Gibson v. Webster

This was an action brought by Gibson against Webster for an assault and battery. The first three instructions given for the defendant should have been refused. They are based on the hypothesis that the first assault was made by Webster upon Gibson, that this assault was terminated, and that then Gibson made a new and independent assault upon Webster, in which he received these injuries. There is no evidence to sustain this theory, and the instructions were calculated to mislead the jury. The verdict was extraordinary. The evidence shows a wholly unprovoked assault of the most brutal…