Oothoudt v. Woodard

The Circuit Court of Lake County entered judgment for defendant in this action brought to recover damages for the death of plaintiff’s decedent in an automobile collision allegedly caused by defendant’s negligence. The case was tried before a jury that returned a general verdict for defendant, a special finding that plaintiff’s decedent was not free from contributory negligence, and a general verdict for plaintiff signed by all jurors but marked in hand printing: “In The Presence Of All Jurer’s [sic] We Void This Form.” The record contains no transcript of the return of verdicts in open Court…