Morton v. Hardman-Wilkie Construction Co.
Morton v. Hardman-Wilkie Construction Co.
Opinion of the Court
The Hardman-Wilkie Construction Company was the owner of a one-ton Eord truck which on September 28th, 1927, was operated by and in the control of Hugh M. Wilkie, as its agent and servant. On that day he carted a load of stone sills to the Kearny fire house, at Kearny avenue, in Kearny.
The material was delivered to the rear of the fire house on Maple street. The truck was run upon the rear of the lot and turned around so that it faced Maple street. Being upon
A trial of the cause resulted in verdicts in favor of the plaintiff and against the Hardman-Wilkie Construction Company, the owner of the truck, and against the plaintiff and in favor of Hugh M. Wilkie, the driver and servant of the owner of the truck.
Three reasons are advanced why the verdict in favor of Hugh M. Wilkie should be set aside.
One only requires our consideration and that is that the. verdicts are clearly inconsistent, and this is so. The verdicts against the owner ■ are not sustainable except upon the theory of respondeat superior. It is claimed that the proofs show that the brakes on the truck were not in proper condition and that this was the cause of the happening. A careful examination of the proofs does not disclose any such situation.
The rule to show cause is therefore made absolute.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.