Juncker v. Keisel
| Decision Date | 07 May 1929 |
| Docket Number | No. 20538.,20538. |
| Parties | JUNCKER v. KEISEL. |
| Court | Missouri Court of Appeals |
Appeal from St. Louis Circuit Court; M. Hartmann, Judge.
"Not to be officially published."
Action by John A. Juncker against George F. Keisel. From a judgment for plaintiff, defendant appeals. Affirmed.
Fordyce, Holliday & White, of St. Louis, for appellant.
R. T. Brownrigg and Mason, Altman, Goodman & Flynn, all of St. Louis, for respondent.
This is an action for damages, brought by plaintiff against defendant, to recover for personal injuries sustained by plaintiff while he was engaged in feeding and caring for horses belonging to defendant and at the time in the stables of defendant.
The petition alleges, among other things, that prior to plaintiff's injury he had informed defendant of the vicious and dangerous character of a certain horse named Dan, and that he was liable to kick and injure plaintiff, and that defendant knew at all times that said horse was vicious and not a reasonably safe horse to work with or to have about the stables, and that while plaintiff was taking care of said horse he was constantly in danger on account of its vicious character, and that the defendant negligently failed to dispose of said horse, and negligently ordered and required plaintiff to care for and stable the said horse, and that as a direct result of said negligence plaintiff was kicked and injured.
The answer was a general denial, coupled with a plea that plaintiff, by his own carelessness and negligence, directly contributed to cause his injuries, in that if the horse was vicious and dangerous plaintiff knew of said propensities, and that plaintiff placed himself in such a position that said horse could kick him.
The evidence discloses that defendant was engaged in the ice and coal business in the city of St. Louis. Plaintiff looked after the horses, wagons, and harness of defendant, which were kept in defendant's stables. Plaintiff was an experienced horseman and knew how to handle horses. Defendant had 40 or 50 horses, and kept them in this stable, each horse being assigned and kept in a certain stall. The stable runs east and west and had a row of stalls on the north side and a row of stalls on the south side, with an aisle 6 feet wide down the middle of the stable between the two rows of stalls. The horse which injured plaintiff was named Dan, and had some very vicious propensities with respect to kicking. Dan was assigned to the third stall from the west end of the stable, on the north side of same. The entrance to the stable was at the east end. When the horses were placed in their stalls their heads were to the north if they were in the north stalls, and to the south if they were in the south stalls. Thus, when plaintiff was required to pass between the horses in order to feed them he would naturally be in danger of being kicked by any horse which had proclivities of this character.
On the occasion when plaintiff was kicked by Dan he had placed the hay in the mangers before the horses were put in the stalls. After the horses were placed in their stalls he proceeded to feed them oats, and this was done by using a two-wheeled feed cart. This cart would be pushed along this 6-foot aisle and the oats and corn, or whatever feed would be in it, was then taken out and carried in the stalls to the horses. Plaintiff was supposed to feed the horses in the best and quickest manner that was convenient. Plaintiff pushed the cart up the aisle and stopped it between stalls 3 and 4. He had fed the horse in stall 4, which was just east of stall 3 in which Dan had been placed. The evidence discloses that when he was stooping over the cart to get oats in a bucket to feed Dan he was kicked and injured. There is no question made as to the size of the verdict, or the fact that plaintiff was injured, so it is unnecessary to set out any testimony with respect thereto.
The evidence discloses that plaintiff had complained to the defendant about Dan's...
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