LAVENDER v. KURN

Procedural Basis: Writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court after Missouri Supreme Court revered judgment for P in action for negligence.

Facts: Lavender (P), the administrator of the estate of Mr. Haney, bought suit for the death of Haney against his employers.  One dark December night in 1939 Haney was working as usual at the railyards when a train pulled into the station.  Haney was found lying face down near the track.  He had been struck in the head by a fast moving, small, round object.

Lavender (P) contended that Haney had been struck by a mail-hook attached to the train that had passed him.  The railroad company argued that he had been murdered, perhaps by a hobo in the area.  There was evidence that suggested both of these scenarios were possibilities.

Procedural history: The jury found that Haney was killed by the mail-hook and awarded damages accordingly.  The Missouri Supreme Court reversed, ruling that it should have never been allowed to go to the jury in the first place b/c the P “failed to make a submissible case on that question.”  Lavender (P) appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which was possible b/c the suit was brought under the Federal Employer’s Liability Act, rather than just common law negligence.

Issue: Can an appellate court reverse a jury’s decision for lack of evidence to support the verdict, when probable facts do exist to support the jury’s conclusion?

Rule: An appellate court can’t reverse a jury’s decision for lack of evidence to support the verdict when probative facts exist to support the jury’s conclusion.

Application:  The jury was well within it’s rights to decide that Haney was killed by the mail-hook and this finding should not have been disturbed merely because the reviewing judges might have decided the case differently had they been on the jury.

Conclusion: Reverse and remanded.