Opinion ID: 2085682
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Use of the Conjunctive in the Verdict.

Text: The first question of the special verdict inquired as to the negligence of the defendants Robert Schmidt and State Fair Park, Inc. The plaintiffs contend that the question should have contained the expression or either of them. This argument is based upon the plaintiffs' analysis of the testimony which prompts them to assert that the jury could have found that Mrs. Petoskey's fall was the result of negligence on the part of another employee, Fred Johnson. If Mr. Johnson were negligent, then his employer, State Fair Park, Inc., would be negligent even though Mr. Schmidt may not have been at fault. Mr. Johnson testified that it was his duty to report to Mr. Schmidt if he found anything out of the ordinary on the premises. He further testified that he had no occasion that evening to report anything to Mr. Schmidt. The trial court disposed of this issue in the following language: I know of no basis upon which the defendant could have been held negligent with respect to that accumulation except through the negligence and performance of his duties by Mr. Schmidt, and it was made clear that if they found Schmidt negligent, that they must then, as a matter of law, find State Fair Park negligent. It would have been preferable to have framed the question in the disjunctive. Vlasak v. Gifford (1946), 248 Wis. 328, 21 N. W. (2d) 648. However, under the circumstances of this case, we find no error in the use of the conjunctive. There is not sufficient testimony to support the plaintiffs' contention that State Fair Park, Inc., might have been held responsible based upon the conduct of Mr. Johnson. The record is clear that it was Mr. Schmidt who had basic responsibility for clearing ice and snow. Mr. Johnson's duty was primarily directed to reporting his discoveries to Mr. Schmidt. Since Mr. Schmidt was on the premises at all times and made personal observations of the general area in question on three or four occasions during the evening, we conclude that there was no prejudicial error in the form of the verdict.