Meagher v. Long Island R.R. Co.
Court of Appeals of New York
261 N.E.2d 384 (1970)
Edward Meagher died after disembarking from a Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) train at an unscheduled stop, and his widow Marie (plaintiff), as executrix, sued LIRR (defendant) for negligence; LIRR raised contributory negligence and a statutory vestibule-riding defense, but the trial court instructed the jury more favorably to Meagher than LIRR had requested. After telling counsel that exceptions would be heard in chambers, the judge sent the case to the jury and only then, in chambers, heard LIRR renew its instruction requests, which the judge considered and declined; LIRR did not object again even when parts of the charge were reread to the deliberating jury, and after a verdict for Meagher, LIRR appealed the jury instructions.
Whether, under New York law, a party adequately preserves a challenge to a jury instruction where, in compliance with the court's direction, it objects to the instruction soon after the jury begins deliberating.