Covert v. Gray
New York Supreme Court
This was an action to recover damages for the act of the defendant in enticing the plaintiff’s son, Nathaniel, away from the service of the plaintiff and inducing him to go into the army of the United States for the term of three years, as a substitute for the defendant, who had been drafted for such service.
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This was an action to recover damages for the act of the defendant in enticing the plaintiff’s son, Nathaniel, away from the service of the plaintiff and inducing him to go into the army of the United States for the term of three years, as a substitute for the defendant, who had been drafted for such service. The plaintiff’s son was seventeen years old when he entered the army as a substitute for the defendant, in September, 1863. The name of the plaintiff was forged to a consent that his son might enlist in the army. He had previously consented that three other sons might serve in the army,…
1Opinion of the Court
By the court, Mason, J.
The judge at circuit, in my judgment, committed two errors in giving the rule of damages to the jury. In the first place, he charged the jury that, if the plaintiff was entitled to recover, their verdict should be the value of the services of his son for the full term of three years, if living, and advised them that they would probably find he was living; and to this the defendant’s counsel *454excepted, and requested him to charge the converse. This proposition cannot be sustained. The plaintiff’s son enlisted in September, 1863, and this suit was commenced in the spring…
2Cited by3 opinions
- Tidd v. . SkinnerNew York Court of Appeals · 1919
- Pickle v. PageAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York · 1929
- David v. Williamsburg City Fire InsuranceNew York City Court · 1879