Corbin v. M. Wilson & Son
Corbin v. M. Wilson & Son
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
Sylvester Corbin, a 40-year-old laborer, was injured when bricks cascaded upon him while working on a building-wrecking job in the “Mall Project” in Philadelphia. He brought suit against M. Wilson & Son, the firm which owned a crane, whose operator, Corbin claimed, so negligently operated the machine as to cause the accident in controversy, and obtained a verdict of $27,000.
It was the Wilson firm’s defense throughout the trial that it was not their crane which had been involved in the plaintiff’s accident. The president of the firm, however, admitted that it had three cranes operating on the project. One of these cranes was identified by two of Corbin’s co-workers.
In his opinion ordering the new trial the trial judge pointed to several matters of fact which, in every instance, had been decided by the jury. He said that since the plaintiff was an experienced construction worker he was guilty of contributory negligence because he should not have come up the stairs without first determining he could do so in safety. The court did not indicate what Corbin should have done, or how he did not exercise prudence. Corbin called out that he was on his way back to his job and to hold everything. The method of communicating with the crane operator was by voice and by hand signals. Both methods were employed. Even the defendant firm did not charge the plaintiff with contributory negligence. Indeed, after having filed a motion for judgment n.o.v., it withdrew that motion which it certainly would not have withdrawn had it believed the evidence proved Corbin guilty of contributory negligence.
The trial judge stated in his opinion that no signal was given to the crane operator. This statement is not borne out by the record, as already pointed out above. The trial judge said that, in a prior deposition, the plaintiff had said the accident occurred when the fifth floor was being removed but that at the trial, he said it was the fourth floor. The demolition process began with the roof and proceeded groundward. Thus, with the roof of the building gone and with girders, beams and other structural features being skeletonized amid dust, dirt and debris, one could easily mistake the fourth for the fifth floor, or vice versa. Anyhow, it didn’t matter where the bricks bombarded Corbin if he was injured through the negligence of the defendant’s operator. And, still further, the whole matter of locus in quo, method of procedure in wrecking operations, activity of the plaintiff and his co-workers were submitted to the jury in a very clear, ample and unmistaking charge. After considering the evidence from roof to ground floor, the jury returned a verdict on credibility of witnesses, verisimilitude of testimony, and burden of proof, and reached the conclusion of negligence on the part of the defendant, excluding contributory negligence.
What the trial judge has done, in his opinion, is to give his version of the accident, what he believed and did not believe, and then arrive at conclusions of his own. He, of course, may do this, but he may not upset the due determination of a jury without any indication, which he did not present, of perversity, misunderstanding, caprice or prejudice on the part of the jury.
The trial judge complains because the plaintiff ivas not present in the courtroom on the final day of the taking of testimony, but certainly this cannot be a reason for ordering a new trial. Defendant’s counsel had made no request that the plaintiff remain in the courtroom. In addition, if defendant’s counsel desired to cross-examine the plaintiff further, the plaintiff was available to him several days for that purpose.
Prior to the taking of testimony, plaintiff’s counsel moved to amend his complaint with regard to the actual situs of the accident. The trial judge authorized the amendment. Defendant’s counsel did not complain after the trial that the granting of the amendment had prejudiced his client’s case. In any event, the plaintiff was in no way surprised by the contents of the amendment, and there is no indication that it was prejudiced by the amendment in the presentation of its case or in the cross-examination of plaintiff’s witnesses.
At the end of his opinion the trial judge said: “The court is persuaded by many other facets of the case that justice required the granting of a new trial.” Since', the court endeavored to be specific as to the reasons for ordering a new trial, it is not enough now to say' that there are “many other facets” requiring a new trial. “Many other facets” is too ambiguous a term to guide an appellate court into ascertaining what is in the trial judge’s mind. We can assume that, by enumerating certain reasons, the trial judge intended those to be the main outstanding fundamentals on which his order is based. Since all those reasons, upon analysis, prove to be a collapsing stair on which to climb tó a jüst and legal cause for so monumental a decision, as ordering a new trial, we must assume that the “many other facets” mentioned are also stairs of sand.
In McArthur v. Balas, 402 Pa. 116, we said: “Under the circumstances and for the reasons hereinbefore stated, the award of a new trial as to Balas was an abuse of discretion by the court below.”
■We so hold here.
' Order reversed with direction that judgmeht be entered on the verdict.
The defendant brought in Werner Wrecking Company, the plaintiff’s employer, as an additional defendant but later released it from all liabiUty.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.