McKahan v. Baltimore & Ohio Railroad

Citations

• 223 Pa. 1
• 72 A. 251
• 1909 Pa. LEXIS 464

Syllabus

<p>Negligence — Railroads—Grade crossing — “Stop, look and listen” — Non-suit — Contributory negligence.</p> <p>1. In an action against a railroad company to recover damages for death of plaintiff's husband, a nonsuit should be entered where it appears from the testimony of her own witnesses that at the time of the accident the deceased, who was driving a double team, stopped at a point 225 feet from the grade crossing, from which point only the stack of an engine or smoke issuing from it could be seen in the direction from which the train was coming, and that he then proceeded at a good gait down to the crossing, with all view from the direction of the approaching train cut off by an embankment and other obstructions until he reached a siding, where, if he had stopped, nineteen feet from the main track, he would have had an unobstructed view of the track for a distance of 2,000 feet in the direction from which the train was coming.</p> <p>Trial — Misconduct of juror — Continuance—Withdrawal of juror.</p> <p>2. Where an improper remark and a misstatement of the law are made by the trial judge during an argument on a motion for a nonsuit, and this is followed by applause from the audience in the court room, in which one of the jurors impaneled in the case joins by clapping his hands, it is reversible error for the court to refuse to withdraw a juror and continue the case. Under such circumstances the court should on the instant, and of its own motion, take notice of the misconduct of the juror, and, after discharging him from further service, continue the case, and impose a proper penalty upon him.</p>