Reed v. Ford

• Decision Date: 25 September 1908
• Citation: 129 Ky. 471,112 S.W. 600
• Parties: REED et al. v. FORD.
• Court: Kentucky Court of Appeals

112 S.W. 600

129 Ky. 471

REED et al. v. FORD.

Court of Appeals of Kentucky.

September 25, 1908

Appeal from Circuit Court, Barren County. "To be officially reported."

Action by Nettie May Reed and another against Henry Ford. From a judgment of dismissal on sustaining a demurrer to the petition, plaintiffs appeal. Affirmed.

Duff &amp Hutchison, for appellants.

Baird &amp Richardson, for appellee.

SETTLE J.

Appellants complain of a judgment of the Barren circuit court sustaining a demurrer to their petition, as amended, and dismissing the action. The appeal, therefore, presents for our consideration but one question, viz.: Do the facts alleged in the petition state a cause of action?

The original petition is as follows: "The plaintiffs, Nettie May Reed and her husband, I. W. Reed, state that during the month of September, 1907, the defendant, Harry Ford, came to their house in Glasgow, Ky. during the darkness of the night in a drunken condition, and in front of the rooms in which they resided, and in the hearing of the plaintiffs, assaulted one Jas. D. McConnell, who occupied a room near them, and then and there in a loud and boisterous manner cursed and abused said McConnell and threatened to kill him; that the defendant remained in front of this said room for a half hour or longer, and continued to curse and abuse said McConnell and to threaten to take his life, who was perfectly defenseless and unable to resist him. The plaintiffs state that the plaintiff Nettie May Reed was at the time pregnant with child; that she was greatly alarmed and frightened at the action of the defendant as aforesaid, so much so that she was compelled to take her bed and remain there ten days; that her nervous system was greatly shocked; that she has since been threatened with a miscarriage in consequence of the fright received by her; that she has suffered great mental agony and physical pain from said fright; and that her health has been greatly, and as they fear and believe permanently, impaired as the result of the fright aforesaid."

The following are the averments of the amended petition: "Amending their petition herein, the plaintiffs state that the assault on Jas. D. McConnell took place in the hall immediately in front of the room occupied by the plaintiffs at the time, and within three or four feet from the plaintiff Nettie May Reed; that the plaintiff Nettie May was made violently sick by the fright which she received; that she was compelled to and did take her bed for at least ten days, as the result of said fright; and they state that her health has been greatly impaired, and they fear permanently destroyed, as the result of the fright aforesaid; and they further state she sustained physical injuries in consequence of the fright aforesaid, and has been and was damaged, as set out in the original petition herein, in the sum of $500, which injuries are and were the direct and proximate result of the fright complained of by her in said original petition."

A careful analysis of the language of the petition and amendment will demonstrate that the sole ground of recovery alleged is that injury and damage resulted to the appellant Nettie May Reed from fright superinduced by the conduct of appellee in committing an assault upon, and using in her hearing and within a few feet of her profane and abusive language toward, a third person, one Jas. D. McConnell; that the fright given her by the misconduct of appellee toward McConnell caused her great physical and mental...