Sturgis v. Kountz
| Decision Date | 07 January 1895 |
| Parties | STURGIS v. KOUNTZ. |
| Court | Pennsylvania Supreme Court |
165 Pa.St. 358
STURGIS
v.
KOUNTZ.
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
Jan. 7, 1895.
Appeal from court of common pleas, Allegheny county.
Action by W. W. Sturgls against William J. Kountz, Jr., to recover the value of a horse and sulky lost by the horse leaping from defendant's
ferryboat. Prom a judgment for plaintiff, defendant appeals. Affirmed.
The opinion of the court of common pleas is as follows (White, J.):
"The only legal question raised at the trial, and the only point presented, was that of the defendant that, under all the evidence, the verdict should be for the defendant, which was refused. The question of the defendant's contributory negligence was submitted to the jury, and found in his favor. The negligence of the defendant was alleged to be a broken and defective rail across the wagon entrance, which was an Insufficient guard; and, in consequence thereof, the plaintiff's horse and buggy broke through, and fell into the river. The evidence showed that the rail had been broken and spliced, and that a new rail had been ordered before the accident, but was not furnished until a day or two afterwards. The defendant's contention was that, admitting a defective rail, the plaintiff could not recover, because the proximate and controlling cause of the accident was the blowing of the tug's whistle, which frightened the horses, and for which the defendant was not responsible. This is the legal question upon the facts stated in the special verdict, which was reserved.
"The defendant, on the question of proximate cause, relies upon Jackson Tp. v. Wagner, 127 Pa. St. 184, 17 Atl. 903, and the subsequent cases of Worrilow v. Upper Chichester Tp., 149 Pa. St. 40, 24 Atl. 85; Herr v. City of Lebanon, 149 Pa. St. 222, 24 Atl. 207; Schaeffer v. Jackson Tp., 150 Pa. St. 145, 24 Atl. 629; and Kieffer v. Hummelstown Borough, 151 Pa. St. 310, 24 Atl. 1060. But all these cases may be distinguished from the one at bar. In Jackson Tp. v. Wagner the plaintiff's horse was frightened at two donkeys on the road, suddenly turned round, broke off a wheel of the wagon, ran back some distance, when the hub of the broken wheel struck a stone pile, and the hind wheel dropped into a depression in the road, overturning the wagon, and injuring plaintiff. The road was in good condition for a width of 15 feet at the place of the accident, and safe for all ordinary purposes. It was held that 'if the plaintiff's injury was not due to any unsafe condition of the road, but to the successive accidents which befell her, and which had no connection whatever with the road or with the doings or misdoings of the supervisors,' the township was not liable. In Worrilow v. Upper Chichester Tp. the plaintiff was driving in a wagon, and, to avoid two bulls that were fighting in the road, he drove close to one side, when his wagon struck a tree projecting over the road. He was thrown out and injured. As the road was sufficiently wide and safe for all ordinary purposes, the fact that the tree projected somewhat over the road, it was held, was not negligence in the township. In Herr v. City of Lebanon the plaintiff was a passenger in an omnibus going up a hill, when one of the horses fell, and, in his repeated struggles to get up, dragged the other horse and vehicle to the side of the street, and the omnibus and team went over a steep declivity, injuring the plaintiff. The street was 20 feet wide, and in good condition. It was held that the proximate and efficient cause of the accident was the fall and struggles of the horse; that, even if there was not negligence in not having a guard rail at the declivity, the city was not liable, because this was such an accident (the fall and struggles of the horse) as the' city was not bound to anticipate or guard against. Schaeffer v. Jackson Tp. was another case arising out...
To continue reading
Request your trial