(Download) "Laura Gruetzemacher v. Mabel Billings" by Supreme Court of Missouri # eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Laura Gruetzemacher v. Mabel Billings
- Author : Supreme Court of Missouri
- Release Date : January 10, 1961
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 67 KB
Description
Action for damages for personal injuries sustained when plaintiff caught her left foot on a stake in defendants' flower bad
on defendants' premises and fell and sustained serious injuries. Plaintiff's action was based on the theory that plaintiff
was an invitee of defendants. Verdict and judgment were for plaintiff for $25,000, but the court set the verdict and judgment
aside and entered judgment for defendants in accordance with defendants' after-trial motion for judgment in accordance with
their motion for a directed verdict presented at the close of all the evidence. Plaintiff has appealed. The evidence tended to show that plaintiff was a 74-year old, single lady, living with her sister at 4633a Shenandoah Avenue,
St. Louis, Missouri, in a four-family flat on the north side of the street. To the west of this flat was another somewhat
similar four-family flat, 4637 Shenandoah Avenue, owned by defendants, Mabel Billings, Chester D. Billings, her son and his
wife, Mary A. Billings. The defendants occupied the two downstairs apartments and rented out the upstairs apartments. Between
the two buildings was a grass plot extending from the street northwardly to an east and west fence that ran from the rear
corner of one building to the rear corner of the other. At either end of this fence there was a gate which was attached to
the respective buildings. These gates opened into the back yards, which were separated by a fence running north and south.
The south end of this fence was attached to the mid-point of the east and west fence. In other words the back yards were enclosed
and separated from one another. The front yard (to the south of the east-west fence) was neither separated nor enclosed. Each
building had a concrete sidewalk about three or four feet wide leading from the street to the back yard and then to the back
door. Plaintiff's walk was on the west side of the building in which she lived and defendants' walk was on the east side of
their building. About six feet of lawn separated the two walks. The mentioned gates were located over the respective walks.
The fences and gates were of open mesh, with wire up and down and across. ("It wasn't real close.") Both the plaintiff and
Mrs. Mabel Billings maintained, or in the past had maintained, small flower beds between their buildings. Plaintiff's flower
bed was south of and up against the east-west fence on her side of the property line and Mrs. Billings' was alongside of her
own sidewalk and extended about six feet south of the east-west fence. "It wasn't really a bed, she just planted seed there."
Plaintiff had noticed that the grass has grown up very tall in this area. The grass was 15 to 18 inches high.