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Show I THE READER'S COURTROOM Hit by Fire Escape, Wins Suit -By Will Bernard, LLB. 1 May a Pedestrian Collect Damages if Bumped By a Fire Escape? ' At the end of a movie matinee, several of the patrons in the balcony decided to make their exit by way of the fire escape. They stepped out onto the platform and the drop ladder lad-der swung slowly down to the street. The end of the ladder struck an unsuspecting un-suspecting woman passerby, knocking knock-ing her down. When she later sued the theater for damages, the proprie- May a Husband Annul A Marriage After 28 Years? A husband went to court for an annulment, 28 years after his wedding. wed-ding. He claimed he had just found out that at the time of the marriage ceremony his bride was already the common-law wife of another man! To make the story still more remarkable, he alleged that the other man was no one else but his own brother! However, the court refused to grant an annulment. The judge said he didn't believe it. May a Wife Get an Annulment Because Her Husband Doesn't -Have a College Degree? After several years of married life, a wife went to court for an annulment on the grounds of fraud. She told the jury: Before the wedding, wed-ding, her husband-to-be said he had a medical degree and was planning to apply for a license to practice. But afterward he kept postponing the application, and finally admitted ad-mitted that he had never finished GET" I VP'-l tor insisted that he was not responsible respon-sible for the misbehavior of the patrons. pat-rons. However, he admitted that customers cus-tomers often had used this same exit in the past. For this reason the court held him liable, saying that It was up to the theater management manage-ment to take reasonable precautions against such a dangerous practice. May a Father be Jailed for Spanking His Child too Hard? Missing a 25-cent piece from his pocket, a father concluded that his 12-year-old son was the thief. He gave the boy a terrible beating and left him locked in an attic room, his hands tied together. For two days the child was kept that way, fed only on bread and water. At last his cries attracted a neighbor neigh-bor and the boy was rescued "by police. Arrested for assault and battery, bat-tery, the father was held guilty by the court. his medical studies. The court, however, decided this deception wasn't bad enough basis for an annulment. an-nulment. He compared the wife's situation to that of a bride who discovers that her bridegroom's teeth are false or a bridegroom who discovers that his bride's blonde hair is dyed. In all these cases, said the judge, the deception is not serious enough to justify an annulment. |