Leiferman v. White
North Dakota Supreme Court
Appeal from District Court, Ward County, K. E. Leighton, J. Res ipsa loquitur, if thoroughly understood and intelligently applied, is one of the wisest and most wholesome of legal doctrines. It much resembles the doctrine of circumstantial evidence in criminal cases.
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Appeal from District Court, Ward County, K. E. Leighton, J. Res ipsa loquitur, if thoroughly understood and intelligently applied, is one of the wisest and most wholesome of legal doctrines. It much resembles the doctrine of circumstantial evidence in criminal cases. If a man is found dead near a damaged wire carrying death ■dealing voltage of electricity, it may well be presumed, in the absence •of an eyewitness, that he was killed through the negligence of the electric company. Houston v. Tractor Co. 155 N. C. 4. But the fact of the damaged wire, or overcharge of electricity is just •as…
1DissentChristianson, J.
I dissent. In my opinion the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur has no application in this case. This doctrine is not one of substantive law, but is a rule of evidence. In all cases the party who seeks to recover damages for injuries occasioned by the negligence of another must show that the injury is more naturally to be attributed to the negligence of the defendant than to any other cause. The doctrine, res ipsa loquitur, does not dispense with this rule. It merely determines the mode of proving, or what shall constitute prima facie evidence of, negligence. The phrase, res ipsa loquitur, means…
2Cases cited6 opinions
- San Juan Light & Transit Co. v. RequenaSupreme Court of the United States · 1912
- Minneapolis General Electric Co. v. CrononCourt of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · 1908
- Robinson v. . Consolidated Gas Co.New York Court of Appeals · 1909
- Wyldes ex rel. McLaughlin v. PattersonNorth Dakota Supreme Court · 1915
- Cederberg v. Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railway Co.Supreme Court of Minnesota · 1907
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