Buetow v. Hietpas

• Decision Date: 01 July 1948
• Citation: Buetow v. Hietpas, 253 Wis. 64, 33 N.W.2d 201 (Wis. 1948)
• Parties: BUETOW v. HIETPAS et al.
• Court: Wisconsin Supreme Court

253 Wis. 64

33 N.W.2d 201

BUETOW

v.HIETPAS et al.

Supreme Court of Wisconsin.

July 1, 1948.

Appeal from an order of the Municipal Court of Outagamie County; Oscar J. Schmiege, Judge.

Reversed.

Action brought by Ernest Buetow against Theodore Hietpas and his automobile liability insurer and the defendant Richard Grissman to recover from defendants damages for personal injury, medical expenses, loss of earnings, etc., sustained by plaintiff as a result of a collision between automobiles negliently operated by Hietpas and Grissman. In a special verdict on the trial the jury found Hietpas and Grissman causally negligent, and that as the result thereof plaintiff sustained damages in the total sum of $859.23, of which $200 were assessed by the jury for the personal injury sustained by him. On behalf of Hietpas and his insurer, and also on behalf of plaintiff, motions were noticed for certain changes in the verdict, including a motion by plaintiff to have the court change the jury's assessment of $200 for his personal injury to $3000, or an amount which would be the least that a fair and unprejudiced jury should award for that item. After a hearing in relation to those motions, the court made the following order, ‘On motion of the plaintiff, the verdict is hereby set aside and a new trial ordered in the interest of justice. No terms to either party.'

Hietpas and his insurer appealed from that order.

Benton, Bosser, Becker, Parnell & Fulton, of Appleton, for appellants.

Allan Cain, of Kaukauna, for respondent Buetow.

FRITZ, Justice.

Appellants contend that the court's order granting a new trial ‘in the interest of justice’ is clearly invalid and ineffective because the court wholly failed to ‘set forth in detail therein’ ‘the...