Byrd v. City of New York

This action was instituted to recover damages for the alleged wrongful death of plaintiff’s intestate claimed to have been caused by the negligence of the defendant. In its answer, the City of New York, in addition to a general denial, set forth a separate defense of contributory negligence on the part of the deceased. At the conclusion of the plaintiff’s case and again at the close of the defendant’s case after both sides had rested, the court reserved decision on the motion to dismiss the complaint. During the course of the summation by plaintiff’s attorney, the court directed, a verdict in…