Bennett v. O'Brien

Citations

• 37 Ill. 250

Syllabus

<p>1. Bailment—what is gratuitous. He who borrows the horse of another for use, without compensation, is a gratuitous bailee.</p> <p>2. Same. The loan of the use of domestic animals necessarily involves their keeping, and the expense thus incurred by the borrower is not a compensation to the lender which changes the gratuitous character of the bailment.</p> <p>3. Same—burthen of proof. In a suit brought by the lender against the borrower of a horse, which died in the possession of the latter, after the plaintiff proved the character of the bailment and the death of the horse in the bailees -hands, it devolved on the latter to show he had exercised the degree of care required by the nature of the bailment.</p> <p>4. * Same. A gratuitous bailee must exercise extraordinary care.</p>