Martin v. Cohen

Supreme Court of New Jersey

Martin v. Cohen

144 A. 178, 7 N.J. Misc. 103, 1929 N.J. Sup. Ct. LEXIS 396

DecidedJanuary 16, 1929

StatusPublished

This text of 144 A. 178 (Martin v. Cohen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of New Jersey primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Martin v. Cohen, 144 A. 178, 7 N.J. Misc. 103, 1929 N.J. Sup. Ct. LEXIS 396 (N.J. 1929).

Pincite

Opinion

Per Curiam.

The plaintiff, a woman thirty-four years old, was injured in December, 1926, while riding in an auto bus, which came into collision with the defendants’ truck, on Broadway, in the city of Long Branch. The present suit was brought to recover compensation for the injuries sustained by her as the result of this collision. The trial resulted in a verdict in her favor, the jury awarding her $25,000. On the application of the defendants, the trial court allowed the present rule to show cause, and we are now asked to make that rule absolute upon the ground that the verdict is excessive.

The plaintiff’s testimony was that at the time of the accident she was employed as a housemaid, earning about $18 a week. She had previously been engaged also in keeping a boarding house, but this latter occupation had been given up by her some month or more before the date of the collision. There is no doubt that her injuries were serious, and to some extent permanent. It seems to us that, notwithstanding this fact, in view of the character of the work in which the plaintiff was engaged and the amount of her earnings from it, the award of the jury is plainly excessive. If she will consent to a reduction of the verdict to $20,000, she may enter judgment for that amount. Otherwise the rule to show cause will be made absolute.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Per Curiam.

The plaintiff, a woman thirty-four years old, was injured in December, 1926, while riding in an auto bus, which came into collision with the defendants’ truck, on Broadway, in the city of Long Branch. The present suit was brought to recover compensation for the injuries sustained by her as the result of this collision. The trial resulted in a verdict in her favor, the jury awarding her $25,000. On the application of the defendants, the trial court allowed the present rule to show cause, and we are now asked to make that rule absolute upon the ground that the verdict is excessive.

The plaintiff’s testimony was that at the time of the accident she was employed as a housemaid, earning about $18 a week. She had previously been engaged also in keeping a boarding house, but this latter occupation had been given up by her some month or more before the date of the collision. There is no doubt that her injuries were serious, and to some extent permanent. It seems to us that, notwithstanding this fact, in view of the character of the work in which the plaintiff was engaged and the amount of her earnings from it, the award of the jury is plainly excessive. If she will consent to a reduction of the verdict to $20,000, she may enter judgment for that amount. Otherwise the rule to show cause will be made absolute.

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)

144 A. 178, 7 N.J. Misc. 103, 1929 N.J. Sup. Ct. LEXIS 396, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/martin-v-cohen-nj-1929.