Negligence — Possessors of land — Lessors — Office building — Hallway — Condition — Pool of water — Business visitor — Contributory negligence — Superseding cause — Practice — New trial — Evidence — Impeachment — Collateral issue — Speech of counsel — Propriety.
In this appeal by defendant from judgments entered on separate verdicts for the two plaintiffs, after the denial of defendant's motion for judgment non obstante veredicto and for a new trial, in which it appeared that wife-plaintiff was a business visitor in defendant's office building and transacted business with one of defendant's lessees, that she slipped on a water covered hallway, fell and was severely injured; that the water came from snow which blew in a window opened by a tenant and also from snow tracked in by users of the building, and had been on the hall floor for 3 1/2 hours before the accident, it was Held that (1) the issues of negligence and contributory negligence were for the jury; (2) no issue of intervening superseding cause was in the case; (3) the trial court properly refused defendant's offer to impeach plaintiff's credibility by proving a prior fall by plaintiff, because there was no offer to prove such fall had caused an injury for which plaintiff was claiming damages in this case; (4) a witness may not be contradicted on a collateral issue; and (5) in view of the evidence, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to withdraw a juror after plaintiff's counsel argued that the husband is a sick man and "they will not have any money except what the jury awards today."
OPINION PER CURIAM, April 19, 1966:
Judgment affirmed on the opinion of Judge DAVID OLBUM, of the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, reported in 38 Pa. D. C.2d 756.