Supreme Court voids $3.9 million jury award; overturns two appellate court rulings
http://www.madisonrecord.com/news/246851-supreme-court-voids-3.9-million-jury-award-overturns-two-appellate-court-rulings?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+madisonrecord%2FQDtS+%28Madison+County+Record%29
Quote:In a unanimous decision delivered by Justice Charles Freeman, the court found that the circuit and appellate courts committed reversible error when they let the jury determine the defendants' duty to the plaintiff, who injured himself attempting to jump onto a moving train.
"This determination of defendants' duty is a question of law for the court," Freeman wrote, explaining that the defendants in this case were entitled to a judgment notwithstanding a verdict.
He added, "It has never been part of our law that a landowner may be liable to a trespasser who proceeds to wantonly expose himself to unmistakable danger in total disregard of a fully understood risk, simply for the thrill of the venture.