Case Name: REILLY v. INTERURBAN ST. RY. CO.
Court: New York Supreme Court, Appellate Term
Jurisdiction: New York
Decision Date: 1904-03-24
Citations: 87 N.Y.S. 423
Docket Number: 
Parties: REILLY v. INTERURBAN ST. RY. CO.
Judges: 
Reporter: West's New York Supplement
Volume: 87
Pages: 423–424

Head Matter:
REILLY v. INTERURBAN ST. RY. CO.
(Supreme Court, Appellate Term.
March 24, 1904.)
1. Verdict—Weight of Evidence.
Where plaintiff’s case rested on his own uncorroborated testimony, containing contradictory statements on material points, and defendant showed by testimony of disinterested witnesses a state of facts which, if true, made a recovery for plaintiff improper, and the probabilities favored defendant’s theory, a verdict for plaintiff was against the weight of the evidence.
Appeal from City Court of New York, Trial Term.
Action by William Reilly against the Interurban Street Railway Company. From a judgment for plaintiff, and from an order denying a motion for a new trial, defendant appeals. Reversed.
Argued before FREEDMAN, P. J., and SCOTT and BLANCHARD, JJ.
Bayard H. Ames and F. Angelo Gaynor, for appellant.
Shaw, Fisk & Shaw, for respondent.

Opinion:
FREEDMAN, P. J.
Plaintiff's case rests upon his own uncorroborated testimony, and, in the course of that, the plaintiff made highly contradictory statements upon the material points of the case. The defendant showed by the testimony of several disinterested witnesses, as well as- by the testimony of the conductor and the motorman, a state of facts which, if true, makes a recovery for the plaintiff impossible. The probabilities also favor the theory of the defense. The verdict is against the clear weight of the evidence, and, in the interest of justice, there should be a new trial.
Judgment reversed and a new trial ordered, with costs to the appellant to abide the event.
BLANCHARD, J., concurs.