Banta v. Baist Lumber & Shingle Co.

The plaintiffs have appealed from a judgment rejecting their demand for damages for the destruction of the residence and furniture of George A. Banta, one of the plaintiffs, by a fire, alleged to have been set out by sparks from the smokestack of the defendant’s sawmill. The other plaintiff and appellant is the Virginia Eire & Marine Insurance Company, insurer of the building. The charge of negligence is that the defendant’s smokestack was not equipped with an efficient spark arrester. The fire that destroyed the Banta residence spread to and destroyed the residence of a neighbor, Toby…