Norris v. Detroit United Railway

151 N.W. 747, 185 Mich. 264, 1915 Mich. LEXIS 961
CourtMichigan Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 18, 1915
DocketDocket No. 123
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 151 N.W. 747 (Norris v. Detroit United Railway) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Norris v. Detroit United Railway, 151 N.W. 747, 185 Mich. 264, 1915 Mich. LEXIS 961 (Mich. 1915).

Opinion

Stone, J.

The plaintiff, an unmarried woman about 24 years of age, brought this action to recover damages resulting from her falling into an excavation made by the defendant in the course of the construction of its tracks in the city of Detroit. In June, 1911, the defendant was building a track on Grandy avenue north from Gratiot avenue, in said city. One block north of Mack avenue, Grandy crosses St. Joseph street at about right angles; the latter street running east and west. Grandy avenue at this time was a paved street; St. Joseph was not. There is a depression in Grandy avenue between Alexandrine avenue on the north and Mack avenue on the south, with the lowest point at St. Joseph street, which is 5.2 feet lower than Alexandrine and 1.3 feet lower than Mack avenue. An excavation 7 feet wide and about 22 inches deep, measured from the top of the pavement, had been dug in the center of Grandy extending north and south from St. Joseph street for some distance beyond, in both directions. Temporary crossings at street intersections were required by the city. There was no dispute that such a crossing had been provided at St. Joseph street for vehicular traffic. It was made of ties and planks laid lengthwise in the trench for its entire width and depth. Whether there had also been a foot passenger crossing provided on the south side of St. Joseph street in the line of the sidewalk prior to the accident in question is disputed in the evidence. Between 9:30 and 10 o’clock on the [266]*266night of June '4, 1911, the plaintiff, accompanied by her mother and sister, was returning to her home going east on St. Joseph street. They lived a little over a block east of Grandy avenue, and their way lay across the latter avenue. When they reached Grandy avenue, the plaintiff, the foremost of her party, stepped or fell into the excavation at a point in the line of the sidewalk on the south side of St. Joseph street. She and her companions testified that there was no light on the crossing. A somewhat severe electrical storm, accompanied by what was claimed to be an unusually high wind and a heavy rainfall, raged in Detroit from at least 8 until nearly 10 o’clock of the night in question.

The railway company had provided sufficient lanterns to light every street intersection, in the line of the excavation, with eight lights. It had also put two men to the task of lighting the lights and seeing, by patroling the district, that they were kept lighted. It was the claim of the defendant, and it gave evidence to support that claim, that these men had placed lighted lanterns at the intersection in question prior to the storm. There was evidence that the storm was of sufficient violence to put out the lights.

The declaration charged the negligence to be that there were no lights at this place at the time of plaintiff’s injury, and it was claimed upon the trial that the defendant was negligent in failing to provide a sufficient force of men on the job to keep the lights burning during and after the storm, and that the men provided were negligent in not seeing that any lights put out by the storm were relighted before the injury. Owing to the topography at the scene of the accident, large quantities of water accumulated in the trench at this point. When the plaintiff went into the excavation, she was completely immersed up to her chin. In falling, she claimed to have seriously sprained and [267]*267injured her ankles, and at the time of the trial it was claimed that her left ankle was weak and impaired, and more or less permanently injured.

The pleadings were silent upon the subject, but the evidence disclosed that some time previously the plaintiff had been suffering from a species of goiter, called “Graves” disease, and it was claimed that her condition in this respect was aggravated principally from the shock.

The evidence offered on the part of the plaintiff was of a very positive nature that there was an entire lack of lights at the time and place of the accident.

On the part of the defendant there was evidence tending to show that the lights were burning before the storm. This testimony was given by one Kolb, who testified that he and one Dooley, who was dead at the time of the trial, had the territory lying from Forest avenue at tlie north to Gratiot avenue on the south of St. Joseph street. He testified on direct examination as follows:.

“Q. How many lights, do you remember, did you have at St. Joseph street, at Grandy — just tell us how many lights?
“A. Oh, we had all the time four, and four on the road; that makes eight altogether.
“Q. On the crossing?
“A. Yes, sir. * * *
“Q. Before this heavy wind came up, were all the lights lit on St. Joseph street?
“A. Yes; all over.
“Q. Now, do you know whether the wind blew those lights out or not?
“A. Oh, yes, tipped the lights over — the rain and the wind blew out the lights, and the city lights was gone out the same way for a while, too.
“Q. Now, after the lights on St. Joseph street were blown out by the wind, did you and Dooley come along and relight them again?
“A. Yes.
“Q. And do you know whether they were blown out again?
[268]*268“A. Not after that
“Q. Not after the storm?
“A. No, then the wind lay off.”

He testified to a heavy rain and storm, and that he went under cover over on Mack avenue.

“Q. When it stopped raining, did you go back on the job?
“A. Right away, when the lights was put all in shape.”

He further testified that they had plenty of lights, whicn consisted of lanterns properly trimmed and in condition.

We'infer from this testimony that the relighting testified to by this witness, in all probability, occurred after the injury of the plaintiff. The testimony of this witness was somewhat weakened by his cross-examination, which was lengthy, and from which we quote a small portion only. The witness testified that he and Dooley divided the work of lighting lanterns between them:

“Q. Some nights he would take the upper end and some nights you would take the lower end?
“A. Yes, sir.
“Q. To light these lights?
“A. Yes, sir.
“Q. Which end did you usually take — the lower end or the upper end?
“A. I was on the back end.
“Q. On the north end?
“A. On the north side.
“Q. Which end did you take on Sunday night — the -north end?
“A. I don’t know.
“Q. He lit the lights on one end, and you lit the lights on the other?
“A. We lit them all on the box.

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Related

Holford v. General Motors Corp.
323 N.W.2d 454 (Michigan Court of Appeals, 1982)
Stinson v. Payne
203 N.W. 831 (Michigan Supreme Court, 1925)
Norris v. Detroit United Railway
160 N.W. 574 (Michigan Supreme Court, 1916)
Grogitzki v. Detroit Ambulance Co.
152 N.W. 923 (Michigan Supreme Court, 1915)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
151 N.W. 747, 185 Mich. 264, 1915 Mich. LEXIS 961, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/norris-v-detroit-united-railway-mich-1915.