The Yellowstone journal. [volume] (Miles City, Mont.) 1893-1901, 1893-06-02

rev IA .AFe SHetessiul ana llFn
Only For Small suEi..
The city appears in the courts az least
twice a week as defendant in damage
suits brought by its citizens. Time vas
when the city paid out in such damages
many thousands annually. The corpo-
ration counsel ~systelnatized the work Of
the Office a few years ago and placed
such damage suits in the care of a single
assistant. Since that time the sreciai
knowledge in the corporation counsels
Office has been considerable and incTeas-
ing, SO that the Office has a minute ac-
quaintance with the methods of those
lawyers that bring damage suits against
the city
One result of specializing the work of
the corporation counsel's Office has been
a marked decrease in the annr"l judy
ments against the city as the outcome of
suits for damages. The whole amount Of
damages paid By the city in the past four
years has been less than $500 There
have been many hundred suits brought
in that time. and the aggregate of dam
ages claimed has reached $4,000, 900.
Only a small percentage of these suits
are successful. and in few or none do the
plaintiffs recover the amount claimed.
The city fights nearly every case that is
brought and seldom compromises a suit
unless the justice of the PLAINTIFF case is
of the plainest character.
There are many lawyers who make it
their business to seek out persons who
meet with accidents and urge them to
bring suits for damages. 1t is believed
in the corporation counsers Office that
there has not yet developed a class of
lawyers who make a specially of such
suits against the city, though such spe-
cialization is a tendency of the present
time. When an accident of sufficient
importance to get into the newspapers
occur the victim or victims received
almost Immediately communications
somewhat in this fashion:
We have learned of the painful and
serious accident that befell You yester-
day, and we write to assure you of our
sympathy III your affection and to say
that we are ready to do all III our power
to aid you in recovering damages from
the responsible parties for thew wrong yon
have undoubtedly suffered"
The signature is that Of a lawyer or Il
firm Of lawyers making a speciality Of
accident eases. Surprisingly respectable
names are attached to such letters, ana
in many instances the victim of the acci-
dent seeks the advice Of some one Of the
lawyers that send such communications.
BY way of making all things sure, some
lawyers Az in their pay nurses and
other attendants IN hospitals 70 U..-aa
persons suffering from the results Of ac-
cidents are usually taken.
IN a recent case 50 or 40 agents Of &C.
cideat lawyers applied to see a naeitlt
at IA hospital OF the day following his
mishap Many hundreds OF such suits
ale brought against the city every y-ar,
and perhaps halt of those instituted come
&c trial The city seldom loses on first
trial, and vi:el it does Usually appeals
tire case. The Office Of the corporation
counsel is extremely skeptical as to Tie
justice OF snch claims. and there Is a
strong suspicion that litigation Of the
kind IS melted by lawyers who hone 10
profit by 1t, and that many cases are
brought with full knowledge On tire part
OF claimant and counsel that the claim
is egoundless. The counsel in many in
stances discontinued the cases when
claimants are unable or unwilling to nd
money to meet preliminary ex-
penses. Nearly all such cases are under
taken upon contingent fees. and the
share of the lawyer is commonly half.of
the mount recovered.
Many cases arise every winter from
injuries received by persons who fall
upon icy pavements. The Brooklyn
bridge was long the fruitful source of
damage suits against the two cities, until
the legislature passed last year a law
making the bridge trustees responsible
for such damages. The most conspicu-
Gus case of late years was that of Mar
gharita Melneke, who asked $50, 600 dam
ages for injuries received on the bridge.
She received a verdict for the full
amount, but on appeal this verdict was
reversed. One Page received q verdict
of 81. 900 for injuries in an accident TO q
bridge train. This was cut down to
10000 on appeal, and the city finally
paid him something less.
a COAluAOu SIOUuA Va oClAOu ID d-Cl-
dents caused by inequality in the flag
ging or pavements. The climate of New
York makes such inequalities unavoid-
sble. and the city solicitors Office conf
IDENTIFY expects q considerable number of
such suits every year. Many other cases
grow out of broken pavements and cross
walks. It is not unusual for suits to be
instituted by persons who slip upon ba-
mana peels and the like. The effort of
the counsel in such cases is to prove that
the pavement at the scene of the acci-
dent was defective. The corporation
counsel's Office, however, usually man.
ages to find some who was present
ut the scene Of the accident and is able
to show that there was no defect in the
pavement. The Office keeps a watch up
on such accidents as are likely to result