Supreme Court of North Carolina, 1936

McKeller v. . Martin

McKeller v. . Martin
Supreme Court of North Carolina · Decided September 23, 1936 · PER CURIAM.
187 S.E. 555; 210 N.C. 830; 1936 N.C. LEXIS 248 (South Eastern Reporter)

McKeller v. . Martin

Opinion of the Court

Per Curiam.

The appellant assigns as error the following excerpt from his Honor’s charge: “If you answer the (first) issue ‘Yes,’ you will proceed to the consideration of the second issue as to the damages sustained, if any, but if you fail to find by the greater weight of the evidence that the defendant was guilty of negligence, and that such negligence was the proximate cause of the plaintiff’s injury, then you will answer the first issue ‘Yes’; otherwise, you will answer it ‘No.’” The error is obvious. His Honor used the word “Yes” where he should have *831 used tbe word “No,” and “No” where be should have used “Yes.” This error, evidently due to inadvertence, was one of the unavoidable casualties of the circuit, but, being material, it entitles the defendants to a new trial.

Error.

Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.