Ljungberg v. Vill. of N. Mankato

• Decision Date: 21 November 1902
• Citation: 87 Minn. 484,92 N.W. 401
• Parties: LJUNGBERG v. VILLAGE OF NORTH MANKATO.
• Court: Minnesota Supreme Court

87 Minn. 484

92 N.W. 401

LJUNGBERG

v.VILLAGE OF NORTH MANKATO.

Supreme Court of Minnesota.

Nov. 21, 1902.

Appeal from district court, Nicollet county; B. F. Webber, Judge.

Action by Anna M. Ljungberg against the village of North Mankato. Verdict for plaintiff. From an order denying a new trial defendant appeals. Affirmed.

Syllabus by the Court

1. In an action to recover for injuries received by a pedestrian who fell upon a plank sidewalk on the principal street of a village of 1,000 inhabitants, where obvious defects had continued for more than 20 days before the accident, the question whether a sufficient time had elapsed before imposing upon the village authorities the duty to repair the walk held to be for the jury.

2. Held, further, under the facts in this case, that the question whether proof of proper service of notice of the accident upon the defendant had been made was also for the jury.

3. A verdict for $1,250 for an injury to a lady of 29 years of age, who, by reason thereof, was confined to her bed for eight weeks, and to her room for a period of six weeks thereafter, and who continued to suffer pain and inconvenience therefrom until the trial, two years later, was not, under the evidence, excessive. W. R. Geddes, A. A. Stone, and M. J. Severance, for appellant.

W. E. Young and C. R. Davis, for respondent.

LOVELY, J.

Action for personal injuries suffered by plaintiff by reason of a fall upon a sidewalk in the village of North Nankato. She had a verdict. This appeal is from an order overruling defendant's motion for a new trial.

Belgrade avenue is the principal street in the village of North Mankato, which has about 1,000 inhabitants. Located upon this thoroughfare are several stores, two churches, a schoolhouse, with a number of private residences, such as would usually be found on the main street of a place of that population. The sidewalk where the accident occurred was in front of a private residence on the north side of the street. It was constructed of eigh-inch planks laid crosswise upon three stringers, which were supported by small stone piers. More than 20 days before the accident the owner of the building on the adjacent lot caused a section of this walk to be cut out and removed in order to permit teams to pass to and from his premises for his own convenience and benefit. The section thus removed was put back after two days. The evidence tended to show that, when it was replaced, two planks, one at each end of the section, were loose; also, that the sidewalk was unstable, and tipped under pressure from persons traveling upon it. Plaintiff, a music teacher, was returning home from the duties of her vocation, and stepped upon one of the loose boards. It flew up, causing her to trip and fall, whereby she received servere injuries to her right ankle, for which she had a verdict of $1,250. The defendant complains of this result upon three grounds: First, that the defendant did not have sufficient notice of the defective condition of the walk; second, that proper evidence of the service of the notice of injury was not made at the trial; and, third, that the damages are excessive.

No direct notice of the condition of the walk was...