Cincinnati Traction Co. v. Reebusch
Opinion of the Court
Reebusch recovered a verdict and judgment against the traction company, because of a personal injury resulting to him from the company’s negligence. Counsel for the company assign one error only; and this one depends upon the proper construction of the charge to the jury.
It was the plaintiff’s theory that he was standing on the rear platform of the car when it stopped at his street corner, and that as he was in the act of alighting the car was started, and he was thereby hurt. Under the Ohio practice, a plea of contributory negligence is necessary in order to put that issue into the case, and the company filed no such plea. It denied that the injury happened as alleged, and its testimony tended to show that Reebusch got off while the car was in motion, and after it had gone some distance beyond the street corner in question. If the injury happened as Reebusch claimed, he was entitled to go to the jury; if it occurred in the manner of the company’s theory, there should have been an instruction for the defendant.
Under these circumstances, and at the close of the charge, the defendant requested a specific instruction that if the jury found that Reebusch did not attempt to alight until after the' car had started, and after the stop in question, and that then he voluntarily left the car, the verdict must be for the defendant. The court said this charge could not be given, because it raised the question of contributory negligence, which, under the pleadings, was not in the case. Reebusch’s counsel then pointed out that they were intending to raise the question of variance, and the court then further said to the jury that the charge against the defendant was the negligence set out in the petition, that there was no other negligence charged in the case excepting this, that, if any other negligence than as charged appeared, the plaintiff could not recover on that, because the plaintiff had made his case by his pleadings, and that the court could not charge the jury on the subject of contributory negligence.
We cannot find any apparent misleading' of the jury upon the point in question. Taking the whole charge together, we think it fairly put before the jury the two conflicting theories of fact. We can see.no material difference between the requested instruction, basing a verdict for the defendant on the finding that Reebusch did not try to alight while the car was stopped, but did get off after the car started, and the expressly given instructions that the plaintiff could not recover, unless the injury happened while he was attempting to alight from the car ■while it was stopped, and that if the car had started up before Ree-busch tried to get off, or gave or caused to be given, any signal to the conductor, then there could be no recovery. '
Counsel for the company cite a number of cases where undue emphasis by a trial judge upon the plaintiff’s theory of the case, or where the refusing in the presence of the jury to give a specific and proper instruction because it had been covered by the general charge, has been held to be error. We will not. review these cases. Each one of them depends on its own facts. The question in each was whether, considering all the record, it appeared that the jury might have been ^ misled. Upon the entire record in the present case, we cannot be justified in drawing any conclusion that there was such misleading. The judgment should be affirmed, with costs.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- CINCINNATI TRACTION CO. v. REEBUSCH
- Status
- Published