Mahar v. Montello Granite Co.

130 N.W. 949, 146 Wis. 46, 1911 Wisc. LEXIS 95
CourtWisconsin Supreme Court
DecidedApril 5, 1911
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 130 N.W. 949 (Mahar v. Montello Granite Co.) 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
Mahar v. Montello Granite Co., 130 N.W. 949, 146 Wis. 46, 1911 Wisc. LEXIS 95 (Wis. 1911).

Opinion

Keewiit, J.

The evidence tends to prove that the defendant was operating a granite quarry at Montello, in which plaintiff had been at work about two years, first as a water boy four or five months, next as a tool carrier about five months, then as a driller drilling stones near the derrick in the yard for about eight months, and afterwards and up to the time of the injury drilling for the paving cutters. A derrick was located in the yard at the southerly end of a narrow-gauge track upon which a tram car was operated for the purpose of moving stones as required in the performance of the work. The plaintiff worked at the time of the injury and for some months prior at the northerly end of this track a short distance from said derrick. He had a clear view of the length of this track and passed up and down it, walking between the rails, several times a day. The stone workers were in the habit, when working on the side of this track, of throwing the grout or rubble stone across on the other side so that such rubble stone was piled up along the side of the track to a height of three or four feet and formed a ridge which was continuous along the line of the track opposite where the stone cutters were at work. This ridge or pile of rubble stone came [50]*50within about a foot, as the evidence tends to show, of the rail of the track. The track was about two and one-half feet wide, and the dump car operated thereon was a small affair about six feet across the track and four and one-half feet the other way, the bed of the car being about four and one-half feet above the rails. The distance between the center of the front axle and the rear axle was a little over three feet, and the bar upon which the bed of the car was fastened had a play of about an inch or an inch and a half backward and forward. One Heller had charge of moving the stones on this car, and at the -time of the injury had loaded three large stones, two upon the' bed of the car and the other on top of these two. The lower stones weighed about 400 or 500 pounds each and the third or top stone about 300 pounds. The stones were loaded upon the car by Heller by means of a ■derrick, and after being loaded Heller called plaintiff, who was close by upon the track, to help push the car, and plaintiff in connection with four others went behind the car to push it, plaintiff being in the middle and pushing on the lower part of the frame. After the car had been pushed a short distance the wheel struck a small stone about two inches thick, which was upon the rail, causing the car to jar and the top stone to slip off, falling upon plaintiff’s leg, causing the injury.

There is no direct evidence as to how the small stone came upon the track, the theory being that it was thrown there by the stone cutters, or that the jar of the car caused it to roll down from the ridge of rubble on the side onto the rail. The evidence shows that the plaintiff was a man of at least ordinary intelligence and was perfectly familiar with the car, the track, and all the operations carried on in the yard. The complaint charges, among other things, improper construction of the car, but there is no evidence in the case showing improper construction of either car or track, the injury, as the testimony shows, being caused by the car striking the small [51]*51stone and thereby jarring the large stone so as to cause it to slide off.

The appellant relies upon the following grounds for reversal of the judgment: (1) That the'defendant had waived its right to a nonsuit by the introduction of evidence before the motion was made; (2) that the court erred in receiving evidence against plaintiff’s objection; (3) "that the plaintiff’s ■evidence did not show contributory negligence on his part, and that no contributory negligence on the part of the plaintiff appeared at the close of the plaintiff’s evidence; (4) that the defendant did not furnish plaintiff a safe place to work; and (5) that the plaintiff did not assume the risk.

On the first point, respecting waiver of the right to non-suit, the contention of appellant is based mainly upon the fact, as he claims, that some evidence was drawn out on cross-examination of witnesses produced by plaintiff which was improper and which in fact was a part of the defendant’s case. We do not regard it necessary to consider or pass upon the question of whether or not some evidence was drawn out on cross-examination which was not proper cross-examination but a part of defendant’s case, because we do not regard it as in any way affecting the right of the court to grant a nonsuit at the time plaintiff rested, or even afterwards during the progress of the case, if in fact all the evidence produced entitled the defendant to a nonsuit when such motion was made. The material question for consideration by the court at the time the motion for .nonsuit was made was whether or not, upon all the evidence before the court at that time, any case had been made by the plaintiff. 6 Ency. of PI. & Pr. 948. It is clear that the position of plaintiff that defendant waived its right to nonsuit is not tenable.

Error is also assigned on receiving in evidence photographs of the premises in question on the ground that there was no evidence as to when they were taken. But there is ample evi[52]*52dence going to show that they are correct representations of the premises at the time of the injury; and, if so, it was not very material when they were taken. The fact that they were not taken at the time of the injury would be wholly immaterial and no objection to their admission in evidence, if in fact the situation of the premises was the same when they were taken as at the time of the injury.

Objection is also made by appellant to the reception of exhibits 1 and 2 on the ground that they were not properly received upon cross-examination of the witness Heller, who was examined by plaintiff as an adverse witness under sec. 4068,. Stats. (1898). It seems that the court below allowed liberal cross-examination of the witness Heller upon the theory that a part of sec. 4068 is unconstitutional under the decision in Phipps v. Wis. Cent. R. Co. 133 Wis. 153, 113 N. W. 456. We do not regard it necessary to discuss the constitutionality of sec. 4068, because we are satisfied that whether the exhibits referred to were admitted in evidence or not would not change the result; therefore, even if we should concede they were improperly admitted, the admission would in no way prejudice the plaintiff.

Exhibit 2 was a written statement made by Heller before-his examination concerning the accident, which it was claimed was purely defensive, therefore could not be introduced on cross-examination by defendant. Exhibit 1 was a statement made by one Timm, a witness for plaintiff, similar to exhibit 2, and which was exhibited to him and identified when his deposition was taken by plaintiff. ‘ The rulings respecting these exhibits were clearly not prejudicial to the plaintiff.

The important question in the case is whether the plaintiff' was guilty of contributory negligence or that species of contributory negligence known as assumption of risk. This we consider the vital question in the case and it is the one upon which the court below nonsuited the plaintiff. If the plaintiff was guilty of contributory negligence, or assumed the risk,. [53]*53then the nonsuit was right whether the defendant was guilty of negligence in failing to furnish a safe place or not. It is a well settled rule of law that an employee assumes the ordinary risks of the employment and such other risks as are open and obvious and which he knew or ought to have known.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
130 N.W. 949, 146 Wis. 46, 1911 Wisc. LEXIS 95, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mahar-v-montello-granite-co-wis-1911.