Casey v. St. Louis Transit Co.

• Court: Missouri Supreme Court
• Writing for the Court: Brace
• Citation: Casey v. St. Louis Transit Co., 85 S.W. 357, 186 Mo. 229 (Mo. 1905)
• Decision Date: 15 February 1905
• Parties: CASEY et ux. v. ST. LOUIS TRANSIT CO.

85 S.W. 357

186 Mo. 229

CASEY et ux. v. ST. LOUIS TRANSIT CO.

Supreme Court of Missouri, Division No. 1.

February 15, 1905.

NEW TRIAL—REVIEW—DISCRETION OF TRIAL COURT.

The Supreme Court will not interfere with the exercise of the trial court's discretion in granting a new trial, though it may disagree with the ruling, where there is any substantial evidence to support it, unless the case is such that no verdict for the party to whom the new trial is granted could ever be allowed to stand.

Appeal from St. Louis Circuit Court; S. P. Spencer, Judge.

Action by John Casey and Cynthia Casey against the St. Louis Transit Company. From an order sustaining plaintiffs' motion for a new trial, defendant appeals. Affirmed.

Boyle, Priest & Lehmann and Geo. W. Easley, for appellant. A. R. Taylor, for respondents.

BRACE, P. J.

The plaintiffs are husband and wife, and this action is brought by them to recover the statutory damages of $5,000 for the death of their minor son, John R. C. Casey, who on the 24th of November, 1901, while a passenger on one of defendant's cars going west, was struck and killed by one of defendant's cars going east. There was a verdict for the defendant, and thereafter the court sustained plaintiffs' motion for a new trial on the ground that the verdict is against the weight of the evidence, and the defendant appealed.

The undisputed facts are that the deceased was a passenger of the defendant, riding on the rear platform of one of its cars going west on Clark avenue, in the city of St. Louis, when, falling therefrom, he was struck and killed by one of defendant's cars going east on said avenue. The evidence for the plaintiffs tended to prove that the deceased was standing on the rear platform of the car on which he was a passenger, near...