342 Mass. 711 | Mass. | 1961
This is an action of tort in which the plaintiff seeks damages for personal injuries alleged to have been suffered on April 18, 1958, in a store of the defendant in the city of Lynn and caused by the negligence of the defendant’s servant. The defendant answered with a general denial and a plea of contributory negligence. The only evidence introduced was by the plaintiff. Following the presentation of the plaintiff’s case the defendant moved for a directed verdict. This motion was allowed and the case is before us on the plaintiff’s exception to the allowance of that motion.
The testimony most favorable to the plaintiff is herewith summarized. On April 18, 1958, the plaintiff, a man fifty-three years of age, and his wife went to the store of the defendant. This was the first visit he had made to the store.
There was insufficient evidence of negligence on the part of the defendant or its servants to warrant the submission of the case to the jury.
The plaintiff was in the store as a customer by the invitation of the defendant. The defendant owed to him the duty to use reasonable care to keep the premises in safe condition for his use as a customer, or at least to warn him against any dangers attendant upon this use which were
The plaintiff did not sustain the burden of proving that a servant of the defendant was negligent in starting a box of groceries down the conveyor apparatus. It was not shown that the defendant’s servant should have anticipated that someone might be standing with his body projecting over the conveyor, or could have, by means of an unobstructed view, looked and seen the plaintiff before pushing the grocery box. It is not clear whether the plaintiff was standing with his back protruding over the conveyor prior to the grocery box being given its initial motion or whether he moved into that position after the grocery box was in motion or whether the movement of the conveyor belt could be heard.
This is the opinion of a majority of the court.
Exceptions overruled.