Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1915-11-17
LIGHT & POWER CO.
wins VANNATTA CASE
Judge ClementsOn Hands Down
Opinion Monday Morning.
Courts Decision Holds Company Not
Liable for Young Mans Death.
Plaintiff to Pay Costs.

Judge CIementson handed down his
decision in the case of Teresa Vannat-
ia VS. the Lancaster Electric Light &
Power Co on Monday morning of this
week. The light concern was in real
ity not the defendants as the Employ
ers' Liability and Assurance Corpora
ton, of London, England, carry the
risk for them up to certain limits.
Their attorneys, Quarles, Spence q
QuarIes of Milwaukee, appeared for
the defendants. The court remarks
that the case is remarkable IN that
there is no material conflict in the
evidence offered.
After reviewing the progress OF the
trial and motions offered by each side,
the court took up the answers made by
the Jury to the five questions submit
ted to them. The questions were as
follows:
/. That Clifford Iris Vannatta came
to his death while he was on the top
of a 16-foot truss of said bridge
through a charge of electricity from
live wire of the defendant company
that diagonally crossed said bridge
about thirty-two feet above the floor
of the bridge over six feet above the
top of said truss;
2. That the defendant was negli-
gent in so constructing its wires over
this bridge;
3. That the manager of the defend
ant company as a man of ordinary
care and experience in the erection OF
poles and wires for carrying cleo
tricity ought reasonably to have fore
seen. under the attending Circumstance
es. that as a natural and probable
consequence of so carrying said wires
over this bridge injury might occur
to a person on the bridge who was
using ordinary care for his own safety.
4. That no want of ordinary care
upon the part of the deceased con-
tributed to produce his death;
). That the plaintiff was entitled to
receive 100000 for the death of her
son.
The court then reviewed the physical
conditions of the bridge and the cleo
trio line at this point. The court
pointed out that the companions OF
Mr.. Vannatta, three in number, asked
him to desist from climbing the struc-
ure. That when almost at the top he
leaned over and said Look, here comes
a fish" That a flash and fire jumped
from all parts of the bridge, followed
BY a roar. Clifford falling feet fore
most to the floor of the bridge, where
he was found dead by Huebler a mo-
ment later.
Edward Bennett, the expert from the
university, gave testimony regarding
the distance a current Of the potency
carried by the line would leap through
the atmosphere and this testimony
was not contradicted. The plaintiffs
contention that wires were less than
the legal limit OF twenty-four feet
above the floor of the bridge would
not apply at this crossing on account
of the bridge itself being a natural
barrier to any wire falling at this
point. The wire was about thirty-two
feet above the ground beneath the
point where the discharge took place.
In regard to the matter of the de-
PENDANTS manager constructing the
line using reasonable care in giving
it the stated clearance and type of
construction at this point, the court
held that the manager did use such
care and he would not ordinarily sup
pose that a person in a daring mood
would climb a sixteen foot truss to
the top of the structure. That the
bridge was built to travel on and not
to perform venturesOme feats.
In answer to the fourth question
that no want of ordinary care contrib
uted to the death of deceased, the
court held that the verdict in this case
was astonishing. The companions had
protested against his climbing up as
as there was no fish in the water, the
object of the deceased must have been
to startle the party by being on the top
of the structure when they next looked
at him.
The final verdict was as follows:
Il direct that an order be entered
setting aside the special verdict be
cause wholly unsupported by evidence
and that upon the undisputed evidence
in this case judgment be entered for
the defendant dismissing this case up
on the merits with COSTS (Schweick-
ert VS. Stuewe. 10 Wis. 1879
GEO. CLEMENTSON, Judge"