The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-01-26
Mr.. TORREY AND
HIS TECHNICALITIES
Takes Another Case from the Jury
This Week.
THIRD WEEK or COMMON PLEAS

for $40, ZOO for the Death Ofa Dun-
more Hoy~-A Sick Juror in One
Case and Sick Witness in Another,
hut the Cases Go On.
"A case touching the question of
squatter sovereignty was called before
Judge Archibald in court room No. 1 at
the opening of the third week of COM
mon pleas yesterday. The Delaware
and Hudson Canal company was the |
plaintiff and James Moffit the defend |
ant. The company won because it was |
ruled that Mofit was incompetent to |
prove his squatter title because he had |
previously denied by entering into
contract to purchase the property.
In September. 1887, Mohit signed a
contract with A. Crocker an agent of |
the Delaware and Hudson company, |
for the purchase of a portion of a tract |
of land on Church street. Carbondale, |
upon which his father had lived for
over twenty-one years. No payments
were made on the contract and to en-
force the payments the company
brought a suit in ejectment. At the
trial yesterday James II. Torrey, at
lDIIty lDT lHe tDtllDdIlS, put III tNl-
dence the contract with the defendant
and rested. Mr.. Newcomb then called
the defendant to the stand and made
an offer to prove by him that his father
had had possession of the property in
question for over twenty-one years
prior to his death in 1874 that he en-
closed it and built a house upon it;
that upon his death the title descended
| to his heirs and consequently the COM
| pany perpetrated fraud when it made
| a contract to sell to the defendants
| land which belonged to himself and his
| co-heirs, who We're his brothers and
| sisters.
MR. TORREY OBJECTED.
Mr.. Torrey objected to the testimony
on the ground of incompetency, and
Judge Archibald sustained him. He
then directed a verdict for the plaintiff
for the land described in the writ and
ordered that the judgment be released
upon the payment of $111.16 with inter-
ests and costs by the defendant within
thirty days.
| The first of the four trespass cases
against the Scranton Traction company
set down for trial this week was called
Immediately upon the conclusion of the
above suit Jacob Fletcher, of Dun
more, is the plaintiff. He asks $4,000
for the death of his 12-year-old boy,
Willie, who was killed by a Traction
company car on Chestnut street near
| Drinker street, March %, 1895. |. II.
Burns and Frank r. Okell appeared
for the plaintiff, and Horace f.. Hand
and Major Everett Warren for the
| company.
The jury was sworn at noon and re-
cess was taken for dinner. When court
| reassembled Mr.. Burns asked for a
continuance on the ground that one of
the principal witnesses for the plaintiff,
John Burke, of Dunmore. was too i'll
to attend. Judge Archibald refused to
continue the case. Just before ad-
journment it was agreed that the at
torneys should go to Burke's house at
7.3O o'clock in the evening and take his
deposition.
CAUSE OF ACCIDENT
The accident which occasioned the
suit happened on the date above men,
toned when the Fletcher boy with four
others, Harry Stevens, Asa Gillette,
Louis Hardenstein and Frank Jackson
We're coming from school. One of the
boys had a badge which the others
wanted to get and they chased after
him from the school house on Apple
street down to Chestnut street, near its
intersection with Drinker where they
took diagonal course across the street
and headed down an alleyway near the
old postohice building. In the excite
ment of the chase they presumably for
got all about the street cars and dashed
across the tracks unconscious of dan
ger. Fletcher, who was fourth in the
chase, ran directly in front of car
moving in the direction of the Corners
and wus run over and instantly killed.
The four boys were on the stand yes
terday and each told his story sub
stantially as above None of them
heard a bell sounded but admitted that
it might have been sounded without
their hearing it. Hardenstein said he
heard the motorman shout, Hey
there!" in a loud voice just as Fletcher
ran on the track.
The plaintiff also proposes to show
that the car was running at such a rate
of speed that 1t attracted the attention
, of people living on the street and that
one storekeeDer ran out of his place
of business expecting to see the car
jump the track at any moment,
The defense will attempt to show
contributory negligence,
IN COURT ROOM NO. ..
+ In court room No. > the Jones'
Schimpff case still "drags it's slow
5 length along. One of the jurors, D. w
Milton, of North Abingdon, was unable
to attend owing to the sickness of his
l.. daughter, but this did not halt the case
f for any appreciable extent of time
The attorneys on either side agreed tC
| continue with eleven Jurors and away
. it went for an indefinite run.
+ On the calling of the list at the open
ing of court cases We're marked as fol-
lows:
Continued--Watson & Zimmerman
a VS.. Scranton Truth, trespass; j. A. Kos
to and A. Smith VS.. Pacific Fire Insur.
ance company, assumpsit; Giles Stan.
, ton VS.. city of Scranton, trespass; Pat
!, rick Kennedy VS.. Scranton Traction
company, trespass; Edward Thorne VS.
Scranton Traction company, trespass
. Patrick Malta, ct al, VS.. Scranton Trac,
tion company, trespass; Aberdeen Lum,
Der company VS.. Swartz Lumber com,
- pany, assumpst; Martin Hart VS.
Scranton Traction company, trespass.
Settied-Thomas b. Orchard and Corf
. /. Orchard VS.. Erie and Wyoming Val
ley Railroad company, trespass; Peo
pies Savings bank, of. Pittston, VS.
> John Hogate, appeal; Luther Keller VS.
y John j. Becker