10 Ga. App. 347 | Ga. Ct. App. | 1912
Walker brought a suit against Greene County for damages alleged to have been sustained by him as the owner of a coit injured by getting caught in a hole in one of the public bridges of the county. Upon the trial the evidence was undisputed that the value of the colt had been diminished by reason of the casualty, and that there was a hole in the public bridge which had existed for such a length of time as to authorize the jury to infer that the proper county authorities had knowledge of its existence. It de
As to the second ground of defense, it is insisted that the owner of the colt knew that the hole was in the bridge, and that the defendant should not be held liable, because, in the exercise of ordinary care and diligence, the owner should either have left the colt at home, and not permitted it upon the public highway, or should have made a special effort to see to the colt’s safety while it was crossing the bridge. Without making any comparison between the case at bar and the Stamp's case, supra, it is enough for us to say that whether the presence of a colt upon a public bridge gave rise to such an extraordinary occasion as could not have been foreseen by the county authorities, and as might relieve the county from liability for damages,'is a question purely for determination by a jury. It is possible that there might be instances in which the circumstances of the accident would authorize the jury to conclude that the occasion was extraordinary. The presence of a colt which had strayed away from home, and which appeared upon a bridge containing such a hole, unaccompanied by its mother, or, even if accompanied by its mother, if the mare was running at large, might afford such an instance, but at last it would be a question for the jury, as in the Stamps case (and not for the court), after a consideration of all of the surrounding circumstances. No court can arbitrarily say that under no circumstances can the owner of a colt
Likewise, the question as to whether the owner of a colt, in the exercise of ordinary care and diligence, should, in any particular instance, keep the colt at home, and not permit it to follow its mother as is frequently the custom, is one also peculiarly of fact and to be determined by the jury. All of the'circumstances illustrating the alleged negligence of the county in this case, as well as the contributory negligence, if any, of the owner, were fully submitted for the consideration of the jury; and jurors are so much better qualified than judges to say when and where, and under what circumstances, a young colt can safely accompany its mother, that we are not prepared to say that there was any error in the verdict in the present case.
It is not contended that any error of law was committed by the trial judge. The only error assigned is the refusal of the motion for new trial based upon the general grounds, and, as we doubt not that the ruling of the trial judge was based upon the same considerations as those which affect us, the judgment must be Affirmed.