Sellars v. Foster

42 N.W. 907, 27 Neb. 118, 1889 Neb. LEXIS 208
CourtNebraska Supreme Court
DecidedJune 27, 1889
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 42 N.W. 907 (Sellars v. Foster) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Nebraska Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sellars v. Foster, 42 N.W. 907, 27 Neb. 118, 1889 Neb. LEXIS 208 (Neb. 1889).

Opinion

Cobb, J.

This cause was tried in the district court of Harlan county, and brought to this court for review on error.

The plaintiff below, Blanche L. Foster, the widow of Henry W. Foster, for herself and as next friend for her minor child, Edwin Foster, complained that William F. Sellars, Frederick W. Hildebrandt, and Frederick E. Dale, on August 29, 30, and 31, and September 1, 1887, were engaged in the retail traffic in intoxicating liquors in Alma, Harlan county, and had on said days license to sell malt, spirituous, and vinous liquors, issued by the proper authorities of Alma; and that on said days Matthew [120]*120Becker, Minna A. Kamminga, John Rohner, G. Raisch, Herman Nass, August Dobberstein, Philip Ott, and J. A. Smith were the bondsmen of William F. Sellars.

2. That at the time Sellars, Hildebrandt, and Dale procured license to sell liquor, on May 1, 1887, they severally gave bond in $5,000 to the state that they would not violate any of the provisions of chapter 50, Compiled Statutes, entitled “Liquors,” or any of the ordinances of the corporation of Alma, during the year from May 1, 1887, and ending April 1, 1888, and pay all damages that the community or individuals might sustain by reason of the sale of intoxicating liquors; that the bond of Sellars was signed by the above defendants, that of Hildebrandt by Josiah Zerbe and others, and that of Dale by Charles Hummell and others; and that all of said bondsmen were sureties for their respective principals on August 29, 30, and 31, and September 1, 1887; and true copies of the bonds are exhibited.

3. On said last mentioned days the plaintiff was the wife of Henry W. Foster, and a resident of Alma, and Edwin Foster is their minor child.

4. On the days last mentioned Henry' W. Foster became intoxicated and continued in a state of intoxication and drunkenness for four days up to the time of his death; that he spent his time on those days in the saloons and places of business of Sellars, Hildebrandt, and Dale in Alma.

5. That they sold, gave, and furnished to him the liquors which caused his intoxication, and furnished it in sufficient quantities to cause his intoxication, and did cause his intoxication and keep him under the influence of liquor, and continued to sell, furnish, and give liquors and intoxicating drinks to him while so intoxicated.

6. That on September 1, 1887, while so intoxicated and under the influence of liquor so sold, furnished and given to him by said Sellars, Hildebrandt, and Dale, in Alma, Henry W. Foster undertook to board and get on a train [121]*121of cars of the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad, in Alma, and fell under the train of cars and was thereby run over, and had his leg crushed, and was otherwise injured, from which he suffered and died on the last mentioned day; that said, accident and death were caused from the effects of the liquors so sold to him by Sellars, Hildebrandt, and Dale.

7. That plaintiff and her minor child were both dependent upon Henry W. Foster for their means of support; that the proceeds of his labor and earnings amounted to $1,000 per year, which he applied to the plaintiff’s support; that he was thirty-five years of age, was healthy, energetic, and industrious.

8. The plaintiff and her minor child constitute one family, and are without means of support, and have sustained damages, in the premises, in the sum of $15,000; and pray judgment, etc. The defendants, W. F. Sellars, Math. Becker, Minna A. Kamminga, John Rohner, G. Raisch, Herman Nass, Aug. Dobberstein, Philip Ott, and J. A. Smith answered admitting that Sellars is engaged in the retail liquor traffic in Alma, and that they are his bondsmen, but denying each and every other allegation of the plaintiff. Other defendants did not answer. There was a trial to a jury with findings for the plaintiff and damages assessed against the defendants named to the amount of $2,500.

The motion of defendants for a new trial was overruled and judgment was entered against said defendants on the verdict.

The plaintiffs Jn error assign for review the following errors of the court below:

1. In admitting in evidence the longevity tables marked A.

2. In excluding the evidence of R. M. Liberty as to the reputation of Huston.

3. In rejecting the evidence of W. Campbell as to the reputation of Huston.

[122]*1224. In overruling defendants’ objection to the question to plaintiff as to how much deceased could have earned and contributed to his family’s support during his lifetime.

5. In giving instruction 1 to the jury on the court’s own motion.

6. In giving instruction 2 on the court’s own motion.

7. In giving instruction 3 on the court’s own motion.

8. In giving instruction 1 on the motion of the plaintiff.

9. In giving instruction 3 on the motion of the plaintiff.

10. In refusing instructions 3, 4, 5, and 9, requested by defendants.

11. In refusing and modifying instruction 3, requested by defendants.

12. In overruling the defendants’ motion for a new trial.

On the trial the plaintiff offered in evidence a printed excerpt containing tabular rows of figures in the form of longevity tables of the expectancy of life, which was admitted against the objection and motion of defendants: (1), that there was no proper foundation laid for its introduction; (2), that the tables offered do not purport to be the Carlisle table of expectation of life; and (3), because the tables offered have not been proven to be the Carlisle table, or any other table of vitality, or authorized or taken from any text book of authority; and (4), because the same is incompetent, irrelevant, and immaterial. The plaintiff offered the further evidence of so much of page 534 of Maxwell’s Pleading and Practice, 3d ed., 1880, as shows the Carlisle table of the expectation of life, to which the defendants objected for the same reasons stated in the last motion. The plaintiffs in error now argue in the brief of counsel that the court erred in the admission of these tables without proof that they were the Carlisle tables or that they purported to be such. While this objection might apply to the printed excerpt, it does not apply to the table set forth in Maxwell’s Pleading and Practice. This text book [123]*123being an authority of general acceptance in the courts of this state, and the table therein being' entitled Carlisle’s table of expectation of life, with a brief history of its construction from vital statistics collected by its author, its general use and approval as such relieves it of the technical objections. It was admissible under the authority of most text writers on evidence. The excerpt, in the shape presented, may be admitted as lacking authenticity. It is not a copy of the table in the authority referred to. It sets down the expectancy of a person at thirty-five years of age to be twenty-nine and seven-twelfths yeai’s, while in the table from Maxwell’s volume, which we hold to be admissible, the expectancy is set down at thirty-one years. The printed slip introduced being, therefore, less unfavorable to the plaintiff in error than the book, the admission of the former was error without prejudice to the party complaining.

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Bluebook (online)
42 N.W. 907, 27 Neb. 118, 1889 Neb. LEXIS 208, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sellars-v-foster-neb-1889.