Weller v. Davis

Citations

• 245 Pa. 280
• 91 A. 664
• 1914 Pa. LEXIS 874

Syllabus

<p>Practice, 8. C. — Assignments of error — Refusal of trial judge to strike out testimony — Instructions to jury to disregard testimony— Refusal of instructions.</p> <p>1, Where no objection has been made to testimony at the time when it was offered, the refusal of the trial judge to strike it out cannot be reviewed by the Supreme Court. In such case counsel should request the court to instruct the jury to disregard the testimony, and the refusal of such request may be assigned as error.</p> <p>Mines■ and mining — Surface support — Removal of coal — Injuries to buildings on land — Evidence—Negligence—Instructions to jury . — Damages.</p> <p>2. In an action to recover damages for injuries to plaintiff’s house and the surface of plaintiff’s land resulting from the removal of the coal which underlay the surface, the refusal of the court to admit in evidence the lease for the coal was not reversible error, where plaintiff admitted that defendant was entitled to mine the coal, and made no claim for the value thereof.</p> <p>3. Where the jury inspected the premises and the trial judge charged that “your own eyes and your own observation of what you saw is the best possible evidence that can guide you. Sworn testimony as a rule cannot be relied upon thoroughly, because there is always more or less contradiction — honést men differ —but what you see, that is within your own personal knowledge, coming to you especially in your official capacity as jurymen, is the best possible evidence to guide you gentlemen in getting at the truth,” he went no further than the acknowledged rule that the jury may make use of the knowledge acquired by a view of the premises, for the purpose of enabling them better to understand the testimony of the witnesses, and the defendant was not injured, where the attention of the jury was directed specifically to the testimony of the plaintiff’s witnesses as to the amount of the damages, and where the verdict was for an amount equal to the lowest esti