Archie Lacy Truck Lines v. Smith

350 S.W.2d 216, 1961 Tex. App. LEXIS 1973
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedSeptember 28, 1961
Docket6486
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 350 S.W.2d 216 (Archie Lacy Truck Lines v. Smith) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Archie Lacy Truck Lines v. Smith, 350 S.W.2d 216, 1961 Tex. App. LEXIS 1973 (Tex. Ct. App. 1961).

Opinion

*217 McNEILL, Justice.

This is an appeal by Archie Lacy Truck Lines from an order of the district court ■of Hardin County overruling its plea of privilege to be sued in Harris County. Appellee instituted the suit to recover damages for personal injuries sustained by him on April 14, 1960, while helping unload pipe from a truck on a pipe line right of way. It was alleged that at the time appel-lee was an employee of Mallard & Mallard, a company building the pipe line; that pipe was caused to fall upon appellee from the truck; that the accident took place in Hardin County and was the result of negligence of appellant’s truck driver. Appellee controverted the plea of privilege, asserting his right to maintain suit in Hardin County by virtue of Sec. 9a, Art. 1995, Vernon’s Ann.T ex.Civ.Stats.

Supported by six points, appellant -contends that the trial court erred in overruling its plea. The first, because there was no evidence to prove that the accident happened in Hardin County. While the proof is not the clearest, we think there was evidence to sustain the implied finding that the accident happened in Hardin County. We quote the following excerpts from appellee’s testimony:

“Q. And what were you employed to do for Mallard & Mallard Construction? A. We were laying a pipe line.
“Q. Where were you laying a pipe line? A. Right out of Village Mills here in Hardin County.”
⅛ ⅝ ‡ $ $ $
“Q. (By Mr. Wiggins) How far out of Village Mills were you working, Mr. Smith? A. I’d say about three or four miles out of Village Mills.
“Q. Toward what direction? A. That, I couldn’t say.
“Q. Was it East, West, North, or South of Village Mills? A. Well now, I couldn’t say; all I know, we turned right out of Village Mills.”

Appellee testified that he went about three miles to a big oil field. The evidence indicates Village Mills is sometimes called Long Station. W. L. Selman, appellee’s witness, testified that, “if you turn off to the right at Long Station you would go toward Brooks Field, and that direction would throw you East and you would have stayed on within Hardin County until you crossed the Farm-Market Road going north that leads out of the town of Village Mills and you could have gone if you crossed that and went approximately a mile and a half north of the paved road, Farm-Market Road that crosses the Beech Creek and connects with the Silsbee and Spurger Highway you can get into Tyler County by getting over on that.” “Q. But if you turn off to the right on the road we are speaking of there at Long Station — My question was if you turned to your right on any of those roads at that location, would you still be in Hardin County. A. If you traveled due east you would. Q. If you turned to your right? A. Yes, sir, if you turned to your right you are traveling east.” Mr. Selman said if he passed Brooks oil field and went a mile and a half North one could get into Tyler County. Since ap-pellee stated he went three or four miles out of Village Mills and it was three miles to the oil field he would have to travel another mile and a half before he could get into Tyler County.

The second point urges there was no evidence to prove that there was any negligence on the part of defendant, and the third point is that there was insufficient evidence of such negligence. The facts show that the Archie Lacy Truck Lines’ truck, operated by its driver, was loaded with large pipe and that it was being driven along the pipe line right of way as the sections of pipe were unloaded. It took three men, employees of Mallard & Mallard, to unload the pipe, one joint at a time, so that as each joint was unloaded, the Mallard & Mallard foreman in charge of unloading would have the truck pull forward a sufficient length for another joint to be rolled *218 off. There was one employee at each end of the pipe and appellee was working in the middle. There was no actual bed on the truck. The testimony showed that the pipe line right of way was relatively smooth and that the ground had been “bladed off” by a bulldozer. A short time before the accident happened there was some discussion between the truck driver and the Mallard & Mallard foreman about pulling the pins from the side of the truck so that the pipe could be moved off the truck easier. Appellee stated that while he could not swear to it, he believed the truck driver pulled the front pin. At any rate, the pins were pulled and appellee testified that then the truck “was supposed to be moved real easy and slow”, but the driver jerked the truck and caused several pipe to roll down and off the truck onto appellee before he could get out of the way. No one told the driver how to operate the truck but the Mallard & Mallard foreman told him where to go — he would tell the driver how far to pull up and place his truck so that the pipe could be unloaded at the right location. We think these circumstances dictated caution on the part of the driver in handling the truck.

The fourth point relied upon by appellant is that there was no evidence to prove the driver of the truck was the agent or servant of appellant, acting within the scope of his employment at the time of any alleged injury; and the fifth point is like it, that the evidence in such respect was insufficient. At noon before the accident happened that afternoon, appellee ate lunch with the truck driver and the truck driver then told appellee that he was employed by the Archie Lacy Truck Lines. This evidence was admitted over appellant’s objection that agency may not be so established. The declaration of a person that he is the agent of another is ordinarily inadmissible to prove agency; but it may be admitted in corroboration of other evidence of agency. Cook v. Hamer, 158 Tex. 164, 309 S.W.2d 54. Such other evidence should be sufficient, prima facie, to show the fact of agency or employment. McAfee v. Travis Gas Corp., 137 Tex. 314, 153 S.W.2d 442. The other evidence admitted showing the truck driver was in the employment of appellant was the sign on the truck itself. Appellee testified the sign said, “Archie Lacy Trucking Company.” Is the fact that the name of the truck line on the truck itself as it was driven along unloading the pipe sufficient, prima facie, to prove that its driver was an employee of the named company and in the scope of his employment? In the absence of any proof to the contrary, we hold it is sufficient. Younger Bros. v. Power, Tex.Civ.App., 92 S.W.2d 1147; Strickland Transportation Co. v. Carmona, Tex.Civ.App., 303 S.W.2d 851. The fact that the name of defendant was “Archie Lacy Truck Lines” though ap-pellee stated the name on the side of the truck to be “Archie Lacy Trucking Company” was, we think in the circumstances, an immaterial variance. 9B Blashfield’s Cyclopedia of Auto. Law & Practice, Sec. 6056, p. 525.

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Bluebook (online)
350 S.W.2d 216, 1961 Tex. App. LEXIS 1973, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/archie-lacy-truck-lines-v-smith-texapp-1961.