Searcy v. Martin Woods Co.

61 N.W. 934, 93 Iowa 420
Supreme Court of Iowa·Decided January 23, 1895·Published·Cited by 4 cases

Opinion

Given, G. J.

-I. Appellant’s first contention is that the court erred in certain of the instructions given. The following is a sufficient statement of the facts and pleadings for an Understanding of the questions presented : On July 9, 1892, plaintiff, then a little over five years of age, lived with and in the care of his parents, near the yards of the Chicago, Pock Island & Pacific Railway Company in Davenport. On that and prior days the defendant corporation, carrying on the fruit business, was engaged, through its employes,'- in loading bananas, from cars standing on the ground of said railroad company in said yard, on to its transfer wagons, to be hauled elsewhere. It sometimes occurred in handling the large bunches of bananas that loose ones fell to the ground, and the overripe ones were thrown out by defendant’s employes. Children were in the habit of gathering about the wagon to'get [422] the fruit thus dropped and thrown upon the ground. On said ninth day of July, one Gus Hamann was in charge of one of defendant’s teams and transfer wagons being loaded with banana's from a car, the bananas being handed from tire oar by other employes to said Hamann, who placed them on the wagon. The plaintiff, Harry Searcy, had wandered from his home near by, and, with other small children, gathered about the wagon to get the bananas that might fall or be thrown to. the ground. The wagon, while being loaded, stood along side of the car. Hamann knew of the presence of a number of children about the wagon at that time. When the wagon was loaded, Hamann passed from the top of the load to the high seat in front, and started the team. Plaintiff was run over by one of the hind wheels of the wagon, and seriously injured. As to these facts there is no conflict in the evidence, but there is a dispute, as to where the plaintiff was at the time the wagon wa,s started, and how. and why he came to be run over. It is claimed, on behalf of the plaintiff, that he wa.s standing close to the wagon; that he did not know that it was about to be started; and that it was suddenly and rapidly started, and he was caught. Appellee claims that plaintiff stood opposite, and some distancé from the hind wheel that ran over him, at the time the wagon was started; that the starting caused a banana to fall; and that plaintiff attempted to get it, and was caught under the wheel. Because of the age of the plaintiff, there is no.claim of contributory negligence, nor is there 'any question but that defendant was liable for the negligence of Gus Hamann, if any, in starting the wagon. The jury were properly instructed that the only question for them to determine was whether the defendant was negligent, and, if so, the amount of damages to which plaintiff was entitled.

[423] II. In tlie fourth paragraph of the charge the court, after stating that defendant was engaged in a lawful business, added that “the boys who came round about said wagon to get the bananas which might fall were trespassers; but the fact that the presence of said boys about said wagon was known to the servants of the defendant, who were engaged in loading said wagon, imposed upon such servants the obligation to use reasonable care in their work to avoid injury to said boys.” In the fifth paragraph, after repeating that defendant’s servants were required to exercise reasonable care to avoid injury to the boys; the court said: “And the degree of care which would be reasonable you must determine from all the facts and circumstances in evidence in the case, taking into consideration the ages of said boys, and the apparent 1 understanding, or lack of it, possessed by them.” It is contended in behalf of appellant that, under the circumstances, he was not a trespasser; therefore he complains of that part of the charge. The statement that they were trespassers was not submitted as a matter of defense, and whether technically correct or not we need not determine. The instructions are explicit as to the duty of defendant’s servants to exercise a degree of care that they would not have been required to exercise towards actual trespassers. Complaint is made because in the sixth paragraph the court said: “If you find that, at the time defendant’s servant started said wagon in motion, the plaintiff stood quietly at one .side thereof, far enough distant to be reasonably safe if he there remained,” etc. The claim is that there was no evidence that plaintiff did so stand. We think differently. There was not only evidence to warrant the instruction, but to warrant the jury in finding such to have been the fact. A similar complaint is made against the seventh paragraph, [424] which, for the same reason, we think equally untenable. We regard the instruction^ throughout as a very full, clear, and correct presentation of the law applicable to the case.

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Searcy v. Martin Woods Co., 61 N.W. 934, 93 Iowa 420 (iowa 1895).

61 N.W. 934 (Searcy v. Martin Woods Co.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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