(Download) "Catherine B. Ahearn v. Albert Roux" by Supreme Court of New Hampshire # Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Catherine B. Ahearn v. Albert Roux
- Author : Supreme Court of New Hampshire
- Release Date : January 06, 1949
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 58 KB
Description
The defendant's principal contention is that the plaintiff is guilty of contributory negligence as a matter of law even though the evidence is undisputed that she proceeded down the steps in a cautious manner. His position is stated as follows: ""The plaintiff knew the slippery condition of the steps and railings and under like circumstances for ten years prior to the accident she had taken precaution of removing the snow and sanding the icy surfaces. Her conduct in failing to take available usual precautions was negligent.... The question is not that the defendant may not have been absolved of his duty to keep the premises in safe condition because the plaintiff used to keep the steps free and clear of ice and snow. It is that on the day of the accident she failed to take her usual precautions."" The steps to the tenement were the sole means of ingress and egress for the plaintiff and other tenants. Menard v. Cashman, 94 N.H. 428, 431. The plaintiff had full knowledge of the icy condition of the steps and was attempting to avoid this known danger by descending in a cautious manner while holding the handrail and watching the steps as she came down. While this conduct of the plaintiff involved a known risk, it was a question for the jury whether it was negligent for the plaintiff to do so under all the circumstances. Ayers v. Gordon, 94 N.H. 30; Thompson v. Resnik, 85 N.H. 413; Berthiaume v. Kessler, 86 N.H. 305. ""The present case is unlike Heidenreich v. Dumas, 88 N.H. 453, where the plaintiff's contributory negligence was determined as a matter of law because the plaintiff unaided and undirected was 'blindly venturing into the unknown."" Holmes v. Stores, 95 N.H. 478, 480.