a day agreed upon, and that after such arguments, the Court might pass upon questions involved and if necessary direct a general verdict to be entered in favor of the plaintiff as if the jury were actually in Court and. with the same force and effect.” These questions were subsequently argued, whereupon the court rendered its decision [572]*572dismissing the complaint upon the whole case; the plaintiff’s motion to direct a general verdict for the plaintiff was denied, and judgment was entered dismissing the complaint, and from that judgment the plaintiff appeals.

The court below- dismissed the complaint upon the ground that the evidence was not sufficient to sustain the special finding of the-jury that the defendant was guilty of negligence in August, 1892,. in using single-cap molding to put up the electric wires upon the ceiling of the upper story of the building, as the business of electric wiring was then ordinarily practiced and understood by those conversant with the art; and upon this appeal we have to determine the correctness of this conclusion. The undisputed facts are that the roof upon the plaintiff’s building was completed in June, 1892; that the contract for the electric wiring was made on July 19,1892; that the defendant’s work under this contract was completed in August, 1892, when the electric wiring and equipment were inspected by inspectors of the New York Board of Fire Underwriters and approved by them on August 19, 1892; that the electric current was used for lighting the building about September 10, 1892; that in the middle of November, 1892, there -was a leak in the roof of the plaintiff’s building which was repaired; that some time in December, 1892, another leak was discovered; that on January 1,. 1893, there was a severe storm, during which the roof of the plaintiff’s building again leaked, and on January 1, 1893, a fire broke out-on the top floor of the building which started in the neighborhood of the wires installed by the defendant and which resulted in the destruction of the building. There was evidence to sustain a finding that this fire was caused by these electric wires installed by the defendant, and the jury have so found. The question in dispute is-whether there was evidence to sustain the finding that the defendant was negligent in installing these electric wires.

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Bluebook (online)
89 A.D. 569, 85 N.Y.S. 712, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/herzog-v-municipal-electric-light-co-nyappdiv-1904.