Lanahan v. Philadelphia & West Chester Turnpike Road Co.
Lanahan v. Philadelphia & West Chester Turnpike Road Co.
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
The facts in this case are practically undisputed. The only question is whether the testimony shows that the defendant might have been guilty of such negligence as to warrant the submission of that fact to the jury. The defendant’s duty was to keep its road in a good safe condition. It bad a right to deposit outside of the traveled track of the road material used in making repairs providing the materials were so arranged that they were not from their unusual appearance likely to frighten an ordinarily trained horse. It was the duty of the .company to repair this bridge. It had a right to pile the old plank taken from the bridge as they did at the side of the road. It had the right to leave it there on Christmas and until the morning after Christmas when this accident occurred. The only question for the jury, therefore, was whether the planks were so negligently piled or placed as to frighten a well trained road horse. This was the theory upon which the question was tried, and the view taken by the learned judge of the court below in submitting the case to the jury. Was there sufficient testimony to justify the submission of that question? The testimony of Kinsey, a witness called for the defendant and corroborated by Hall, a witness for the plaintiff was that the six planks taken from the old bridge were laid in two piles of three planks each alongside of the road and away from the traveled track. Hall, one of the plaintiff’s witnesses, passed after the planks had been piled, and testifies that they were placed as testified to by Kinsey and adds, “ that they would not have frightened an ordinarily quiet horse the way they were lying when he saw them.” Lanahan, the plaintiff, testifies when he
Judgment reversed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.