Yoham v. Rosecliff Realty Co.
Yoham v. Rosecliff Realty Co.
Opinion of the Court
This is an appeal from a judgment of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey entered upon a
These are the essential facts: The roller coaster consists of a train of three open cars coupled together, three successive seats in each car, moving by force of gravity and momentum on tracks with sharp dips and curves; after reaching the highest point there is a sharp descent, followed by a second climb to another peak, in turn followed by a curve to the left which is banked; following the curve, the banking diminishes and there is a second extremely steep descent; the accident in question took place oh this descent. The decedent and his brother were seated in the last seat in the last car of the train. The cars were furnished with a stationary “safety bar” extending laterally from the back of the immediately preceding seat and parallel and almost in line with the front of the chair cushion on the right-hand side of the car. At the entrance or left-hand side, the bar was angled off to permit ingress. The decedent, who had been sitting on the left side of the car, fell out head first and died almost instantaneously.
Prior to the commencement of the trial and out of the presence of the jury, the court entertained offers of proof and ruled on them. Most of the specific errors alleged by appellant relate to the court’s denial at that conference of certain offers of proof. Specifically, the court refused to permit a jury to view the roller coaster, use of a scale model of the roller coaster car, evidence of previous and subsequent accidents on the same coaster, and evidence of the death of an employee of defendant while testing the device. In addition, the appellant complains of restrictions placed upon her by the trial court in her examination of one of her expert witnesses and in the use of photographs placed in evidence.
Appellant recognizes that the court’s rulings may be justified as proper exercises of its discretion or as harmless error. However, she contends that the cumulative effect of these rulings resulted in the deprivation of a fair trial. It was thus incumbent on this court to read the entire record to ascertain whether the actions of the trial court when taken in context and viewed as a whole resulted in a fair and impartial presentation of issues to the jury. Our examination of the record leads us to the conclusion that the trial judge was fully aware of his duty “to conduct the trial in an orderly way with a view to eliciting the truth, and to attaining justice between the parties.” Kettenbach v. United States, 9 Cir., 202 F. 377, 385, certiorari denied, 1913, 229 U.S. 613, 33 S.Ct. 772, 57 L.Ed. 1352. His actions were well within his authorized discretion and evidence nothing more than a diligent effort to keep the issues before the jury from being obfuscated. The instances of alleged unfairness or partiality on the part of the trial judge, cited by appellant, whether taken separately or as a totality, do not constitute error, let alone prejudicial error.
We have carefully considered the cases cited by appellant and find that they merely indicate that under differing factual patterns courts have approved the admission of similar types of evidence. None of them stand for the proposition that in all cases such evidence must be admitted. Differing factual situations call for the exercise of judicial discretion in regard to the admissibility of evidence. As Chief Justice Hughes stated in Burns v. United States, 1932, 287 U.S. 216, 223, 53 S.Ct. 154, 156, 77 L.Ed. 266, “That exercise implies conscientious judgment, not arbitrary action. * * * It takes account of the law and the particular circumstances of the case and ‘is directed by the reason and conscience of the judge to a just result.’ ”
A far more serious attack upon this judgment has been made by appellant. It is contended that it was reversible error for the court to fail to charge that appellee was required to exercise a high degree of care for the decedent’s
The judgment of the district court will! be affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Katherine YOHAM, as Administratrix of the Estate of Marion K. Yoham, and Katherine Yoham, as Administratrix ad Prosequendum of Marion Yoham v. ROSECLIFF REALTY COMPANY, Inc. and Palisades Amusement Park Operating Corporation
- Cited By
- 6 cases
- Status
- Published