Matthews v. Blackwood Lumber Co.

Supreme Court of North Carolina
Matthews v. Blackwood Lumber Co., 169 S.E. 708 (N.C. 1933)
204 N.C. 725; 1933 N.C. LEXIS 251
Stacy

Matthews v. Blackwood Lumber Co.

Opinion of the Court

Stacy, C. J.

The validity of the trial is assailed upon the ground that the judge, in charging the'jury, used the technical expressions “proximate cause,” “burden of proof,” “greater weight of the evidence,” without explaining their meaning in language which the jury could understand.

The case is a very simple one, both as to the law and the facts. The plaintiff was a woods “swamper,” cutting tree laps and brush in the Balsam Mountains. He was given an ax with a defective, switchy handle, which caused him to strike a limb and cut himself. McKinney v. Adams, 184 N. C., 562, 114 S. E., 817; Mercer v. R. R., 154 N. C., 399, 70 S. E., 742.

The simplicity of the ease rendered the use of the ordinary formula in charging the jury, without further explanation, certainly harmless, if not unnecessary. Fleming v. Utilities Co., 193 N. C., 262, 136 S. E., 723; S. v. Steadman, 200 N. C., 768, 158 S. E., 478. The jury could not have misunderstood the meaning of the expressions used, when applied to the evidence.

No error.

Reference

Full Case Name
Lester Matthews v. Blackwood Lumber Company.
Status
Published