Perry v. Malarin

Citations

• 107 Cal. 363
• 40 P. 489
• 1895 Cal. LEXIS 759

Syllabus

<p>Negligence—Derailing of Street-car by Frightened Horses—Rebuttal of Presumption.—Where the plaintiff was injured by jumping from a street-car which had been derailed from the track by frightened horses, any presumption of negligence from the fact of the accident is sufficiently rebutted by testimony introduced by the defendant showing that there was a perfect track, car, and harness in good repair, gentle horses, and a skillful driver, alert and at his post; and that, while the car was proceeding upon the track, an express-wagon was driven rapidly in front of the team and suddenly stopped, and a man with a bundle jumped suddenly in front of the horses and toward them, thereby startling them and causing them for the moment to become unmanageable, and to derail the car from the track.</p> <p>Id.—Unforeseen Startling of Horses — Disproof of Negligence.— Where the event which startled the horses could not have been foreseen, and all was done which could have been done by the utmost skill and care to prevent accident after the horses were startled, negligence is disproved.</p> <p>Id.—Evidence—Previous Runaway of Horse.—The bare statement of a witness that one of the car horses had once run away, without showing when or under what circumstances, or that the defendant knew or ought to have known it, does not tend to show negligence.</p> <p>Id.—Unusual Speed of Horses.—The mere fact that the horses were going at an unusual speed, where it does not appear that they were going at a dangerous gait, does not tend to prove negligence.</p>