Peterson v. Greenway
| Decision Date | 24 November 1964 |
| Parties | George PETERSON, d/b/a Happy Hollow Guernsey Farm, Respondent, v. Ed GREENWAY, Appellant. |
| Court | Wisconsin Supreme Court |
Gwin & Fetzner, Hudson, C. A. Richards, John W. Fetzner, Hudson, for counsel, for appellant.
Gavic & Jansen, Spring Valley, William A. Jansen, Robert R. Gavic, Spring Valley, of counsel, for respondent.
'What dire offense from amorous causes springs!
'What mighty contests rise from trivial things!' 1
There is no serious dispute but that it was defendant's Angus who, in 1960, had Happy Hollow holidays, siring seven calves. Mr. Greenway seems to accept vicarious liability, under sec. 172.01, Stats., for that which Angus wrought. The principal question on appeal is whether there is evidence in the record to support the finding that Angus' efforts caused the deaths of Lena, Lindis and Margarett and destroyed the capacity of Kolleen, Lilac and Lavender to perform as demanded in bovine society.
It is clear enough that, but for Angus' intrusion, the heifers would not have made their debuts until the age of about 21 months, and would then have been offered to a registered Guernsey bull. Best laid schemes agley, Lena became pregnant at six months, Lindis at nine, Margarett at 13, and Kolleen, Lilac and Lavender at 17. Lena and Lindis died calving, Margarett three or four months after calving. Kolleen, Lilac and Lavender survived, but declined, though afforded ample and timely opportunities, to submit to the advances of a Guernsey bull. They were ultimately sold for slaughter. Lenore, who had reached the age of 21 months before her dalliance with Angus, produced a live calf, was milked, later brought a good price, and seemed little the worse for wear.
Plaintiff testified that the calves were too big in proportion to the heifers. The calves were more blocky, had wider hips and heads than Guernsey calves. Lena and Lindis died in the process of calving or shortly thereafter. Margarett's reproductive organs were stretched out of shape, and sustained a large and unusual tear. He said she was a 'pus case' and was put out to pasture. She got no better and finally died. Kolleen was injured by the calf being too big for her. The hips of Lilac and Lavender were stretched apart and he observed damage to their membranes.
The court did not permit plaintiff to answer a number of questions calling for his opinion whether the pregnancy at the respective ages caused the death of three heifers and the rejection of further breeding by three others. He was permitted to state that the damage to Margarett was caused by breeding at an untimely age and to state that all six were bred too young and the breeding at those ages caused the 'damage.'
Plaintiff was 37 years old and had farmed since age 18 or 19. He had built up his herd of registered Guernseys, with 39 cows being milked, and 90 to 100 animals in all. He had completed a course at a school for cattlemen, studing the reproductive organs of cattle, had attended high school vocational courses during the winters, and had studied material in the field of genetics. He had seen close to 1,000 calves born and had assisted with many of them.
Plaintiff's experience and study may well have placed him in a better position to come to a correct conclusion concerning causation than a person not having the same qualifications, and his opinions might have been an aid to the court in the process of fact finding. Receiving his opinion testimony on this subject would not have been an abuse of discretion. 2
The county court did not file a memorandum nor state on the record the evidence relied on in finding causation. We do not know whether the court relied upon plaintiff's statement, in general terms, that the early breeding caused the damage. This statement was made late in the trial after the court had refused on several occasions to hear plaintiff's opinions on the causal relationship between the early breeding of each heifer and the particular death or condition of that heifer. Under the circumstances we do not consider this one generalized statement a satisfactory foundation for the finding that Angus' activity caused the loss of all six.
Neither does it appear whether the county court considered that the sequence of events themselves placed causation in the field of probabilities rather than mere guessing or...
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