Niernberg v. Gavin

This is an action for damages resulting from injuries suffered by six-year-old plaintiff Michael Niernberg on premises of defendant Gavin. The record discloses that at the time of the accident defendant was engaged in cleaning a fifty-gallon steel tar barrel. For that purpose he stood the barrel on its open end close to the rear line of a vacant lot owned by him, raised one side of the barrel by use of pieces of wood so that it stood at an angle and built a fire under it for the purpose of melting, the tar. Plaintiff Michael and two young companions, who had been playing in the adjacent…