Southern Bell Telephone & Telegraph Co. v. Yates

This was an action for damages brought by Yates against the Telephone Company. The plaintiff claimed that his stock of merchandise was damaged when his store room was flooded with water due to the negligent act of the defendant’s servant in leaving open a water faucet on premises occupied by the defendant and located immediately above the plaintiff’s store. At the conclusion of all the evidence, the judge sustained a motion by the plaintiff for a directed verdict in his favor on the issue of liability and submitted to the jury only the question of the amount to which plaintiff was entitled as…