Cook v. American Smelting & Refining Co.

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Walker, Chaneellor.

This was a suit in the Hudson Circuit and resulted in a judgment for defendant as on a directed verdict. When the motion was granted the jury was absent and they were not polled. The jury, if present and instructed by the court to return a verdict for the defendant, would not have been at liberty to disregard the direction, and any verdict rendered in defiance of it would have been instantly set aside and the jurors would have been liable to answer for contempt of court.

A motion to direct a verdict is in effect a demurrer to the…