109 Kan. 46 | Kan. | 1921
The opinion of the court was delivered by
Charles C. Wilkins was assaulted and beaten upon a public street of the city of Mineral. He brought an action under the statute making cities liable for damages caused by the action of mobs. (Gen. Stat. 1915, § 3822.) He recovered a judgment for $1,500, and the city appeals.
The assault and battery is admitted, and the only ground upon which a reversal is asked is that there was no' evidence to support a finding that it was due to the action of a mob, because it was the act of a single person, or at all events that it was not participated in by as many as three people, the minimum number which may constitute a mob. (Gen. Stat. 1915, § 3674.) There was testimony tending to show these facts, which must be deemed to have been established, the circumstance that upon some points there was evidence to the contrary being of course immaterial for present purposes: The plaintiff was a clergyman acting as pastor of a church at Mineral and also of one at the neighboring town of Scammon, where he resided. He had been active in efforts for the
From this statement it is entirely obvious that there was ample evidence to support a finding that a considerable number of the onlookers were virtual participants in the assault, that they knew it was to take place, encouraged the assailant, and presumably by their attitude restrained the interference of any who might have had a disposition to come to the assistance of the plaintiff.
The judgment is affirmed.