Smith v. Steen

The determinative issue of fact raised by the pleadings, and upon which the contest was waged, has been by the jury decided in favor of the defendants. The only assignments of error brought forward by the plaintiff in his appeal relate to the court's instructions to the jury. An examination of the charge as a whole in the light of the criticism noted, however, leads us to the conclusion that no prejudicial error is shown, which should require upsetting the verdict and judgment and awarding a new trial. ""The burden is on the appellant not only to show error but to enable the court to see that he was prejudiced or the verdict of the jury probably influenced thereby."" Collins v. Lamb, 215 N.C. 719, 2 S.E.2d 863; Wilson v. Lumber Co., 186 N.C. 56, 118 S.E., 797.