Sawvel v. Bitterlee
Wisconsin Supreme Court
APPEAL from the Circuit Court for Crawford County. Plaintiff was driving his team of horses across the Mississippi river in the night time, and the horses fell into a .hole in the ice cut by the defendant and left unfenced and unguarded. One horse was drowned, and the other had his leg broken and was necessarily killed. This action is to recover the value of the horses. The plaintiff had a verdict for such value.
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APPEAL from the Circuit Court for Crawford County. Plaintiff was driving his team of horses across the Mississippi river in the night time, and the horses fell into a .hole in the ice cut by the defendant and left unfenced and unguarded. One horse was drowned, and the other had his leg broken and was necessarily killed. This action is to recover the value of the horses. The plaintiff had a verdict for such value. A motion for a new trial was denied, and judgment entered for plaintiff pursuant to the verdict. Defendant appeals from the judgment. To the point that a verdict will not be set…
1Opinion of the Court
Lyon, O. J.
The question of the liability of defendant for the loss of plaintiff’s horses was a fairly debatable oné on the trial, and numerous errors going to the merits of the action are alleged as grounds for reversing the judgment. Rone of these will be determined on this appeal, for the reason that on the trial an error was committed which is necessarily fatal to the judgment.
The case was submitted to the jury, and they retired in charge of an officer, with leave, if they agreed upon a verdict after court adjourned for the night, to seal their verdict and separate, and they were directed…
2Cases cited2 opinions
- Jackson v. SmithWisconsin Supreme Court · 1866
- Short v. WestIndiana Supreme Court · 1868
3Cited by1 opinion
- Short v. BossWisconsin Supreme Court · 1929