Stapleton v. Butensky

188 A.D. 237, 177 N.Y.S. 18, 1919 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 7749
CourtAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
DecidedJune 13, 1919
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 188 A.D. 237 (Stapleton v. Butensky) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Stapleton v. Butensky, 188 A.D. 237, 177 N.Y.S. 18, 1919 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 7749 (N.Y. Ct. App. 1919).

Opinion

Laughlin, J.:

This is an action for damages for personal injuries sustained by the plaintiff by being bitten by a horse on the 11th day of January, 1916, when he was about nine years of age. The defendant company, as its name implies, was engaged in the electrotyping business and in delivering the products of its factory to its customers in the borough of Manhattan, New York. In January, 1911, one McGuire made an oral contract with it by which he was to furnish a horse, a delivery wagon and his own services in delivering its goods from eight a. m. until five-thirty p. m. each working day and to receive in consideration therefor the sum of twenty-seven dollars per week. McGuire then owned the horse in question, which is described as a bronco, and as a Canadian horse, and weighed between 900 and 1,000 pounds. The appellant Butensky and his brother, who died during the pendency of the action, conducted a livery and boarding stable, and between the working hours from the time McGuire so entered the employ of the defendant company until after the accident they had full charge of the horse, at first under an arrangement with McGuire by which they boarded the horse, and during about three years prior to the accident as owners, having purchased the horse from McGuire and rented the use thereof to him for an agreed compensation of ten dollars per week. McGuire at first hired, but at the time of the accident owned, the delivery [240]*240wagon and it had painted on it the name of the appellant company; and from the time of his original employment by the appellant company until long after the accident he continued in its employ on the terms stated, furnishing the horse, wagon and his own services, with the exception of the last eight months of his employment, during which he used another horse. It does not appear that his contract with the company required him to furnish any particular horse or wagon, but merely a horse and wagon. The evidence shows that his services with the horse and wagon were rendered exclusively to the company during the hours specified in the contract of employment, and that he reported daily at eight a. m. at the company’s place of business, which was on the southerly side of Thirty-third street, between Nint'h and Tenth avenues, in the. borough of Manhattan, New York; and that he performed the services assigned to him each day until five-thirty p. m., at times working in the factory wrapping up packages for delivery. It is to be inferred from the evidence that he loaded the company’s goods and unloaded and delivered them where he was sent as directed by the company and then returned to the factory for further orders. The accident happened at about twelve-forty-five p. m. when the horse attached to the wagon was standing on the southerly side of the street in front of the building, the eighth floor of which was occupied by the appellant company. Doubtless liability might be charged and shown either on the theory of negligence in handling the horse, or on the theory that the animal was vicious. (Clowdis v. Fresno Flume & I. Co., 118 Cal. 315; Gropp v. Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., 161 App. Div. 859; Schoenfeld v. Mott Avenue Realty Co., 168 id. 91; 1 R. C. L. 1095, § 38; Id. 1109, § 53.) It does not appear whether or not the horse was hitched. But it is not argued that the liability for the horse’s biting and kicking could be predicated on the ground of negligence only in failing to tie or otherwise secure the horse, and we express no opinion on that point for there are authorities which hold or tend to hold that such consequences of a failure to secure the horse could not be foreseen. (See Cox v. Burbidge, 13 C. B. [N. S.] 430; Farber v. Roginsky, 123 App. Div. 38.) McGuire testified that he put the feed bag containing oats around the horse’s head, chained the [241]*241wheels of the wagon, then went up into the company’s factory to eat his lunch, and that while 'thus engaged, and not in sight of the horse, he was informed of the accident. Across the street from the factory was St. Michael’s School, which the plaintiff and an older brother attended, and adjacent to the factory and on the same side of the street was a fire engine house, in front of which the school children were accustomed to congregate during the noon hour to watch the firemen washing the engines. The plaintiff had, with other school children, been doing this during the noon hour on the day of the accident, and at the time he was bitten by the horse was walking easterly on the southerly sidewalk toward a crosswalk leading over to the school. While he was passing the horse, and some three or four feet from the curb, according to his testimony, “ the horse put his feet upon the curb and snapped quick and caught me hair and lifted me up,” and then dropped him to the sidewalk, cutting his head so it bled. Other evidence offered by the plaintiff tends to show that the horse kicked him and that the injuries resulted in leaving a permanent scar on the left side of the plaintiff’s head about an inch and a half in length, and caused him to be cross-eyed, and resulted in the development or spreading of a cast in his right eye which permanently affected his sight. With respect to the manner as to how the accident occurred the plaintiff was substantially corroborated by two eye witnesses who were upon the street in the vicinity at thfe time, and they say there was no feed bag over the horse’s head and they and another witness also testified that during a period of from six weeks to two months prior to the accident they had observed the horse on other occasions step upon the curb and snap at children and at adults, and one of them says that on a former occasion the horse snapped at him. The testimony on the part of the plaintiff tends to show that neither at the time of the accident nor on other occasions when the horse snapped at people was there any one playing with the horse or in any manner teasing him and that those who were attacked were merely passing along the sidewalk. One of the witnesses for the plaintiff who testified to having seen the horse snap at passersby on former occasions also testified that he drew [242]*242this to the attention of McGuire, and that about two weeks before the accident he heard the elevator operator draw McGuire’s attention to the fact that the horse snapped at people. McGuire denied that he ever knew or had been informed that the horse was vicious or attempted to bite any one before he bit the plaintiff. The uncontroverted fact is that the horse was never muzzled to prevent him from biting people. There is no other evidence tending to show knowledge on the part of the appellants 'with respect to the vicious propensities of the horse. The appellant Butensky and his stable manager testified that during the five years preceding the accident they had taken care of the horse, hitching him up, harnessing him and unharnessing him and that they had never known of his attempting to harm or injure any one, and that they had seen him hitched to a wagon hours at a time when children were passing and never saw him bite or attempt to bite any one.

I am of the opinion that the evidence adduced by the plaintiff, if believed by the jury, was sufficient to show the horse was vicious and to charge the appellant Butensky with knowledge of his vicious propensities. Ordinarily the question of scienter arises on testimony tending to show actual or constructive notice to the owner or notice to his servants or agents which is imputable to him. (Brice v. Bauer, 108 N. Y. 428; Gropp v. Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., 141 App. Div. 372; 161 id.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
188 A.D. 237, 177 N.Y.S. 18, 1919 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 7749, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/stapleton-v-butensky-nyappdiv-1919.