Action in the Hennepin County District Court for personal injuries allegedly sustained by plaintiff while employed on a construction project. Modern Erecting Company, Johnson, Drake & Piper, Inc., J.L. Shiely Company, and Jesco, Inc., were named as defendants, and Modern Erecting Company filed a third-party complaint against Ashbach Construction Company, J.L. Shiely Company, American Hoist & Derrick Company, Harlan Stowe, and Wesley P. Janshen. The case was tried before Leslie L. Anderson, Judge, and a jury, which found in a special verdict that the negligence of Modern Erecting Company, Johnson, Drake & Piper, Inc., and Wesley P. Janshen caused the injuries and that plaintiff suffered damages amounting to $642,400. Defendants Modern Erecting Company and Johnson, Drake & Piper, Inc., each appealed from an order which denied their alternative motions for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or for a new trial on condition that the plaintiff consent to a reduction of the verdict to $375,000, which he did.
