A. Macaluso Fruit Co. v. Commercial Motor Freight, Inc.

57 N.E.2d 692, 41 Ohio Law. Abs. 97, 1944 Ohio App. LEXIS 570
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedFebruary 26, 1944
DocketNo. 3669
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 57 N.E.2d 692 (A. Macaluso Fruit Co. v. Commercial Motor Freight, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
A. Macaluso Fruit Co. v. Commercial Motor Freight, Inc., 57 N.E.2d 692, 41 Ohio Law. Abs. 97, 1944 Ohio App. LEXIS 570 (Ohio Ct. App. 1944).

Opinions

OPINION

By BARNES, P.J.

The above-entitled cause is now being determined as an error proceeding by reason -of defendant’s appeal on questions of law from the judgment of the Court of Common Pleas of Franklin County, Ohio.

Plaintiff’s original petition was filed August 19, 1941, and therein it asks judgment against the defendant in the sum of $865.00, and costs, on account of a collision between the two motor vehicles of plaintiff and defendant occurring on July 10, 1941, about the hour of 4:40 A. M., on State Route 3, at a point about two miles east of Wilmington, Ohio.

In the third amended petition upon which the case was tyied, the amount of damages prayed for was $1119.00. At the time of the accident plaintiff’s motor truck was being operated by an employee in furtherance of plaintiff’s business.

Defendant’s motor vehicle, consisting of' a double trailer outfit, was being operated by an employee of defendant in the regular course of its business. Plaintiff’s motor vehicle was a one and one-half ton truck, and was loaded with a cargo of potatoes and was proceeding eastwardly towards Columbus. Defendant’s double trailer outfit, filled with miscellaneous cargo was being operated in a westerly direction enroute to Cincinnati. Both concerns were Ohio corporations with their place of business in Columbus. Ohio.

Defendant filed an answer and cross petition.

The specific claimed acts of negligence on the part of the defendant as set out in plaintiff’s third amended petition are the following:

(1) In operating and driving said tractor, "semi-trailer and trailer on the wrong side of said highway.

(2) In not keeping a lookout ahead.

[100]*100(3) In operating said outfit at an excessive rate of speed, to-wit, approximately 25 miles per hour.

(4) In failing to have said outfit under control.

Defendant’s answer, after admitting certain formal allegations, denied all claimed acts of negligence. In his cross-petition it alleged that the plaintiff was guilty of negligence in the following particulars:

(1) That the plaintiff did not have control over said truck.

(2) That the plaintiff either saw or by the use of ordinary care could have seen the defendant’s tractor and trailer in time to have avoided the accident.

(3) That the plaintiff operated its truck upon the wrong side of the road, to-wit, on the left side of the street or highway.

(4) Plaintiff operated its truck for a period of fourteen consecutive hours without the driver of said truck having eight consecutive hours off duty, and also that said truck was operated fourteen hours in the aggregate of the twenty-four hours preceding said collision, without the driver having had eight consecutive hours off duty, all of the above contrary to the statutes in such cases made and provided.

The issues on the cross-petition were joined through plaintiff’s reply.

The case came on for trial before a jury and resulted in a verdict for the plaintiff, for the full amount claimed. At the close of plaintiff’s testimony counsel for defendant interposed motion for a directed verdict, which was overruled. The same motion was again presented at the close of all the testimony and again overruled. Counsel for defendant preserved his record by filing motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, and this motion was also overruled.

The motion for new trial sets out thirteen separately numbered and stated specifications of claimed error. Following the overruling of the motion for new trial defendant filed a notice of appeal on question of law, thus lodging the case in our Court.

Assignments of error are set out in 10 separately numbered and stated specifications. We will discuss these assignments in order.

"1. That the Court erred in giving to the jury two special interrogatories at the request of the plaintiff."

[101]*101The two interrogatories submitted read as follows:

“Q. Was the outfit consisting of a tractor and two trailers of the defendant Commercial Motor Freight. Incorporated, being operated at a greater rate of speed than was reasonable and proper at the time of the collision between the truck of the A. Macaluso Freight Company and the tractor and two trailers of the Commercial Motor Freight, Incorporated?”

This interrogatory was answered “Yes”, and signed by nine members of the jury.

“Q. Did the speed of the outfit of the Commercial Motor Freight, Incorporated, consisting of a tractor and two trailers directly contribute in the slightest degree in causing the collision between the truck of the A. Macaluso Fruit Company and the tractor and trailer of the Commercial Motor Freight?”

Nine members of the jury answered this interrogatory, “Yes”. We hold that these interrogatories were improperly given for the following reasons:

There was absolutely no evidence that the speed of the defendant’s trailer-truck was in any way a proximate cause of the accident. There was evidence that this trailer-truck immediately before the accident was operating at a speed greater than the twelve miles per hour prescribed under, the Code. However, the speed at which it was operating at the time and. place and under the conditions then existing could have nothing to do with the accident providing it was being operated bn its own right-hand side of the road. The highway at this point was paved to a width of ,20 feet, the center line definitely marked. The highway ran straight east and west, practically level, no intersections, in the country, no evidence of the outfit being out of control and for this and other reasons the Court should have withdrawn from the jury the allegation of speed as being a proximate cause of the accident.

The record presents the unmistakable conclusion that one or both trucks were over the center of the highway. The definite question for determination was, v/hich one; in other words, who hit whom?

Counsel for appellant calls attention to §11420-17 GC, which in substance provides that the trial -court when requested shall instruct the jury, if they render a general verdict, [102]*102specifically to find upon particular questions of fact as requested. (Emphasis ours.) In addition to the section, counsel cite numerous decisions wherein it is provided that it is not error for the trial court to refuse to submit to the jury special interrogatories wherein there is omitted the provision, “if they render a general verdict.” If the question of speed and proximate cause were in issue, either under the pleadings or the evidence, we would not hold that it was prejudicial error to submit the special interrogatories, even though the trial court did not instruct that their answering such was only required in the event that they returned a general verdict. However, under the factual situation we do determine that the submitting to the jury of such interrogatory was prejudicial error in view of the fact that their answer might indicate that their general verdict was by reason of their determination as to excessive speed and a proximate cause of the accident. This they would not have the right to do.

Under assignment No. 2 it is claimed that the Court erred in admitting evidence offered by the plaintiff and objected to by the defendant. Specifically, this refers to the testimony of Byron E. Holzfaster of Dayton, Ohio. Mr.

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Bluebook (online)
57 N.E.2d 692, 41 Ohio Law. Abs. 97, 1944 Ohio App. LEXIS 570, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/a-macaluso-fruit-co-v-commercial-motor-freight-inc-ohioctapp-1944.