Van Steenburgh v. Thornton
Supreme Court of New Jersey
On error to the Supreme Court. The writ of error in this case was brought to .reverse a judgment of the Supreme Court entered upon a verdict of the jury rendered in the Hudson County Circuit Court. The action is brought to recover damages for the death of the plaintiffs’ intestate while working in a trench of a sewer which was being constructed in the township of Kearney by the defendants.
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On error to the Supreme Court. The writ of error in this case was brought to .reverse a judgment of the Supreme Court entered upon a verdict of the jury rendered in the Hudson County Circuit Court. The action is brought to recover damages for the death of the plaintiffs’ intestate while working in a trench of a sewer which was being constructed in the township of Kearney by the defendants. A number of exceptions were taken at the trial, but the plaintiffs ’in error did not press any except the refusal of the court to order a nonsuit, or to direct a verdict for them.
1Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court was delivered by
"Van SyokeIj, J.
Michael Thornton, the plaintiff’s intestate, was the servant of the defendants, engaged in digging for' them in a sewer which they were constructing for the township of Kearney, when one side of the sewer trench caved in upon him and crushed him to death.
*161The sewer trench was about eleven feet deep, and the sides were not braced.
A few years prior to this accident, a trench had been opened and a water pipe laid in this street, buried four or five feet under ground.
The sewer trench was parallel with the water pipe, about three feet distant…
2Cases cited1 opinion
- The Nord Deutscher Lloyd Steamship Co. v. IngebregstenSupreme Court of New Jersey · 1894
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- Canonico v. Celanese Corp. of AmericaNew Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division · 1951
- Comben v. Belleville Stone Co.Supreme Court of New Jersey · 1896
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