Schildt v. Johnson
Schildt v. Johnson
Opinion of the Court
The trial court held that the relation of passenger and carrier had not arisen; that the defendant was not negligent; and that plaintiff was guilty of contributory negligence as a matter of law. We need not determine whether under the facts of the case the relation of passenger and car
It was not a case of the best means of escaping from a sudden perilous position, as plaintiff’s counsel argues. The position was voluntarily assumed; the impending danger observable, and the only means of escape was to step back out of danger. Plaintiff says the speed of the car was so great that it “drawed him in.” If so, he must have sensed the great rate of speed some appreciable time before the car reached him, because he stood all the time looking directly at it. Under such circumstances both his sense of sight and hearing would disclose the high rate of speed in time to enable him to step back to safety before the car reached him.
By the Court. — Judgment affirmed.
Dissenting Opinion
Under the facts in this case I think plaintiff was clearly a passenger (Tarczek v. C. & N. W. R. Co. 162 Wis. 438, 441, 156 N. W. 473), and that it was properly a jury question to determine whether or not defendant was negligent in furnishing the place for such passenger to approach and board its cars. The evidence showed that he did appreciate the situation and did use some care to avoid danger, and the jury, not the court, should have said whether, in the light of all the surrounding circumstances, this was ordinary care. Spencer v. M. & P. du C. R. Co. 17 Wis. 487, 493; Munroe v. Pa. R. Co. 85 N. J. Law, 688, 90 Atl. 254, Ann. Cas. 1916A, 140; Richardson v. D. & M. R. Co. 176 Mich. 413, 423, 142 N. W. 832. I therefore dissent.
Reference
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- Schildt v. Johnson, Receiver
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