Wilhelmina Hoffman, Respondent v. John King and John G. McCullough, as Receivers of the New York, Lake Erie and…

Summary

The New York Court of Appeals reversed the judgment, holding that the plaintiff’s damages were too remote to be the proximate result of the railroad’s negligence in allowing combustible material to accumulate on its right‑of‑way, and therefore the railroad’s liability is limited to lands abutting its own property. The court affirmed that the trial court’s instructions and verdict were erroneous as a matter of law.