Screw MacHine Products Corp. v. Cutter & Wood Supply Co.
Screw MacHine Products Corp. v. Cutter & Wood Supply Co.
Opinion of the Court
This is an action of .assumpsit to recover damages for the alleged breach by the defendant of its undertaking' to deliver certain merchandise to the plaintiff.
The case was tried before a justice of the Superior Court sitting with a jury and resulted in a verdict for the plaintiff. The defendant duly filed its motion for a new trial based on the grounds that the verdict was against the law and the weight of the evidence, and on the further ground of the misconduct of the general manager of the plaintiff and one of its principal witnesses with a member of the jury during the progress of the trial. At the hearing upon the motion said justice granted a new trial. The plaintiff duly excepted to the decision of said justice and the case is now before us upon the plaintiff’s exception thereto.
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The claim of misconduct was addressed to the judicial discretion of said justice. He had had the participants in the alleged misconduct before him at the trial and was better able to pass upon the weight that should be given to the affidavits presented to him than we are. We find no abuse of the discretion of said justice which would compel us to disturb his decision based upon this ground of the motion.
We think, however, that from the record we should treat the decision of said justice as based also upon the ground of the insufficiency of the plaintiff’s evidence and we find no error in his decision upon that ground.
The plaintiff’s exception is overruled. The case is remitted to the Superior Court for a new trial.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Screw MacHine Products Corporation vs. Cutter & Wood Supply Co.
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published