Connelly

The defendants have prosecuted this appeal from a modified judgment in favor of plaintiffs rendered by the court after a trial of the cause was had before the court, without a jury. The appeal is also taken from an order of the court denying a motion of defendants for a new trial and directing that findings theretofore made be amended and the judgment entered in conformity with such findings be modified.

The principal contention advanced by appellants upon this appeal is that the evidence which is presented by the reporter’s transcript shows that the respondent Frank T. De Arman was guilty of negligence, as a matter of law, which contributed to the occurrence of the collision between the automobile which was being operated by De Arman and a tow-car which was the property of appellant Connelly, and which, at the time of the collision, was being driven by appellant Mills, and that the damage to De Arman’s automobile and the personal injuries suffered by respondents as a result of the collision were not, therefore, properly recoverable from appellants. Consideration of this primary contention necessitates a brief recital of the circumstances which surrounded the happening of the…