The record. [volume] (St. Maries, Idaho) 1913-1918, 1914-12-15
City Council In
Special Session
CONSIDER DAMAGE SUIT RESULT
will Ask For New Trial And If Not Granted Nav
Appeal The Case

There was a special meeting off
he city council Monday morning
Tor the purpose of deciding what
action, if any, should be taken
ir regard to The verdict Of $500.
against the city in the Bealon
case.
r. e. Mcfarland, of the firm
OF Mcfarland & Mcfarland of
Occur d'Alene who assisted City
Attorney Huh in the defense OF
the case, was present and gave
the council his views on the legal
aspect of the case.
He considered the verdict ex-
ccssive believed that the Supreme
Court would so hold and would
reverse the Judgment on that
ground. He also stated that he
believed that if motion was
made for new trial Judge Woods
would either grant the motion ON
that ground or would give the
plaintiff a chance to accept a YER
dict of S25OO or $4,000 or else
submit to a new trial. He also
submitted a proposition to the
council that he would prepare and
argue the motion for a new trial
and i'm case the motion was grant
ed, would try the case for two
hundred dollars, he to do all the
work except procuring the ar
lidavits which would be done by
Taylor & Hull and that for three
hundred dollars additional he
would carry the case to the Su-
preme Court.
In addition to the amount tC
be paid to Mcfarland the city
would have to put up one hundred
dollars to procure a transcript
and in case Of appeal would have
to pay the supreme court costs
OF $500 and would have to pay
for printing the brief which
would be about thirty dollars
more.
City Attorney Hull presented to
the council an itemized statement
of the expenses the city had been
to in the first trial of the case
which amounted to S839.tO. He
also stated that SINCE the verdict
had been known a number OF
people had come to him with evi
dence which, if he could have got
ten it before the trial, would have
reduced the amount of damages
materially.
The matter was discussed at
length, nearly all of the council
men expressing themselves in fa-
vor Of trying for a new trial and
in the event Of being unsuccess-
ful in that to appeal the case to
the supreme court.
Councilman Biteman suggested
that before any further steps
were taken an effort should be
made to get The plaintiffs to re-
lease a part of the judgment and
make a settlement. He believed
that money could be saved the
city by doing this. Attorney
Mcfarland suggested that it
would be better TO make the mo-
ton for a new trial before any ef-
fort was made to settle and a
majority of the comcilmen took
this view.
A motlon was passed accept
ing Mr.. McFarland's proposition
and directing that a motion for a
new trial be made and in case il
was not granted an appeal be TAX
en- to the supreme court. On
motion it was voted TO allow the
city attorney S479.i0 to nnisi
paying the expenses of the tria
which has just been held and also
TO furnish the one hundred dol
+ lars which must be deposited il
order to secure a transcript O.
the proceedings.
After the Beaton matter ha,
+, been disposed of the council tool
up the water question. A re,
port was made that in three dir
ferent places in the improvement
district the mains had been lef
too near the surface and ha,
frozen mp. These mains are OF
lSeventh street leading from Col