McKee v. St. Louis Transit Co.
McKee v. St. Louis Transit Co.
Opinion of the Court
— -The plaintiff in employ of defendant as an extra or substitute employee but then not on duty, testified that about half past ten o’clock at night on the seventh of April, 1902, together with a companion he was at the southwest corner of Broadway and Lafayette avenue in the city of St. Louis, awaiting the arrival of a south-bound car; as the car drew near he signalled the motorman to stop and the car was brought almost to a full stop, his companion boarded the car in safety, but exercising due care, as he attempted to follow and also get on, the car started with a sudden and unexpected jerk, he was thrown to the ground receiving the injuries described and the car con-
“If yon find that plaintiff attempted to board the car while the same was moving and before it stopped then he was guilty of such negligence as contributed to his injury and can not recover.
‘‘ The court instructs the jury that the opinions of expert witnesses are admissible in evidence and are to be given such weight and value as the jury may think right and proper under the circumstances.
“The value of an expert opinion depends not only upon the qualification and experience of the witness, but upon the facts which he takes into consideration and upon which he bases his opinion. If the facts assumed, and which are made the basis of the opinion, are' not true and are not established by the proof, then the opinion has no basis upon which to rest and would be of no value, and in weighing such opinions the jury must look to see whether the facts assumed by the expert witness are established by the proof or not; and you can not take the facts assumed by the expert witness to be true simply because they were so assumed, but you must look to the proof to determine whether they are proved or not.
“The jury are instructed that ‘proper care’ as mentioned in these instructions, depends upon the circumstances and facts of each particular case or situation with reference to which the term is used. It is such care as a person of ordinary prudence and caution would exercise in the same situation and circum- ‘ stances.”
The first of this series, affirming the proposition that if plaintiff attempted to board the car while in motion and before it stopped, such action was conclusive evidence of contributory negligence prohibiting his recovery, was manifestly improper and not the law of this jurisdiction. Nor was the refusal of the last instruction defining proper care error; the court, at
“If you find plaintiff attempted to hoard defendant’s car while the-same was in motion and that such act of plaintiff was negligence, and that same contributed to his injury, then plaintiff can not recover.”
The facts in the ease did not necessitate any special caution to the jury regarding their consideration and estimation of testimony of expert witnesses who had appeared before them, and the omission was not reversible error herein. No hypothetical questions had been addressed to the physicians testifying respectively, one for each- party, the court had instructed the jury on the general subject and at instance of defendant, adequately, and as follows:
“You are the Sole judges of the credibility of the witnesses, and the weight and value to he given to their testimony and in this connection you are instructed that if you believe any witness has willfully sworn falsely to any material fact, you are at liberty to disregard any portion or all of the testimony of such witness.
“Mr. Minnis: I say, on the other hand, although the plaintiff looks weather-beaten, and although his clothes are not good, you saw them—
“Mr. Jourdan: I object to that.
“The Court: What is the objection?
“Mr. Jourdan: Plaintiff’s counsel said, ‘Although the plaintiff is weather-beaten, his clothes are not good,’ I say that is an improper appeal to the jury.
‘ ‘ The Court: There is nothing here to justify that*476 as far as I remember. Limit your argument to tbe facts developed before tbe jury.
“Mr. Minnis: You see tbe plaintiff’s garb. He hasn’t any buttons on bis coat—
“Mr. Jourdan: I object and except to tbe language.
“Tbe Court: That is something that ought not to be addressed to tbe jury. This matter must be determined on the facts in evidence before you, irrespective of tbe clothing of tbe plaintiff, or tbe position of tbe defendant.”
Tbe capable and vigilant trial judge, before whom the case was in progress, promptly and sufficiently reprimanded the transgressing attorney, if be was wandering beyond tbe bounds of tbe testimony, or exceeding tbe proper scope of legitimate argument; if defendant’s right to a fair and impartial trial was in jeopardy, the menace impending was cKecked and tbe danger averted by tbe court’s immediate admonition and condemnation of tbe attorney’s conduct and it does not appear that tbe incomplete-and interrupted sentence influenced tbe jury. Bradley v. City, 90 Mo. App. 416; Ruth v. Railway, 70 Mo. App. 190; Willison v. Smith, 60 Mo. App. 469; Nolan v. Johns, 126 Mo. 159, 28 S. W. 492. Such incidents are generally best weighed and determined by tbe trial court and its action should not be disturbed unless manifestly erroneous. Wendler v. Railway, 165 Mo. 527, 65 S. W. 737.
Judgment affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.