Clark v. Franklin Farmers' Mutual Fire Insurance
Wisconsin Supreme Court
Appeal from a judgment of the circuit court for Rich-land county: B. F. Dunwiddie, Judge. Action on an insurance policy to recover for loss alleged to have been caused by lightning. The property insured was a gristmill and sawmill operated by water power. The sawmill had been out of use for some years before the loss occurred. The dam extended across the river at right angles from east to west.
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Appeal from a judgment of the circuit court for Rich-land county: B. F. Dunwiddie, Judge. Action on an insurance policy to recover for loss alleged to have been caused by lightning. The property insured was a gristmill and sawmill operated by water power. The sawmill had been out of use for some years before the loss occurred. The dam extended across the river at right angles from east to west. The river turned southeasterly below the dam, and the westerly banks thereof were precipitous rocks. Above the dam on the east side of the stream was a structure called the “ old mill,” on the south…
1Opinion of the CourtMarshall, J.
The burden of proof was on respondent to establish by a preponderance of the evidence, to a reasonable certainty, that the destruction of the buildings was caused by lightning. To merely prove that they might have been so destroyed and that they .might just as likely have been destroyed by water, or to prove the existence of circumstances which were merely sufficient to constitute a foundation for speculation and conjecture, was not sufficient to warrant a recovery by plaintiff. Hyer v. Janesville, 101 Wis. 371. ‘Judicial determinations must rest upon facts, and legal liability must be…
2Cases cited2 opinions
- Hyer v. City of JanesvilleWisconsin Supreme Court · 1898
- Sorenson v. Menasha Paper & Pulp Co.Wisconsin Supreme Court · 1882
3Cited by7 opinions
- Samulski v. Menasha Paper Co.Wisconsin Supreme Court · 1911
- North British & Mercantile Ins. Co. v. SciandraSupreme Court of Alabama · 1951
- Saucer v. City of West Palm BeachSupreme Court of Florida · 1945
- Caledonian Insurance Company v. NaifehCourt of Appeals of Kentucky (pre-1976) · 1929
- Kern v. SniderCourt of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 1906
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