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Coller v. Knox

Coller v. Knox, 71 A. 539 (Pa. 1908)
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Court
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania · State Highest Courts
Decided
November 2, 1908
Docket
Nos. , No. 52
Judges
Brown, Elkin, Mestrezat, Mitchell, Pell, Potter, Stewart
Citations
71 A. 539222 Pa. 3621908 Pa. LEXIS 712
Disposition
Affirmed.
Syllabus
Negligence — Runaway team — Nonsuit. The mere fact of a runaway does not by itself imply negligence, nor would even leaving a team standing in a private lane do so. In an action to recover damages for personal injuries, a nonsuit is properly entered where the plaintiff testifies in effect that when he passed a lane leading from defendant’s house to a public road, he saw the team of defendant standing-in the lane, and a man standing at the head of the horses; that he drove slowly past the end of the lane, and when he had gotten 180 or 200 feet down the road, he heard a warning to “look out,” and immediately afterwards was struck by the runaway team.
Summary
Appeal, No. 52, Oct. T., 1908, by plaintiff, from order of C. P. Lawrence Co., Sept. T., 1905, No. 12, refusing to take off nonsuit in case of William H. Coller v. Alexander G. Knox. Trespass to recover damages for personal injuries. Before William E. Porter, P. J. The facts are stated in the opinion of the Supreme Court. Error assigned was order refusing to take off nonsuit.

Syllabus and headnotes are prepared by the reporter or publisher, not the court, and are not part of the opinion.

Opinion of the Court

Text extracted by OCR from a scanned original; check the original for exact wording.

Per Curiam,

There was no evidence of negligence on the part of defendant. The only testimony as to the facts of the occurrence was from the plaintiff himself, and was to the effect that when he passed the lane, leading from defendant’s house, to the public road, he saw the team of defendant standing in the lane, and a man standing at the head of the horses. He drove slowly past the end of the lane, and when he had gotten 180 or 200 feet down the road he heard a warning to “look out,” and immediately after was struck by the runaway team.

In all this there is no evidence of negligence. The mere fact of a runaway does not by itself imply negligence, nor would even leaving a team standing in a private lane do so. But in this case the affirmative evidence is that when last seen only a few moments before the collision, there was a man standing at the horses’ heads.

*364 The cases cited by the appellant of horses left unhitched and unattended on a city street, stand upon an entirely different footing.

Judgment affirmed.

How later courts describe this case

No later court has written an explanatory parenthetical about this case yet.

1914: 11918: 11920: 11922: 11936: 11938: 11942: 119142026peak 1914 · 1

Relies on it most ⓘ

  1. Bender v. Welsh25 A.2d 182 (Pa. 1942)
  2. Jordan v. Eisele116 A. 675 (Pa. 1922)
  3. Luks v. American Ice Co.109 A. 680 (Pa. 1920)
  4. Potter Title & Trust Co. v. Oswald & Hess Co.185 A. 231 (Pa. 1936)
  5. Briggs v. Lake Auburn Crystal Ice Co.92 A. 185 (Me. 1914)
  6. Erickson v. Sutherland69 Pa. Super. 516 (1918)

Most recent

  1. Bender v. Welsh25 A.2d 182 (Pa. 1942)
  2. Judd v. Scranton Republican32 Pa. D. & C. 712 (1938)
  3. Potter Title & Trust Co. v. Oswald & Hess Co.185 A. 231 (Pa. 1936)
  4. Jordan v. Eisele116 A. 675 (Pa. 1922)
  5. Luks v. American Ice Co.109 A. 680 (Pa. 1920)
  6. Erickson v. Sutherland69 Pa. Super. 516 (1918)

Citing references are not a citator: they show that a later opinion cites this case, not whether it followed, distinguished, or overruled it. Check negative history before relying on this case.

Authorities cited 0

No citations to other opinions in this database were found.

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