Speece

In this action for personal injuries allegedly sustained by plaintiff as a result of a fall while in the home of defendants, plaintiff appeals from the judgment entered after a jury verdict in favor of defendants and from the order of the court denying her motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict.

Question Presented

The sole question is whether there is evidence from which the jury could have found plaintiff to be an invitee.

The Record

Plaintiff, Kathryn Speece, (hereinafter referred to as plaintiff), now deceased, was the mother of defendant Erma Mae Browne and the mother-in-law of defendant James Browne (hereinafter referred to as defendants). On Sunday, September 13, 1959, she arrived at defendants’ home to cook dinner for them so that they could attend an afternoon baseball game. Plaintiff testified that she visited defendants an “awful lot on Sundays”; “But this Sunday I cooked dinner for them. That’s the reason I came over. ... So they could go to the ball game. . . .’’It was a family custom for plaintiff and defendants to have Sunday dinner together at defendants ’ house, and it was not “unusual” for plaintiff to cook the dinner.

During the afternoon of the day…