Murphy v. Curran

24 Ill. App. 475, 1887 Ill. App. LEXIS 557
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedDecember 9, 1887
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 24 Ill. App. 475 (Murphy v. Curran) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Murphy v. Curran, 24 Ill. App. 475, 1887 Ill. App. LEXIS 557 (Ill. Ct. App. 1887).

Opinion

Lacey, J.

This suit was brought by appellees, the widow and minor children of Michael Curran, deceased, under the Dram Shop Act, against John Down, C. O’Lauglilin, Ernest Waterman, Martin McGitrick, Henry Book, Charles Boob, Charles McGitrick, Michael McGitrick, Walter Adams, Michael Murphy and John Heaton, saloonkeepers in the village of Seneca, to recover damages to their means of support caused by the death of said Curran, December 6,1885, which death is alleged to have been caused by the intoxication of Curran produced in whole or in part by the above named defendants selling or giving away to him intoxicating liquors.

On the trial of the cause before a jury, after the evidence was all in, there being no evidence against the eight of said defendants first above named, the suit was dismissed as to them on the plaintiff’s motion, leaving the suit to stand against the three last named, Walter Adams, Michael Murphy and John Heaton.

The jury found the three last named defendants guilty and assessed appellees’ damages at §5,000, upon which verdict the court, after overruling a motion for a new trial, rendered judgment, from which judgment this appeal is taken.

The circumstances of Curran’s death were about as follows;

On the afternoon of December 5, 1885, he was in the village of Seneca, and was seen in several saloons that afternoon drinking, and playing cards and pool in some one or more of them. The last seen of him was about half past six or seven o’clock p. h., a little after dark, in front of Michael Murphy’s saloon, not drunk or sober—but “ had a few drinks in” as one witness testifies—was “under the influence of liquor ” as another states, and still another that he “ was drunk all the witnesses thought at the time he was able to take care of himself; one witness for appellant saw him at seven and thought him sober.

For the last few years he had been in the habit of getting intoxicated. Some time between six and seven o’clock p. m„ of the 5th, in the condition above stated, he started to ride home on a gentle horse.

The next seen of him was by John Stanton, who had been with him at Michael Murphy’s saloon in Seneca, as above stated, lying in the highway apparently paralyzed, with his horse four or five feet from him. He was taken by Mr-Stanton and another and conveyed home in a buggy, and his wife sent for the doctor, who, on arriving there, found him unconscious and Ms breath smelling of liquor. The injury seemed to be in the head caused by falling or something of the kind. The opinion of the doctor was that there had been a slight fracture of the base of the skull. He died the next morning at seven o’clock. It was about eight o’clock in the evening when he was taken home. It will be seen that there was no positive or clear proof that the injuries causing his death were the result of any intoxication, though the circum stances tended to show that such was the case. It was a proper question to be submitted to the jury on proper instructions.

It appears, from the evidence, that some time in the year 1882, the village Constable, Patrick Meagher, notified the defendant Heaton not to sell the deceased, Curran, any more liquor, as he was in the habit of getting intoxicated, but no notice was given to the defendants Murphy and Adams, they not being in the sal con business at the time.

The causes assigned for error are the giving of improper instructions on the part of the appellees, and that the evidence is not sufficient to support the verdict, and also the refusing proper instructions on the part of appellants, notably, the third and eighth refused instructions.

The first objection made by counsel for appellants is to the second given instruction for the appellees. It is as follows:

“ If the evidence shows that Michael Curran was intoxicated on the said 5th day of December, 1885, and that such intoxication was caused in part by intoxicating liquor sold or given to him by said defendant Adams, or some one in his employ, and in part by intoxicating liquor sold or given to him by said defendant Heaton, or some one in his employ, and in part by intoxicating liquor sold or given to him by said defendant Murphy, or some one in his employ, then all of said defendants are jointly liable for all the injuries sustained by said plaintiffs in their means of support (if any is shown _by the evidence), notwithstanding some one of the defendants may have contributed thereto to a greater extent than the others. And it would make no difference whether Curran called for the liquor himself or some one treated him or called for it for him.”

We think the instruction is erroneous in the particular complained of, in that it does not require, to create liability, that there should be any evidence that Curran came to his death in consequence of the alleged intoxication. The instruction ignores that question and does not require the jury to find that the death was caused thereby, but expressly tells it that in case the appellants sold deceased the intoxicating liquor in certain manner specified, then all of the appellants were jointly liable for the injuries, if any were sustained by appellees in their means of support.

If the cause of the death had, from the evidence, been so apparent that the jury must necessarily have found that it was the result of the intoxication, supposed by the instruction to be proven, then, perhaps, no injury could result from the error, but the evidence was not so clear on that point and should have been fairly submitted to the jury. It is true that other instructions given for appellees, as well as for appellants, fairly submit such issue to the jury, and it is claimed that this cured the error in instruction Ho. 2. But we are inclined to think not, under the facts in this case.

In Hoge v. The People, 117 Ill. 35, a case similar to this on the question we are now discussing, the Supreme Court, in answer to the same suggestion that is made here, that as other instructions stated the law accurately, the erroneous instruction could do no harm, says: “ But where an instruction says the law is one thing with regard to a particular matter or state of circumstances, and another instruction says the law is another and materially diEerent thing in regard to the same matter, the instructions are repugnant and no repetition of the correct instruction can cure the error of those that are incorrect, for the jury, assuming, as is their duty, that they are all correct, may as readily follow those that are incorrect as those that are correct.” This quotation expresses all that need be said in reference to the suggestion made.

We are also inclined to think that, the state of the evidence considered, it was error to give appellee’s eighth instruction relative to exemplary damages.' The jury was instructed that it might find exemplary damages in addition to actual damages if it “believed from the evidence that the liquor was sold wantonly and wilfully, or under aggravating circumstances, to such an extent as they think proper, from all the evidence? should be awarded Against the defendant found guilty who is least liable.”

This instruction appears to recognize the rule of law that to authorize the recovery of exemplary damages there must he some kind of turpitude on the part of the wrongdoer outside of the fact that there was a hare right of recovery.

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Bluebook (online)
24 Ill. App. 475, 1887 Ill. App. LEXIS 557, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/murphy-v-curran-illappct-1887.