City of Chicago v. Stearns

Citations

• 105 Ill. 554
• 1883 Ill. LEXIS 121

Syllabus

<p>1. Practice—when specific objection should be made. In a suit against a city to recover for a personal injury from a fall, on June 12, 1878, caused by a defective sidewalk, a witness was asked if he knew the condition of the sidewalk in the month of June, 1878, to which the defendant made a general objection, which the court overruled: Held, that there was no error in the ruling. It was proper to prove the condition of the walk in the month of June prior to the injury, and if the defendant desired to object to evidence in regard to its condition after the accident, the objection should have been more definite, and confined to that particular time.</p> <p>2. Negligence— of city in respect to sidewalk—liability. A city will not be held liable for an injury from a defective sidewalk unless the authorities have notice of the defective walk, or unless they have notice of such facts and circumstances as would, by the exercise of reasonable diligence, lead a prudent person to such knowledge.</p> <p>3. Same—comparative negligence—statement of the rule. In an action based on negligence as the cause of injury, the court instructed the jury, that if they found, from the evidence, “that the plaintiff was herself guilty of some negligence, but that the defendant was guilty of gross negligence, contributing to such injury, and that the plaintiff’s negligence was slight as compared with the negligence of the defendant, still she may be entitled to recover:” Held, that the rule of comparative negligence was correctly stated.</p> <p>4. Instruction—construed, as to requiring notice. In a suit against a city to recover damages for an injury received from a defective sidewalk, the court instructed for the plaintiff that it was the duty of the defendant to use reasonable diligence to keep the sidewalk in a reasonably safe condition, and if the jury believed, from the evidence, that the defendant had failed to perform such duty, and that by reason of its negligence in that regard the