Pittsburgh, C. C. & St. L. Ry. v. Applegate

Citations

• 24 Ohio C.C. Dec. 338

Syllabus

<p>DAMAGES — RAILWAYS—TRIAL.</p> <p>1. Judgment against Steam Railway for Fire Destruction of Building Adjoining Right of Way from Sparks of Locomotive, Sustained.</p> <p>A judgment against a steam railway company for the value of a building and contents, burned in the night time on land adjoining the company’s right of way, will not be set aside on the theory that the fire originated from sparks'from a chimney of the building, rather than from a passing locomotive, where the evidence warrants the conclusion that the sparks came from a locomotive and the jury have so found.</p> <p>2. Interrogatories Requiring Jury to Designate Particular Chimney, ora Building, or One of Three Locomotives; Sparks from Which CausecR Fire, Held Properly Refused.</p> <p>In an action for recovery of damages on account of a loss so occurring, it is not error to refuse to submit to the jury the second and fourth of the following interrogatories: “(1) Was. the fire caused by a spark from one of the chimneys on plaintiffs house? (2) If you answer ‘yes,’ state which chimney emitted the spark; (3) Was the fire caused by a spark from one of defendant’s locomotives? (4) If you answer ‘yes,’ state which of the three locomotives emitted the spark?”</p> <p>3. Judgment for Damages for Fire Loss, not Set Aside because Amount Recovered Exceeds Estimate by Plaintiff Shortly after Fire.</p> <p>The fact that the amount of the judgment exceeds the amount of the loss as stated by the plaintiff in a letter to the company written soon after the fire, does not afford ground for setting the judgment aside, where .evidence detailing the loss and given at the trial supports the finding of the jury as to the amount of loss sustained.</p>