Watterson Ex Rel. Watterson v. Portas

CLEMENS, Commissioner.

This appeal brings up two related issues: Did the trial court err in giving two converse instructions, and was that claimed error rendered harmless by plaintiffs’ failure to make a submissible case ?

The case grew out of an intersectional collision between two cars, one driven by the minor plaintiff and the other by defendant. The minor plaintiff sued for $5,000 personal injuries; his father joined as co-plaintiff seeking $500 medical expenses. The jury gave defendant a verdict but the trial court granted plaintiffs a new trial on the ground it had erred in giving two…