Hathaway v. Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Railway Co.

I. This is an action to recover damages for negligently permitting fire to escape from defendant’s locomotive, which fire, it is claimed, destroyed the grass upon plaintiff’s land. There is no question as to the escape of the fire, and it is equally clear that it burned over the ground of plaintiff. The only controversy is over the question of damages. As the jury returned a verdict for the defendant, it is apparent that they found that the fire caused no damage to the plaintiff. The evidence as to the value of the grass burned was conflicting. Some of it tended to show that it was worth…