District of Columbia v. Dietrich
District of Columbia v. Dietrich
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the Court:
This is an appeal by the District of Columbia from a judgment for the sum of $5,500, recovered by the appellee in an action for injuries sustained through a defect in a sidewalk.
2. The third assignment of error is that the court erred in
The assignment of error will not be entertained. To do so, under the circumstances, would not only be in opposition to the prevailing rule of practice in appellate courts generally, but also an express violation of the rule of this court made to meet such conditions. Hule Y. § 3.
There having been no exception to the charge, there was no occasion to insert in the bill of exceptions any of the evidence tending to show permanent injury (rule Y. § 4), and therefore it would not be presumed that there was no other evidence than that actually recited. From this, however, we are not to be understood as intimating that the evidence as recited does not furnish ample foundation for the charge to the jury.
Unless probably under some exceptional conditions not to be found here, if a party wishes a review of any action of the trial court he must bring the point to the attention of the presiding justice and save it for review in his bill of exceptions. The rules of practice expressly require this, and neglect to conform to them cannot be repaired. To raise points not thus saved merely adds to the burden of counsel and court without avail.
3. The fourth assignment of error is on an exception taken to the modification by the court of the first prayer requested by the defendant.
The court gave so much of the prayer as reads as follows:
“1. The court instructs the jury that their verdict must be based solely upon the evidence in the case, and that their sym pathy for the plaintiff should have no influence on their verdict; that the burden of proof is upon the plaintiff to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that her injury proximately re-*581 suited only from the negligence of the defendant, for the mere happening of the accident does not constitute negligence or any presumption of negligence, nor is the defendant required to keep its streets absolutely safe, and it is not an insurer against accidents, nor was it required as matter of law to place barricades or lights about the place where the plaintiff was injured.”
The modification consisted in striking out this final paragraph :
“'On the question of negligence of the defendant the jury should consider that at the time of the accident the place where it occurred was illuminated by the light in front of McDevitt’s saloon or any other lights, and that adjacent to the parking the sidewalks on 4th street and on K street afforded a reasonably safe way, and if they should so find from the evidence, and find from the evidence under all the circumstances that the defendant was not negligent, then their verdict should be for the defendant.”
There was no error in the modification of the prayer. The character and extent of the lights maintained by a nearby saloon in connection with the ordinary street lights near the place of injury had nothing to do with the question of defendant’s negligence in leaving a hole alongside the sidewalk into which the plaintiff fell. The only figure they could cut was in relation to plaintiff’s want of care in walking, or falling into the hole.
Moreover, there was nothing in the special bearing that the number and effect of neighboring lights could have on the issue generally, that made it necessary to direct the particular attention of the jury to them alone. Davis v. Coblens, 12 App. D. C. 51, 54.
4. The fifth assignment of error will not be noticed because it has no support in the bill of exceptions, and we proceed to the consideration of the sixth and last, which is on the refusal of the court to strike out part of the evidence of one Green, who testified on behalf of the plaintiff. The bill of exceptions shows that this witness testified to having seen several persons stumble and fall at the same place where plaintiff was hurt. It appear
The judgment will be affirmed with costs. It is so ordered.
Affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA v. DIETRICH
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- Evidence; Declarations; Res Gestae; Appeal and Error; Prejudicial Error; Bill oe Exceptions; Assignments oe Error; Trial; Exceptions; Streets and Sidewalks; Negligence; Witnesses. 1. In an action by a woman against a municipality for injuries occasioned by reason of a defect in a sidewalk, declarations made by her to her husband, who was a short distance ahead of her when she was hurt, and who ran back to her on hearing her scream, tending to show the severity of her injuries, are admissible as part of the res gestee (following Washington & G. R. Co. v. McLane, 11 App. D. C. 220), but even if incompetent their admission in evidence is not prejudicial, and therefore reversible, error, where there is other and overwhelming uneontradieted evidence of the serious nature of the injuries received. 2. An assignment of error in an action to recover damages for personal injuries, that the trial court erred in submitting to the jury in the charge the question of the permanent injuries of the plaintiff, will not be considered where the defendant did not object to tbat part of the charge, and asked no counter instruction. To do so would be to violate the prevailing rule of appellate practice and also § 3 of rule V. of this court. 3. Where there is no exception by the defendant to the trial court’s eharge to the jury on the subject of the permanent injuries alleged to have been received by the plaintiff in an action to recover damages for personal injuries, there is no occasion for the insertion in the bill of exceptions of any of the evidence tending to show such injuries (§ 4, rule Y. of this court) ; and where such evidence is inserted it will not be presumed by this court that there was no other evidence on the subject than that actually recited. 4. Except under exceptional conditions, if a party wishes a review of any action of the trial court, he must bring the point to the attention of that court, and save it for review in his bill of exceptions. The rules of practice expressly require this, and neglect to conform to them cannot be repaired. 5. The modification by the trial court of an instruction asked by the defendant in an action against a municipality to recover damages for injuries received by reason of a defect in a sidewalk, which related to the question of the defendant’s negligence, by striking out a direction that the jury should consider that the sidewalk at the time of the accident was lighted by street lights and the lights of a neighboring saloon, is not error, as the character of the lights could not affect the question of the defendant’s negligence, but only the question of the plaintiff’s contributory negligence; and, in addition, under such circumstances, it is not necessary to direct the particular attention of the jury to such lights. (Following Davis v. Coblens, 12 App. D. C. 51.) 6. It is not error for the trial court, in an action against a municipality to recover damages for personal injuries received by reason of a defect in a sidewalk, to overrule a motion by the defendant to strike out the testimony of one of the plaintiff’s witnesses to the effect that he had seen other persons stumble and fall in the same place where the plaintiff was hurt, upon the ground that it was not shown that the stumbling had occurred previous to the accident, where the defendant failed to make such objection while the witness was on the stand, or to cross-examine him on the subject, but made the motion after the witness had been discharged from attendance on the trial.