40 Ind. App. 373 | Ind. Ct. App. | 1907
Appellee recovered judgment for $5,000 against appellant for damages received by reason of a defective sidewalk. The action of the court in overruling appellant’s motion for a new trial is the only error discussed.
The complaint alleges that Seventh street in the city of Bloomington, Indiana, was much traveled between Morton and Madison streets; that the city had constructed and maintained a board sidewalk on the south side, just east of the railroad; that it had negligently allowed and permitted said sidewalk to become out of repair, and so to remain for a long time; that the city had knowledge of said defect; that the appellee was ignorant thereof; that she stepped into a hole in the sidewalk, without any fault or negligence on her part; that she fell and received the injuries for which suit is brought. The cause was put at issue by a general denial The evidence shows that said Seventh street runs east and west; that Morton street and Madison street run north and south; that there is a sidewalk on the south side of Seventh street between Madison and Morton streets, but no sidewalk on the north side of Seventh street; that between Madison and Morton streets the railroad tracks of the Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville Railway cross Seventh street; that from the point where the railroad tracks cross Seventh street, eastward about thirty feet, there is a board sidewalk; that where this board sidewalk ends a brick pavement begins and extends eastward to Morton street; that this board sidewalk, at its extreme eastern end, crosses a ditch about five or six feet wide, which is walled up on each side; that the portion of the wooden structure which crosses this ditch is the so-called bridge; that there are banisters about fifteen or twenty feet long on both sides of the sidewalk, extending across the
Instructions five, six and seven, given at the request of appellee, are objected to. The general objection made to all of the instructions given, is that they ignore the question of appellee’s knowledge of the alleged defect. Instructions five and six, in a general way, relate to the duty of a city to maintain in repair its sidewalks and to guard them if dangerous.
We find nothing in the evidence to induce the belief that the jury acted with prejudice, partiality, or corruption, and are not therefore warranted in disturbing the verdict. Lauter v. Duckworth (1897), 19 Ind. App. 535, and cases cited. We find no reversible error.
Judgment affirmed.