Silverglade v. Rohr
Silverglade v. Rohr
Opinion of the Court
Plaintiffs in error make three questions :
1. Whether under Section 5838, General Code, the owner of a dog that chases, worries, injures or kills a person is liable to the person so damaged, or his estate, for the injury done, in the absence of negligence on the part of the owner in the keeping of the dog.
3. Whether a charge by the trial court to the jury in the following language, “In case you find for the plaintiff, you will then consider the question of damages, and in this connection, if you find for the plaintiff, you should take into consideration the natures and extent of the injuries, whether or not such injuries are permanent, the pain and suffering which the plaintiff has endured, if any, and award him such damages as you believe from the evidence he is entitled, ’ ’ is so prejudicially erroneous as to require a reversal, for the reason that it does not sufficiently limit to compensatory damages the damages which the jury may assess.
This court had under consideration the provisions of Section 5838, General Code, in the case of Kleybolte v. Buffon, 89 Ohio St., 61. That was a case where the plaintiff had been bitten by the dog of the defendant, and upon the trial the court permitted evidence to go to the jury that the dog had bitten other persons prior thereto, and that defendant had knowledge of that fact and with such knowledge had permitted the dog to run at large without a muzzle, and charged the jury that the mere ownership of the dog which inflicted the injury rendered the own
The effect of that decision is to hold the owner or harborer of a dog liable, under Section 5838, General Code, for all damages occasioned to a person who is chased, worried, injured, or killed by such dog, and the necessary elements to establish such liability are. the ownership of the dog and the injury sustained because of the dog.
Applying that doctrine to the instant case it was only necessary for the plaintiff to prove that the defendant was the owner of the dog, that the dog chased or worried plaintiff, that as a proximate result of such chasing or worrying plaintiff was injured, and the extent of the injury sustained.
In other jurisdictions similar statutes have had a similar* interpretation. Tasker v. Arey, 114 Me., 551; Williams v. Brennan, 213 Mass., 28; Malafronte v. Miloni, 35 R. I., 225, and Jenkinson v. Coggins, 123 Mich., 7.
Upon the question of remittitur of the excess of an excessive verdict, this court in the case of Pendleton St. Rd. Co. v. Rahmann, 22 Ohio St., 446, declared: “Where the damages assessed by a jury are excessive, but not in a degree to necessarily imply the influence of passion or prejudice in their finding, the court, in the exercise of a sound discretion, may make the remittitur of the excess the condition of refusing to grant a new trial.” That was a case for personal injury where necessarily the amount of the verdict could not be arrived at wholly by a mathematical computation, but was the result of the composite opinion of a jury.
In the case of C. & M. Rd. Co. v. Himrod Furnace Co., 37 Ohio St., 434, this court again declared: “The court may, where it can be done, ascertain from the evidence the amount of such excess, and may, on a remittitur of the same being entered, affirm the judgment as modified.” That was a case grounded upon contract and the amount of the verdict was dependent upon the proof of payment of certain definite sums, and the duty of the jury in arriving at the amount of the verdict was, after having determined that the payments had been proven, to ascertain the amount of the verdict by a more or less accurate mathematical calculation. It probably is not an authority for a remittitur, such as here made.
However, the case of Pendleton St. Rd. Co. v. Rahmann, supra, has been extensively followed by the trial courts of this state, and this court, in the case of Ohio Traction Co. v. Shearer, 97 Ohio St.,
In 20 Ruling Case Law, at page 316, Section 100, the author states his conclusions as to the weight of authority, as follows:
“But where there is no legal measure or standard for fixing the amount of recovery, there is quite a contrariety of opinion as to the right to exercise this power. In some jurisdictions a new trial must be granted unconditionally in such a case, and it is error to make it conditional upon reducing the amount of the verdict. [Citing cases from Georgia, South Dakota, West ‘Virginia, and English cases.] '* * * In other jurisdictions it is the practice to permit a remittitur where the verdict is excessive whether the excess is susceptible of computation or not, and this is the more general rule.” (Citing cases from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Tennessee, Washington, Wisconsin and the United States Supreme Court.)
The majority of this court adhere to the doctrine announced in the case of Pendleton St. Rd. Co. v. Rahmann, supra.
The remaining question is whether the charge of the trial court was erroneous. The court limited the amount of damages to the “natures and extent of the injuries, whether or not such injuries are permanent, the pain and suffering which the plaintiff has endured, if any,” and instructed the jury to “award him such damages as you believe from the evidence he is entitled.”
It will be observed that the court failed to use the word “compensation” in connection with the amount
We find no prejudicial error and the judgment of the court of appeals is affirmed.
Judgment affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Silverglade v. Von Rohr, by His Next Friend
- Status
- Published