Erikson v. Wisconsin Hydro-Electric Co.

Defendant owned and operated a 6,900 volt, three-wire transmission line supported by cedar poles along the south side of an east-and-west road which passed in front of plaintiff’s farm house. Plaintiff’s house was south of the highway, and the north wire of the transmission line passed between two feet four inches and two feet eight inches from the trunk of a tree, the variance depending upon the direction of the wind. The limbs of the tree were *616trimmed in the immediate vicinity of the wire. The lower branches of the tree were about five feet four inches from the ground. There was no warning…