Schwalen v. Fuller & Co.

Citations

• 107 Wash. 476
• 182 P. 592
• 10 A.L.R. 296
• 1919 Wash. LEXIS 792

Syllabus

<p>Trial (42-1, 43)—Misconduct of Counsel—Showing Indemnity Insurance. Upon the trial of cause for wrongful death, plaintiff’s counsel should not he permitted in examining the jurors on their voir dire, to persistently so interrogate them as to suggest that an indemnity bonding company was interested in the defense of the action.</p> <p>Municipal Corporations (380, 390)—Use of Streets—Violation of Ordinance—'“Obstructions.” The operation of an automobile with the windshield so covered with rainwater that the driver could not see where he was going is not negligence, as a matter of law, as in violation of a city ordinance forbidding the operation of an automobile so constructed that the driver did not have a clear and unobstructed view; since rainwater is not an obstruction within the meaning of such ordinance.</p> <p>Same (379, 392)—Collision at Crossing—Mutual Rights and Duties—Instructions. Upon an issue of fact as to whether an automobile accident took place at a city crossing, giving the pedestrian the right of way, or at the street intersection, it is better, instead of one instruction, to instruct separately as to the reciprocal rights and duties of pedestrians and vehicles at crossings and intersections, and as to the greater hazard in the one cáse.</p> <p>Costs (83)—On Appeal—Taxation—Time for Filing Cost Bills. Rule 14 of the supreme court (71 Wash., p. ii) providing that the prevailing party shall within ten days after the filing of an opinion, file and serve a cost hill, and that if none is filed, the clerk shall tax certain costs, is mandatory, and a cost bill filed out of time will be struck out unless good grounds are shown for the default; and inadvertence of counsel is not a sufficient legal excuse.</p>