35 Iowa 107 | Iowa | 1872
The points presented in argument by defendant’s counsel involve tbe existence of a highway at the place plaintiff received the injuries complained of, the sufficient acceptance by tbe city of a street dedicated to tbe public use by tbe owner of the land, the sufficiency of the evidence to support the verdict, conflict between tbe special findings of tbe jury and their general verdict, and the rejection of certain evidence offered by defendant. These will be noticed in tbe order just given.
We do not understand that defendant’s counsel insist or argue that, under the rules of the instructions, the evidence fails to show acceptance of the street by the city, but, under rules not recognized by the court, they maintain that acceptance was not established. But the jury rightly followed the law as given them by the court, and their verdict cannot now be tried by the test of other rules not recognized by the court, and not given them as the law of the case.
We may here state our conviction, and it will dispose of the second point made by defendants, that the verdict is not supported by the evidence. There was a conflict of evidence, but no such absence of proof as to warrant the conclusion that the verdict is not the result of an honest and intelligent exercise of judgment on the part of the jury. The district court correctly ruled in refusing to disturb it.
It is insisted tbat these special findings show tbat plaintiff contributed by bis negligence to tbe accident, and cannot therefore recover. We think otherwise. These special findings expressly show tbat plaintiff was in tbe exercise of ordinary care when tbe accident happened, and tbat be did use ordinary prudence in going with tbe wagon upon tbe street. He cannot, therefore, be charged with negligence. There appears to be a conflict in tbe special findings as above stated; one of them being to tbe effect tbat, by tbe exercise of ordinary prudence, tbe danger could bave been avoided, and tbe others in substance that plaintiff did exercise ordinary care and prudence in going with tbe wagon over the street, and in bis manner of riding upon it. But reading tbe findings as they appear in tbe abstract, such conflict, to our minds, disappears, and they harmonize quite as well as could be expected of tbe answers to thirty-three questions asked of tbe jury by expert counsel with tbe design of drawing out a conflict in tbe facts and conclusions, to be stated. Considering the 29th, 30th and 31st findings together, it is quite apparent tbat tbe jury ' intended to say tbat plaintiff could bave avoided tbe danger by getting off of tbe wagon at tbe place of the accident. But they found tbat plaintiff exercised care and prudence in going with tbe wagon over tbe place of tbe
~We have noticed all the points made by defendant’s counsel and find no error in the record. The judgment of the district court is
Affirmed.