Ayala v. Maume

318 S.W.2d 698, 1958 Tex. App. LEXIS 1591
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 16, 1958
Docket3579
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 318 S.W.2d 698 (Ayala v. Maume) 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
Ayala v. Maume, 318 S.W.2d 698, 1958 Tex. App. LEXIS 1591 (Tex. Ct. App. 1958).

Opinion

TIREY, Justice.

This is a highway collision case. Appellants, plaintiffs below, grounded their cause of action on injuries resulting from an automobile collision that occurred on Highway 81, approximately five miles north of the City of Waco, where a local road intersects the four-lane Highway 81, such local road intersecting Highway 81 from the east line and coming to a dead end after passing through the west traffic lane of such four-lane highway.

Appellants pleaded that appellee was guilty of negligence in the following respects: (1) that immediately prior to and at the time of the collision he failed to keep a proper lookout; (2) that he was driving at a high, dangerous and excessive rate of speed under the circumstances; (3) that he failed to keep his vehicle under proper control; (4) that he was driving in excess of the legal speed limit; (5) that he failed to apply his brakes in time to avoid the collision; (6) that he failed to swerve or turn his car to the right in an attempt to avoid the collision with the pickup truck in which appellants were riding; (7) that he failed to remain on the righthand or outer lane of the east lane for northbound traffic; (8) that he drove on to the left-hand or inner traffic lane for the northbound traffic on such highway, and further alleged that each of the acts constituted negligence that jointly, severally and directly and proximately caused or contributed to cause the injuries complained of.

Pertinent to this discussion appellee filed a general denial and specially pleaded that appellants failed to keep a proper lookout *701 and that their failure in this behalf convicted the appellants of contributory negligence, and further pleaded sudden emergency, and that the accident was unavoidable.

The jury in its verdict found substantially: (1 and 2) that defendant in the operation of his car failed to keep a proper lookout for plaintiffs’ truck, and that such failure was a proximate cause of the collision and damages; (3, 4 and 5) that defendant was driving at an excessive rate of speed under the circumstances, and that it was negligence, and that such was a proximate cause of the collision; (6, 7, 8 and 9) that defendant, immediately prior to the collision, failed to apply his brakes, and that such failure was negligence and a proximate cause, and awarded to plaintiff and his wife the sum of $1,000 as damages; (10) that the driver of the truck did not fail to keep a proper lookout; (12) “Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence, if any, that at the time and on the occasion in question Anselmo Ayala proceeded to drive his automobile into the highway when the defendant’s, Edward T. Maume’s, approaching automobile was so close to the intersection as to constitute an immediate hazard?”, to which the jury answered “No”; (15) that the driver of the truck did not fail to give a warning to defendant of his intent to enter the highway; (18) that defendant, at the time of the accident in question, was not acting under an emergency; (20) that the collision was not the result of an unavoidable accident; (21) that the act of the driver of the truck in starting to cross the highway at a time when he could not see to his left through the window or door was not negligence.

After the verdict was returned appellee seasonably filed motion for judgment non obstante veredicto, and in the court’s judgment we find this recital: * * * and the court, having heard and considered such motion, the evidence and argument of counsel and being of the opinion and so finds that plaintiff, Anselmo Ayala, by his own testimony and admissions, was guilty of contributory negligence as a matter of law in that he failed to keep a proper lookout and he failed to yield the right-of-way to defendant’s automobile at the time and place in question, at a time when defendant’s automobile which was traveling upon the highway was in such close proximity to the intersection in question as to constitute an immediate hazard, and that such acts of plaintiff were a proximate cause of the accident in question; and the court is of the opinion and finds that the jury’s .findings as to Special Issues Nos. 10, 11, 12 and 13 should be, and the same are, disregarded and the court being of the opinion that a directed verdict for the defendant would have been proper and that such motion should be granted; * * The court then decreed that plaintiffs take nothing by their suit and adjudged the costs against them, to' which judgment plaintiffs excepted and they have perfected their appeal to this court. (Under the court’s instructions in the charge and the jury’s answer to Issue No. 10, it was not required to answer Issue No. 11. This explanation applies to Issues Nos. 12 and 13, and there were no answers to Issues Nos. 11 and 13.)

The judgment is assailed on what appellants designate as three points. They are substantially to the effect that the court erred (1) in rendering judgment non ob-stante veredicto because plaintiff was not by his own testimony and admissions, construed in a light most favorable to him, guilty of contributory negligence as a matter of law that proximately caused the accident; (2) because there is no evidence to sustain the court’s action in disregarding the special issues and in rendering judgment non obstante veredicto; (3) the evidence is insufficient to sustain the court’s action in disregarding the special issues and in rendering judgment non obstante veredicto.

Before discussing each of appellants’ points, we think it is pertinent for *702 us here to say that as a reviewing court, it is our duty to consider the evidence and the inferences properly to be drawn therefrom in the light most favorable to the party obtaining the verdict, and it is our duty in considering controverted issues of fact to accept as true that testimony which tends to support the verdict. 3-B Tex.Jur. pp. 370 and 372. Moreover, “Where the facts are controverted, or are such that different inferences may be reasonably drawn therefrom, an issue of fact is raised; it is only where the evidence is harmonious and consistent, and the circumstances permit of but one conclusion, that the question becomes one of law for the determination of the court. An issue of fact is raised ‘if, discarding all adverse evidence, and giving credit to all evidence favorable to the plaintiff, and indulging every legitimate conclusion favorable to the plaintiff which might have been drawn from the facts proved, a jury might have found in favor of the plaintiff.’ ” Citing cases. See Olds v. Traylor, Tex.Civ.App., 180 S.W.2d 511, 514, points 8 and 9, writ ref. Moreover, “ ‘It was the jury’s province to weigh all of the evidence, to decide what credence should be given to the whole or to any part of the testimony of each witness. “The jury were the judges not only of the facts proved, but of the inferences to be drawn therefrom, provided such inferences were not unreasonable.” ’ ” See Burt v. Lochausen, 151 Tex. 289, 249 S.W.2d 194, at page 199, point 6. No rule is better settled than the one to the effect that if there is evidence of probative value to sustain the findings of the jury, the appellate court is bound by such findings. See Lynch v. McLendon, Tex.Civ.App., 283 S.W.2d 88, point 3 (no writ history) and cases there collated.

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318 S.W.2d 698, 1958 Tex. App. LEXIS 1591, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ayala-v-maume-texapp-1958.