Bolles v. Erie Railroad
Bolles v. Erie Railroad
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
In cases of this character, if the trial court be asked to enter a compulsory nonsuit or direct a verdict in favor of the defendant, such action must be predicated on the whole of the plaintiff’s case in its entirety. It is often true that certain statements made by a plaintiff, if viewed alone and apart from the body of his evidence, might warrant such action by the court. But it has been many times held that even if the plaintiff’s own evidence be contradictory, then the question of the meaning of it, as a whole, must be submitted to the jury and the court would not be warranted in declaring, as matter of law, that the plaintiff was guilty of contributory negligence or had voluntarily chosen to take the risk of a danger so obvious and imminent that no reasonable person would accept such a chance.
Being of opinion the learned trial judge could not have Avithdrawn the case from the consideration of the jury, Ave discover no error in the manner in which it was submitted. The assignments of error are overruled.
Judgment affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.