Metcalf v. Baker
The Superior Court of New York City
Appeal from a judgment entered upon the report of a referee, and also from an order denying a motion to set aside the report for irregularity. The action was- to recover damages for personal injury, and was referred to a referee, to “hear and determine the same, and that he report to this court with all convenient speed.”
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Appeal from a judgment entered upon the report of a referee, and also from an order denying a motion to set aside the report for irregularity. The action was- to recover damages for personal injury, and was referred to a referee, to “hear and determine the same, and that he report to this court with all convenient speed.” The complaint alleged that the injury was caused by the negligence of defendant’s servant, in driving the defendant’s horse and wagon into the carriage of the plaintiff. A motion to dismiss the complaint on the several grounds : 1. Of plaintiff’s concurring negligence. 2.…
1Opinion of the Court
By the Court.—Monell, J.
There is no founda*12tion for the objection, that the judgment was irregularly entered, without the fiat of a judge of the court. The reference was to hear and determine all the issues, and the referee took the place of the court. Upon filing his decision, it was the duty of the clerk to enter the judgment (Code, § 272 ; Griffing v. State, 5 How. Pr. 105).
There was no proof in the case that the act of the defendant’s driver was willful. The finding of the referee that the defendant’s wagon was driven violently against the plaintiff’s carriage, if it could be understood to…
2Cases cited3 opinions
- Colegrove v. New York & New Haven RailroadNew York Court of Appeals · 1859
- Colegrove v. New York & Harlem RailroadThe Superior Court of New York City · 1857
- People v. WilkesNew York Supreme Court · 1850