Yania v. Bigan
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
155 A.2d 343 (1959)
- Written by Dan Lake, JD
Facts
Bigan (defendant) was mining coal on his land, which involved making large “cuts” in the land. One such cut was sixteen to eighteen feet deep, with eight to ten feet of water held within. Yania, another coal miner, came onto Bigan’s land to discuss a business matter. Bigan asked Yania to help start a water pump in the cut. From a distance, Bigan allegedly began taunting and enticing Yania to jump into the water at the bottom of the cut. In response to these taunts, Yania jumped into the cut and drowned. Yania’s widow (plaintiff) brought a wrongful death action against Bigan, alleging that Bigan should have attempted to rescue Yania after he jumped into the water. The trial court dismissed the action in favor of Bigan.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Jones, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 810,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 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.
