Menhennet v. Davis
Menhennet v. Davis
Opinion of the Court
Opinion bt
The minor son of the plaintiff was injured by being struck by the team of the defendant in charge of his servant. The plaintiff presented proof showing that the defendant had several conversations with the plaintiff and his wife and on these occasions agreed that he would in consideration of the plaintiff not bringing suit, pay all the trouble and expenses growing out of his injuries. The summary of the testimony in this respect is that after expressing his regret for the accident and the carelessness of his driver, defendant stated that if plaintiff would cause him no trouble nor go to law, nor cause him any notoriety, he would take care of the boy, pay all expenses including proper nourishment and do everything to get the boy well. The defendant who was a doctor, furthermore stated that the parents of the boy might call in another doctor and he would pay the expenses. This testimony if believed, was sufficient to support a contract. It was definite and based upon a valid consideration. The father of the child had a right of action against the defendant for
There are several assignments directed to certain parts of the charge which, standing alone, might convict the court of error but taken with the context they do not bear out the contention. For the sake of illustration take the fourth assignment of error which is as follows: “In other words there was a proposal by Doctor Davis ‘if no suit is brought against me on account of that accident I will pay the expenses.’ The father said, ‘I will bring no suit. I will agree that no suit should be brought
All the assignments of error are overruled and the judgment is affirmed.
Reference
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- Contract — Agreement to settle — Oral evidence — Case for jury. An agreement to pay all expenses resulting from the injury to the son of the plaintiff by defendant’s servant, if plaintiff would cause defendant no trouble, is a definite contract based upon a valid consideration. Where the plaintiff forbore to sue, and the evidence, if believed, would have entitled him to have recovered for the reasonable expenses incurred in caring for his son during the illness, and for his services, the plaintiff parted with a right which he had, in agreeing to such forbearance, and the case was for the jury as to the making of the contract and its terms. Practice — Isolated portions of charge — Not properly to be excepted to. It is always unsafe and unfair to the trial judge to select a single sentence from the body of the charge, sever it from its context, and undertake to construe it by itself, without regard to what he may have said in the same connection or in other parts of the charge. Practice, C. P. — Charge—Mistake in stating testimony. Where a defendant complains of a misquotation of the testimony in the charge of the court, which he failed to call to the attention of the trial judge, he will not be heard on appeal. It was his duty to speak up when he had the chance.