35 N.Y.S. 739 | N.Y. Sup. Ct. | 1895
On the 20th and 21st of July, 1893, the defendant was keeping an hotel in Buffalo, known as the “Stafford House.” At that time the plaintiff (respondent here) was a guest at the hotel. He was a merchant from the country, and was there in connection with his business. On the evening of the second night, the plaintiff went out riding with some friends in the city, and remained out until about 1 o’clock. A clerk in the hotel conducted
The defendant had put the proper notice in his hotel that was required by chapter 421 of the Laws of 1855, as amended by chapter 227 of the Laws of 1883, notifying the guest that a safe had been provided in the hotel in which the money, jewels, or ornaments of the guest might be deposited, and, if they should neglect to deliver such money, jewels, or ornaments to the person in charge of the office for deposit in such safe, the proprietor of the hotel would not be liable for the loss of such jewels, money, or ornaments. The learned trial judge held that the plaintiff could not recover for the money lost, as the statute protected the defendant in that regard, but might recover the value of the watch and chain, unless the plaintiff’s negligence under the circumstances had contributed to the loss of the property; and that question was submitted to the jury, who, after being out two days, brought in a verdict for the defendant. A motion for a new trial was made upon the minutes of the judge, and the court granted a new trial, and, in a brief opinion, states the impression of the court that the verdict rendered was against the evidence, and the result of passion or prejudice on the part of the jury. The appellant insists that, under the statute cited, the defendant is riot responsible for the loss of the watch and chain, as it comes within the description of property covered by the notice that should be deposited in the safe, and cites Rosenplaenter v. Roessle, 54 N. Y. 262, 266. As there is some confusion in the cases upon this subject, it may be useful to glance at the decisions relating to it.
In Gile v. Libby, 36 Barb. 70, the action was against an innkeeper for the value of a watch and chain, gold pen and pencil case, and $25 in money. The statutory notice had been posted in the hotel, and the court held that the watch and chain were neither jewels nor ornaments, and the plaintiff might recover for those as well as the small amount of money which he had a right to keep about his person, and that the statute requiring the deposit of the money in the safe referred, not to the small amount usually carried by-guests, but to larger amounts. This was a general term decision of the First district, and was not reversed.
But in Hyatt v. Taylor, 51 Barb. 632, the Broome general term held that, as to money and jewels, the guest was not excused for retaining them to any extent. If he did, and they were stolen, he must bear the loss. This case went to the court of appeals, where the judgment was affirmed (42 N. Y. 258), and the view of the general term as to jewels and money was sustained; and we may therefore regard Gile v. Libby, as to jewels and money, overruled.
In Bernstein v. Sweeny, 33 N. Y. Super. Ct. 271, an action was brought to recover for a watch and chain and diamond shirt studs, the court held that neither a watch nor chain was, within the mean
“The statute permits the proprietor of an hotel to relieve himself from the strict common-law liability in respect to certain classes of property upon compliance with the prescribed conditions, but the exemption is limited to the particular species of property named, and, being in derogation of the common law, cannot be extended in its operations and effect by doubtful implication so as to include property not fairly within the term of the act. * * * By statute, the proprietors of hotels may provide a place of safe-keeping of money, jewels, or ornaments belonging to the guest,” etc. “A watch is neither a jewel nor ornament as these words are used and understood either in common parlance or by lexicographers. It is not used or carried as a jewel or ornament, but a timepiece or chronometer,—an article of ordinary wear by most travelers, of every class, and of daily and hourly use by all. It is as useful and necessary to the guest in his room as out of it, in the night as in the day time. It is carried for use and convenience, and not for ornament.”
In Rosenplaenter v. Roessle, supra, an action was brought to recover a lady’s bracelet, stud, hairpin, sleeve buttons, etc., which were stolen from her trunk in the Delavan House, Albany. The court held that the statutory exemptions applied to these articles, and that the plaintiff could not recover. Judge Earl, in the opinion in that case, in speaking of the cases of Gile v. Libby and Hyatt v. Taylor, supra, says as follows, at page 266:
“The law is thus settled in this state that if a guest, on retiring to bed at night, removes a watch .or jewelry from his person, or leaves money in his pocket, and neglects to deposit the same in the safe provided for that purpose, he cannot hold the landlord liable for the loss of the same, provided the notice required by statute has been posted,” etc.
In so far as the foregoing statement includes a watch, it was evidently an inadvertence on the part of the learned judge, or at least obiter. There was no watch in controversy in that case, but the question was directly up, in the same court, a short time before, in Eamaley v. Leland, supra, where an action had been brought against the Metropolitan Hotel in New York by a guest to recover the value of a watch that had been stolen from his room. We must hold that the law is correctly stated in Eamaley v. Leland, and therefore the first contention of the defendant cannot prevail.
But the defendant also .contends that he is relieved from responsibility for the loss of this watch and chain because, of the negligence of the plaintiff contributing, and without which it would not have occurred. The evidence of the intoxication of the plaintiff was received upon this question of negligence, upon the principle asserted in Walsh v. Porterfield, 87 Pa. St. 376, 378, that if the plaintiff was intoxicated, and this in any way contributed to the loss, he could not recover. It is more probable that an intoxicated man, or one whose reason and judgment is obscured by drink, may be less cautious even of property upon which he sets high value. Such, indeed, is the common experience of mankind. This question was fairly submitted to the jury by the learned trial court, and, in our judgment, was properly submitted, and the verdict of that jury should not lie disturbed.
Our attention is called to the rule that granting and refusing new trials on the minutes is a matter largely resting in the discretion of the trial court. That rule does not assist the plaintiff in this case, as the circumstances of negligence to which the evidence points are so formidable that we must review the discretion of the trial court, and reverse this order.
Nor can we discover anything in the case, or in the action of the jury, or in the length of time it took to consider the case, to justify the conclusion that the jury were governed by passion or prejudice.
The order granting a new trial should be reversed, and judgment in favor of the defendant entered upon the verdict, but without costs. All concur.