[DOWNLOAD] "Amber Nicole Lee v. William I. Hartwig" by Western District Court of Appeals of Missouri # Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Amber Nicole Lee v. William I. Hartwig
- Author : Western District Court of Appeals of Missouri
- Release Date : January 22, 1992
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 66 KB
Description
This wrongful death action concerns the shotgun-blast death of Larry Lee, who was mistaken for game by his neighbor while both were hunting for turkeys in a wooded area in Carroll County. Family members of Mr. Lee sued William Hartwig, contending Mr. Hartwig negligently killed Mr. Lee. Following a trial, the jury found neither the deceased nor Mr. Hartwig were at fault, assessing zero percent fault to both. The family of Mr. Lee appeals, contending that the court erred in failing to direct a verdict for plaintiffs, and in unduly restricting the cross-examination of defendant's expert. Judgment affirmed. William Hartwig went hunting early on the morning of October 14, 1985, on wooded land in Carroll County. He was hunting alone. Mr. Hartwig set out a decoy and was sitting on the ground with his back against a tree, calling for turkeys. Mr. Hartwig testified that he heard what he thought was a turkey calling in response to his call. The sound seemed to be behind him and to his left. When asked about his actions upon believing a turkey was nearby, he responded: ""I raised up real slow, and I turned around, and that's when I saw what was in my mind a turkey, and that's when I shot."" He described his perception as follows: ""Well, in my mind what I saw was like a turkey's head, kind of greenish-blue, and maybe a little black, and I just thought it was a turkey."" He said he saw the object ""bob"" at least twice, slowly. Describing his conduct later in his testimony, he said, ""I seen this object move two or three times, so I flipped off the safety and shot it."" On cross-examination he said, ""when I turned around, I was looking for movement . . . when it bobbed like a turkey a couple of times or more, and when it went down, I did shoot."" His pre-trial deposition included the following statement (received in evidence at trial): ""When I got ready to shoot, I was sitting on the ground, and I scooted up and had my back against that tree, and I scooted up against that tree, and in one motion I turned around and looked and seen what I thought in my mind was a turkey, and I fired.""