Tedla v. Ellman
New York Court of Appeals
280 N.Y. 124, 19 N.E.2d 987 (1939)
- Written by Lauren Petersen, JD
Facts
Anna Tedla and her brother (plaintiffs) were walking along a highway after dark. They were walking along the right-hand side of the road. The traffic along the right-hand side of the road was very light that evening. The traffic along the left-hand side of the road was heavy. A state statute provided that pedestrians walking along the highway must walk along the left-hand side of the road so that vehicles would pass them on their right. Hellman (defendant) struck Tedla and her brother while driving a vehicle owned by Ellman (defendant). Tedla was injured, and her brother was killed. Tedla brought suit on her and her brother’s behalf. The defendants asserted that Tedla and her brother were in violation of the state statute, which constituted contributory negligence. The case was tried on the merits. The trial court submitted to the jury whether a violation of the statute proximately caused the accident. The jury found that the sole cause of the accident was Ellman's negligence. The appellate division affirmed the trial court's judgment, and the defendants appealed to the New York Court of Appeals.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Lehman, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 780,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,200 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
