Anderson v. Western

320 N.E.2d 759, 162 Ind. App. 453, 1974 Ind. App. LEXIS 859
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 17, 1974
DocketNo. 1-274A24
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 320 N.E.2d 759 (Anderson v. Western) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Anderson v. Western, 320 N.E.2d 759, 162 Ind. App. 453, 1974 Ind. App. LEXIS 859 (Ind. Ct. App. 1974).

Opinion

Robertson, P.J.

The defendant-appellant (Gulf) brings this appeal from the granting of a motion for judgment on the evidence in favor of the plaintiff-appellee (Western). Gulf [454]*454also-argües that it was error to instruct the jury on damages concerning Western’s pension' rights; "In neither instance do we find reversible error.

The facts most favorable to Gulf are as follows:

On December 12, 1968, a tanker truck driven by Anderson, a Gulf employee, collided with the rear of a truck driven by Western at a railroad crossing just south of the intersection of US 31 and State Road 32. Prior to the collision, Anderson was driving at 45-50 miles per hour some 150 feet behind Western’s truck. When Anderson was approximately 600 feet from the railroad crossing, he started gearing down in order to stop at the crossing as required by law. When Anderson applied the brakes his foot slipped off the brake pedal and wedged between that pedal and the accelerator. He then grabbed the emergency brake in an attempt to slow down his truck. At this time Western had completed his required stop and was slowly moving away from the crossing. Because of oncoming traffic, Anderson was unable to pass on the left and as a result rear-ended Western’s truck.

Western sued Gulf for his injuries sustained in the accident. At the trial Anderson testified:

“Q. Now, Mr. Anderson, from the time you first saw Earl Western driving his truck until the time you hit him, was there anything unusual about the way he operated his truck?
A. No sir.
Q. Did he proceed in the truck at a normal speed until he got to the railroad crossing ?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did he make a normal stop ?
A. Yes, sir.
,Q. Did he put on his flashers to indicate he.was stopping?
A. Yes, sir.
[455]*455Q. And you knew that he was going to stop when he came to that railroad crossing, didn’t you ?
A. Yes.
Q. You knew it was a matter of law, didn’t you?
A. Yes.
Q. You aren’t contending that he did anything to contribute to this accident, are you ?
A. No.
Q. Now as I understand it, Mr. Anderson, your version . of this accident is that your truck hit Mr. Western’s because your shoe slipped off the brake .pedal and got wedged between the brake pedal and the accelerator, is that right?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And your shoe slipped because you had fuel oil on it, is that not correct ?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Now you knew that you had fuel oil on those shoes before this accident happened, didn’t you ?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. In fact, you knew it back when — an hour or half an hour ago, you loaded up at Clairmont, didn’t you?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How did you get that oil on your shoes ?
A. By loading the truck.
Q. What kind of shoes did you have on at this time?
A. They was leather soled shoes.
Q. And was there — what was the composition of. the brake pedal?
A. Well, the brake pedal was metal, approximately six to eight inches tall, two or three inches wide.
[456]*456Q. Had no rubber pad or anything on it?
A. No, sir.
Q. Just plain metal?
A. Yes.
Q. Now you knew didn’t you, Mr. Anderson, that this fuel oil on your shoes with the leather soles would make that shoe slippery?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And you knew that with a slippery shoe sole such as you had from the fuel oil it was liable to slip oif that metal brake pedal, didn’t you ?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. In fact, you could expect that to happen, could you not?
A. No, sir.
Q. Well, it had happened to you before, hadn’t it?
A. Yes.
Q. So when it happened it wasn’t a surprise to you, was it?
A. No, not really.
Q. Was it common for you to drive with oil on your shoes?
A. No.
Q. Well, in this instance you knew you had it on your shoes, didn’t you ?
A. Yes.
Q. Now I take it that since you knew about it, and felt you ought to take some special precautions to prevent just exactly what happened in this accident, didn't you?
A. Yes. .....
Q. But you didn’t take any of those precautions, did you?
A. No, not really.
[457]*457■ ' Q. Now you. didn’t even have your normal work shoes on that day, did you?
A. No, I didn’t.
Q. Tell us what your normal work shoes are, or were at the time.
A.--shoes, steel-toed, oil-resistant soles.
Q. Oil-resistant soles. And the purpose of oil-resistant soles is so they don’t get slippery and slip off things, is that not correct?
A. That’s correct.
Q. And that’s why you usually wore them?
A. Yes.
Q. And the fact that you had leather soles on put you on notice that this oil could make the brake pedal slippery, didn’t it?
A. Yes, sir.”

After all the evidence was presented, Western moved for a judgment on the evidence as to liability. The trial court granted the motion and subsequently gave plaintiff’s instruction no. 1, which provided:

“I instruct you that your verdict in this case must be for the plaintiff and the only issue for your consideration is the amount of damages to be awarded.”

The jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff in the amount of $94,541.00, which was later reduced by the trial court to $83,761.46.

Gulf first argues that the trial court erred in granting the motion for judgment on the evidence, and thus removing the issue of liability from the consideration of the jury.

The motion for judgment on the evidence is provided for by Ind. Rules of Procedure, Trial Rule 50 which provides in part:

[458]

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Related

Finley v. Chain
374 N.E.2d 67 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1978)

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Bluebook (online)
320 N.E.2d 759, 162 Ind. App. 453, 1974 Ind. App. LEXIS 859, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/anderson-v-western-indctapp-1974.