23 A.D.2d 750 | N.Y. App. Div. | 1965
Judgment unanimously vacated on the law, on the facts and a new trial ordered, with $50 costs to appellants. The verdict is against the weight of the credible evidence. Plaintiff, who was attending a baseball game at Yankee Stadium, was injured when a fight broke out between several spectators. Proof of the incident was given by plaintiff and a friend of hers who accompanied her. Virtually every answer given by these two as to what took place was preceded by “I guess” or “I imagine ”, and all of the testimony was the result of strenuous leading and suggestion. Plaintiff’s theory of liability was that there were insufficient guards and that those who finally stopped the melee arrived too late. As to the first contention, the proof is solely that plaintiff did not see any ushers during the course of the game. As her attention was directed to the playing field rather than the grandstand; her testimony in this respect is not probative (Latourelle v. New York Cent. R. R. Co., 301 N. Y, 103; 2 Wigmore, Evidence [3d ed.], § 664, p. 778). On the second point, the defendant would not be