Johnson v. Smith

Citations

• 118 Wash. 146
• 203 P. 56
• 1921 Wash. LEXIS 946

Syllabus

<p>Appeal (464) — Harmless Error — Instructions — Refusal of Request. The refusal of the court to give a requested instruction, although it may be correct as an abstract principle of law, is not prejudicial, where the subject-matter is included in general instructions, covering the different features of the law applicable to all the facts.</p> <p>Same (460) — Harmless Error — Instructions. . An isolated portion of an instruction in a negligence action telling the jury that plaintiff is required to use that degree of care and prudence which a “person of ordinary intelligence” would use, though technically incorrect, is not prejudicial, where in another part of the same instruction the jury are expressly charged that the question for their consideration is, “Did plaintiff exercise reasonable care and prudence for' her own safety under the facts and circumstances in the case?”</p> <p>Trial (105) — Instructions—Refusal of Requests. In an action for personal injuries received by plaintiff from opening the wrong door and falling down a flight of steps, the refusal of a requested instruction that “if was the plain duty of plaintiff to use her sense of sight and look where she was stepping” was not error, where the jury were charged as to the duty of plaintiff to exercise reasonable care and prudence for her safety, and to determine whether the proximate cause of the accident was due to her failure to exercise such care and prudence.</p> <p>New Trial (49-1) — Misconduct of Jury. The affidavit of a third person, based upon the unsworn statement of a juror to him after the trial, respecting misconduct of a juror in the jury room, is not sufficient to support a motion for a new trial.</p> <p>Same (39) — Newly Discovered Evidence — Credibility of Witness. An affidavit of newly discovered evidence supporting a motion for new trial on that ground is insufficient where it discloses matter going only to the credibility of plaintiff as a witness, rather than to her right of recovery