Damage Cases In The Circuit

DAMAGE CASES IN THE CIRCUIT

The Harriosn Case against the D.,Y.,A.a & J.

OVER HIGHT TENSION WIRE

Mrs. Kalmbach Gets' a Verdict of $300 Against the Michigan Central

Damage cases are in order in the circuit court this week. The jury in the case of Mrs. Rickie Kalmbach, of Chelsea, vs the Michigan Central Tuesday night brought in a verdict of $300 for the plaintiff. Mrs. Kalmbach was injured last winter by being thrown from her sleigh while crossing the track at Chelsea. A law provides that a railroad company must build the planking next to the rails at any crossing higher than the rails themselves. It was claimed that Mrs. Kalmbach was thrown out owing to a  defect in construction. The defendants took 60 days in which to file a bill of exceptions.
The damage case against the D., Y., A. A. & .J. for the death of Herbert J. Harrison on March 12 last, bids fair to occupy the rest of the week. Nearly all the law students are in attendance.
A.J. Sawyer & Son and J. C. Knowlton appear for the widow, and J. F. Lawrence and Messrs. Joslyn & Morgan, of Detroit, for the road. The first witness, Conductor H. W. Pullen, who witnessed the accident, was put on the stand Wednesday and was still on the stand yesterday afternoon.
It will be remembered that Mr. Harrison, who was a motorman, was killed while fixing the trolley pole on the top of his car at Lima Center. The plaintiff claims that his death was due to the high tension wires having been placed too close to the operating machinery of the road. The defense, so far in their questions, seem to intimate the idea that his death may have been caused from the regular trolley feed wire and Harrison's grasping the wet trolley pole and standing on the turntable at the same time.
The Willlam D. Smith will case has been settled out of court today. The contestants, Robert A. Smith, Grace Petersen, Alice Hewitt and Maud J. Smith, receive from  Miss Martha French, the housekeeper, who was willed $20,000, the sum of $2,500, and the will is allowed to stand.