Kelley v. Barrett

I must respectfully dissent. Plaintiff failed to establish a prima facie case of negligence and the trial court properly sustained defendant’s demurrer to the evidence.

There was no showing that defendant was negligent in allowing the horse to escape. In fact, there was no showing that the horse did escape. Plaintiff presented no evidence which placed the horse in the field on 89th Street enclosed with “sagging wire” before the accident, or how it came to be on the road.

The mere fact that livestock is on a roadway does not raise a presumption of negligence on the part of the owner. Carver v.…