Kiel v. Ott
Kiel v. Ott
Opinion of the Court
This is an action by plaintiff to recover damages alleged to have been sustained in consequence of being thrown from his horse, it being charged that plaintiff had wrongfully and unlawfully and without right, piled or caused to be piled a lot of cordwood on a public road in such manner as to create an obstruction calculated to frighten horses of ordinary gentleness and that while plaintiff was travelling along the road, riding a horse of ordinary gentleness, the horse became frightened at the piles of wood and jumped and threw plaintiff to the ground, thereby seriously injuring him, for which injuries sustained plaintiff claims judgment in the sum of $1500.
The answer was a general denial.
On trial before the court and a jury, the jury returned a verdict for defendant, from judgment on which plaintiff, filing his motion for a new trial and saving exception to that being overruled, has duly perfected his appeal to this court.
As to the facts it may be said that plaintiff’s testimony tended to show that he received certain injuries by being thrown from his horse while he was riding along the road and between the piles of wood alongside of it. Defendant attacked the character of plaintiff for truth and veracity and also introduced evidence tending to show that the horse had not jumped; that measuring the tracks of the horse in the road showed the horse had neither jumped nor run off, as claimed by plaintiff.
The first assignment of error cannot be sustained. The witness referred to being under examination on part of defendant, and testifying as to conversations between himself and plaintiff concerning the transaction, after having testified that in that conversation plaintiff had made a certain statement, was asked what, if 'anything further, plaintiff had then said. Whereupon the witness answered: “Well, he said this: ‘You know as well as P do that Ott is a good man and a good church member, and has lots of friends, and if you prove my reputation it will be a job for me to gain this. You know that as well as I do.’ ” It is stated in the abstract that plaintiff thereupon moved the court to strike out the answer of the witness to the last question,. “ as having no bearing on the issues in the case and being improper evidence tending to prejudice the jurors against plaintiff.” This is the motion referred to, which the court overruled and to which ruling plaintiff duly excepted. It will be noted that the question itself was not objected to when asked. The objection was made to the answer and for the reasons above. That answer might possibly have been objected to as not responsive to the question asked, although this is doubtful, but no such objection was made. The objection as raised is not tenable. The answer did bear on the issues as to plaintiff’s own statements and on his character, and purported to give the whole conversation, as the witness was asked to do. That it may have influenced the jury in passing upon plaintiff’s testimony unfavorably to plaintiff, does not render it improper.
The instruction complained of is to the effect that-if the jury found and believed from the evidence that
This disposes of all the assignments of error except that plaintiff’s motion for new trial, it is claimed, was ‘ improperly overruled. It is argued in support of this assignment that the motion for new trial should have been sustained by reason of the reception of the evidence and the giving of the instruction above referred to. We have disposed of these grounds. It is also claimed that the verdict of the jury is against the weight .of the evidence to such an extent as to indicate that it is the result of prejudice, influencing the jury against plaintiff. In support of this ground, we are referred to Walton v. Kansas City, Port Scott & Memphis Railroad Co., 49 Mo. App. 620, l. c. 627. In that case it is there stated that in Price v. Evans, 49 Mo. 396, Judge Bliss impliedly states that it is error in
Tbe judgment of tbe circuit court is affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.