Case Name: FERGUSON v. ARNOW et al.
Court: New York Supreme Court, General Term
Jurisdiction: New York
Decision Date: 1892-12-12
Citations: 21 N.Y.S. 308
Docket Number: 
Parties: FERGUSON v. ARNOW et al.
Judges: 
Reporter: West's New York Supplement
Volume: 21
Pages: 308–309

Head Matter:
FERGUSON v. ARNOW et al.
(Supreme Court, General Term, Second Department.
December 12, 1892.)
Appeal—Harmless Error—Submission op Question to Jury. Error, if any, in not taking certain questions from the jury, is not prejudicial, where the questions are correctly decided by the jury. Barnard, P. J., dissents on the ground that the jury did not decide correctly.
Appeal from special term, Westchester county.
Action by John D. Ferguson against Thomas C. Arnow and others, to recover damages for false arrest and imprisonment, or for what is claimed was malicious prosecution. Defendants were the owners of certain land. The highway commissioners, by plaintiff and others, entered on defendants’ premises for the purpose of widening the street, claiming that the fence dividing defendants’ property from the street, as it then existed, was an encroachment upon the highway. Defendants brought an action against plaintiff to recover damages for the trespass, and procured an order on which plaintiff was arrested. Upon trial of that action, the complaint was dismissed. This action was then brought, resulting in a verdict for plaintiff. Defendants appeal. Affirmed.
Argued before BARNARD, P. J., and DYKMAN and PRATT, JJ.
Seward Baker, (J. W. Bartram, of counsel,) for appellants.
Wm. C. Reddy, for respondent.

Opinion:
PRATT, J.
We find no errors in this case prejudicial to the defendants. The verdict cannot be considered excessive. If it be that the court should have taken from the jury the questions of motive and want of probable cause, the defendants have not been thereby injured, for, had the court itself passed upon those questions, the result would have been the same, as we think the jury decided them correctly. Judgment affirmed, with costs.
DYKMAN, J., concurs.