Slater v. T.C. Baker Co.
| Decision Date | 25 November 1927 |
| Citation | 261 Mass. 424,158 N.E. 778 |
| Parties | SLATER v. T. C. BAKER CO. (two cases). |
| Court | United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Exceptions from Superior Court, Norfolk County; P. M. Keating, Judge.
Separate actions by Adeline Slater against the T. C. Baker Company, and by Thomas A. Slater, administrator of Arthur Slater, deceased, against defendant named. Verdict was directed for each defendant, and plaintiffs bring exceptions. Exceptions overruled.
G. I. Cohen, of Boston (F. D. Harrigan, of Boston, on the brief), for plaintiffs.
K. C. Parker, of Boston, for defendant.
[1][2] These are actions of tort to recover damages for personal injuries suffered by Adeline Slater and for the death of Arthur Slater, alleged to have been caused by the negligence of the defendant. The trial judge at the close of the evidence directed a verdict for each defendant and the plaintiffs excepted. It was agreed by the parties that the defendant, a corporation, was engaged in selling and repairing Ford automobiles with a service station on Boylston street, a public highway in the town of Brookline. In connection with its business the defendant owned and used a ‘Ford roadster’ for errands of emergency and light service work, and in the afternoon of August 27, 1924, this automobile was parked near the curbing on the side of Boylston street nearly opposite the defendant's place of business by an employee of the defendant acting in the course of his employment. When parked, the automobile was left unlocked with the key in the lock, and the ratchet brake not fully set, while for three and one-half hours it could be plainly seen from the defendant's place of business where its employees were at work. It was under these conditions that one Doherty without the permission or knowledge of the defendant or its employees feloniously appropriated the automobile and drove it at a high rate of speed through the public streets a distance of a mile and one-half to the place where the accident happened, which was caused by Doherty's negligence while the intestate and the plaintiff Adeline Slater were exercising due care. Section 7 of G. L. c. 90, among other provisions regulating the use and operation of motor vehicles on the public highways, requires that ‘automobiles shall be provided with a lock, a ratchet brake which can be set, a key or other device to prevent such vehicle from being set in motion by unauthorized persons.’ The jury undoubtedly could find...
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Mullins v. Pine Manor College
...fair reading of the expert's testimony clearly indicates that it was based on facts in the record.20 Cases like Slater v. T.C. Baker Co., 261 Mass. 424, 425, 158 N.E. 778 (1927), holding that a defendant, as matter of law, is not bound to anticipate the intervening acts of third parties hav......
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Jacobs v. Atlantic Coast Line R. Co.
... ... negligence as a matter of law precluding a recovery for his ... death." Baker v. R. Co., 44 Wash. 575, 87 Pa ... "Plaintiff, who approached railroad crossing in ... from independent source." Slater v. T. C. Baker Co ... (Mass.) 158 N.E. 778 ... In ... Shear & Red. Neg ... ...
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Permenter v. Milner Chevrolet Co.
...in the eyes of the law to be regarded as connected as cause therewith. The weight of authority is to that effect. Slater v. T. C. Baker Co., 261 Mass. 424, 158 N.E. 778; Sullivan v. Griffin, supra; Galbraith v. Levin, 323 Mass. 255, 81 N.E.2d 560; Walter v. Bond, 292 N.Y. 574, 54 N.E.2d 691......
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Pochi v. Brett
...Co., 197 Mass. 367, 373, 83 N.E. 871. It is settled that if the automobile was stolen, the defendant is not liable. Slater v. T. C. Baker Co., 261 Mass. 424, 158 N.E. 778;Sullivan v. Griffin, 318 Mass. 359, 61 N.E.2d 330. It is also true that apart from the effect of G.L.(Ter.Ed.) c. 231, §......