Abbott v. Howard

219 P.2d 696, 169 Kan. 305
CourtSupreme Court of Kansas
DecidedJune 10, 1950
Docket37,828, 37,829
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 219 P.2d 696 (Abbott v. Howard) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Abbott v. Howard, 219 P.2d 696, 169 Kan. 305 (kan 1950).

Opinions

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Smith, J.:

These two actions were to recover damages alleged to have been sustained when an automobile driven by the plaintiff in one of them collided with a horse loose upon the highway. The [306]*306cases were consolidated in the trial court. The trial court sustained the defendant’s demurrer to the plaintiff’s evidence in each of the cases and the plaintiffs have each appealed.

The petition of the plaintiff, C. A. Abbott, alleged that he was driving his car on.the highway at 7:15 p. m. on January 7th at a speed of thirty-five to forty miles per hour; that a dark-brown-colored horse belonging to defendant walked across the highway; that he saw it in the center of the highway forty to fifty feet ahead of his car; that he applied his brakes and turned his car to the left in an attempt to avoid striking it; that when it reached the center of the highway it turned to the north and faced the car and in spite of plaintiff’s efforts the automobile collided with the horse and was damaged.

The petition alleged the defendant was negligent in allowing the horse to run at large and that she negligently failed to keep it off the highway, which acts and omissions caused the damage. He prayed for judgment in the amount of $800.

The petition of Erma V. Abbott was in identical words as to the negligence and alleged as a result of the collision she was injured in many particulars. She prayed for damages in the amount of $10,625.

The defendant filed a general denial and alleged the plaintiffs were negligent. The reply was a general denial. The actions were consolidated in the trial court by stipulation.

Mr. Abbott testified that he was driving south on Highway No. 69 at 7 o’clock at night when in front of the residence of defendant he observed a dark-brown-colored horse coming upon the highway; that he was driving a little under thirty-five miles an hour and had his lights in operation; that he first saw the horse as it came from the east side of the road onto the right side; that he saw if he continued driving straight ahead he would hit it; that he immediately applied his brakes and turned the car to the left; that he got partly past the horse but it collided with the right side of his car about the middle post on the back; that with two county patrol officers he caught the horse and returned it to defendant, who admitted she was its owner. He further testified about the damage to the car and the injuries to his wife. On cross-examination he testified at the time of the collision he could see objects on the road ahead for two hundred feet and he did not see the horse until fifty feet from it, when it was coming out of the darkness on the east side of the highway [307]*307directly in front of his car; that there was ice on the shoulder of the highway but none on the pavement; that from^he time he first observed the horse until the moment of the impact was just a short interval.

The testimony of his wife was to about the same effect.

A deputy sheriff called out of turn for the defendant testified from his report that there were no defects in the condition of the driver or of the car and that the headlights had been checked and were all right and the weather was clear.

There was the testimony of the garageman as to the value of the car and of a doctor as to the injury.

The court sustained the defendant’s demurrer to the evidence as to both cases — hence this appeal.

Plaintiffs argue that they established a prima facie case against the defendant sufficient to carry the case of actionable negligence to the jury under the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur, when they proved the collision, that the horse was unattended on the highway, the damages and that defendant owned the horse.

They concede that under the early common law an owner of a domestic animal was under no legal obligation to prevent it from running at large on the highway and was not liable for an injury resulting from it so being at large unless he could reasonably have anticipated that injury would result from it. They argue further, however, that in the light of modern conditions of congested vehicular traffic on the highways the great weight of modern authorities lays more stress on the exception to the common law rule that the owner of an animal is liable if he could reasonably have anticipated the injury would result from its being at large on the highway.

This appeal was submitted in March without oral argument. Before we had decided it, however, our attention was called to G. S. 1935, 47-122, 47-123 and 47-124, same being Chapter 211 of the Laws of Kansas for 1929. It appeared an argument might very well be made that these sections had a bearing on actions such as these. We reset the appeal for reargument in May and ordered the parties to file briefs on that question only. These briefs were filed. Counsel appeared and argued. The appeal is now ready for decision on all points.

In the meantime at the May session the appeal in Wilson v. Rule, this day decided, involving the same general legal question whs [308]*308submitted. We have had the benefit of briefs and oral argument on it. All three appals will be disposed of at this session.

We shall first dispose of the argument of plaintiff that res ipsa loquitur applies. To so conclude would be to hold that the fact an animal escapes from a pasture or corral, or from custody, while being led, ridden or driven or while hitched or tied to a hitching rack is so unusual that no other conclusion can be drawn from the occurrence itself than that the owner was negligent. Our knowledge of the ways of domestic animals forbid us doing that. To say that the mere fact the horse was loose upon the highway was evidence in and of itself that the owner was negligent in the manner in which she confined it, simply flies in the face of what the ordinary and unusual situation is.

A situation quite common a generation ago and not unknown now was dealt with in Stephenson v. Corder, 71 Kan. 475, 80 Pac. 938.

We considered there a case where a team while tied to a hitching rack in a town became frightened, broke a halter strap and while running away on the street collided with a buggy in which the plaintiff was riding, and injured her. The theory upon which plaintiff sued was that the fact the halter strap broke was evidence the owner had negligently left them insecurely fastened. We said:

“It may well be questioned whether under the evidence in this case the fact that it broke draws with it any presumption that the strap was so defective as to make its use under ordinary circumstances negligence. . . . Ordinary care is all that was required of the defendant, and ordinary care does not require that all possible means for avoiding accident should be used. Quite true, the accident would not have occurred had the horses been hitched to an unbreakable rack with an unbreakable chain; nor would it have occurred had not the defendant driven to the city on that day; but ordinary care does not require the use of such precautions.”

See, also, Blashfields Cyclopedia of Automobile Law and Practice, sec. 6046.

We go now to a consideration of the effect on this appeal of G. S. 1935, 47-122 and 47-123. At the outset, it .should be stated that this record differs from Wilson v.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Attorney General Opinion No.
Kansas Attorney General Reports, 2001
Walborn v. Stockman
706 P.2d 465 (Court of Appeals of Kansas, 1985)
Cooper v. Eberly
508 P.2d 943 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 1973)
Prickett v. Farrell
455 S.W.2d 74 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1970)
Parker v. Reter
383 P.2d 93 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1963)
Sheehan v. Wilbur
24 Mass. App. Dec. 151 (Mass. Dist. Ct., App. Div., 1962)
Clark v. Carson
362 P.2d 71 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 1961)
Bates v. Alliston
352 P.2d 16 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 1960)
O'CONNOR v. Black
326 P.2d 376 (Idaho Supreme Court, 1958)
Abbott v. Howard
219 P.2d 696 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 1950)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
219 P.2d 696, 169 Kan. 305, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/abbott-v-howard-kan-1950.