Morneault v. Inhabitants of Town of Hampden

On motion for a new trial, the defendant town has the burden of establishing that the jury was plainly wrong in finding first, that the motor vehicle accident with resulting damage was caused by a defect in the highway, or second, that the plaintiff was free from contributory negligence. The ground in the motion that the damages were excessive was not argued by the defendant and is, therefore, considered to have been abandoned.

The testimony taken in the light most favorable to the plaintiff discloses the following facts.

About midnight on May 26, 1949 the plaintiff, a young man twenty years of…