Baston v. Shelton

13 So. 2d 453, 152 Fla. 879, 1943 Fla. LEXIS 1053
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedMay 7, 1943
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 13 So. 2d 453 (Baston v. Shelton) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Baston v. Shelton, 13 So. 2d 453, 152 Fla. 879, 1943 Fla. LEXIS 1053 (Fla. 1943).

Opinions

CHAPMAN, J.:

The plaintiff below, Peggy Shelton, about 3:00 A.M. on June 20, 1940, when walking from the west to the east across the intersection of 18th Street and Northwest 7th Avenue in *881 the City of Miami, was struck by a Dodge truck driven by Lamar Carroll, 18 years of age, an employee of the defendant engaged in the delivery of milk. Plaintiff’s declaration consisted of four counts, and alleged that the proximate cause of her injuries, being both serious and permanent, was the carelessness and negligence of defendant’s employee in the operation of the milk truck at the time and place plaintiff was injured. Pleas of not guilty and contributory negligence were filed and the parties adduced evidence before a jury in support of the issues made, resulting in a verdict and judgment for the plaintiff below. An appeal therefrom has been perfected to this Court.

Seven questions are posed by counsel for appellant for adjudication by this Court appearing on the record. Posed questions 1, 5, 6, and 7 challenge the legal accuracy of designated instructions to the jury as given by the trial court; the 3rd goes to the ruling of the trial court in excluding from the consideration of the jury designated testimony; the 4th involves the admission into evidence by the plaintiff for the consideration of the jury of described photographs; while the 2nd is to the effect that the plaintiff is barred from recovery as a matter of law because of her own contributory negligence.

It is contended that the definition of contributory negligence as given by the trial court was erroneous and is viz:

“Contributory negligence is the failure of the person injured by the negligence of another, to use such ordinary care and prudence in the conduct of himself or herself, as would likely or probably occur in the ordinary course of events.”

The above definition, no doubt, could be improved upon, but it has not been made to appear that it is clearly erroneous. See Shayne v. Saunders, 129 Fla. 355, 176 So. 495. In passing upon a single instruction, such instruction must be considered in the light of all other instructions given bearing upon the same subject, and, if when so considered, the law appears to have been been fairly presented to the jury, an assignment based on the instruction or charge must fail. See Greiper v. Coburn, 139 Fla. 293, 190 So. 902; Haddock v. State, 141 Fla. 132. 192 So. 802.

*882 The basis of questions 5, 6 and 7 are requested instructions refused by the trial court and are viz:

“ (9) The Court erred in refusing to give in charge to the jury the following defendant’s requested instruction: ‘No. 1. I charge you, gentlemen of the jury, that the basis of this case is the alleged negligence of the operator of the defendant’s truck. If he was operating his truck in a careful and prudent manner, then I charge you that he has not been guilty of negligence and that the plaintiff cannot recover.”
“ (10) The Court erred in refusing to give in charge to the jury the following defendant’s requested instruction: ‘No. 2. I charge you, gentlemen of the jury, that the plaintiff owed to herself the duty of exercising reasonable care for her own safety, and in that regard it was her duty to look and see whether or not there was traffic when she crossed the street. If you find from' the evidence that she failed to look or that she looked and failed to see approaching traffic, and ■ that h'er carelessness in that respect was the cause of the accident, then she is not entitled to recover and your verdict must be for the defendant.’
“(11) The Court erred in refusing to give in charge to the jury the following defendant’s requested instruction: ‘No. 3. I charge you, gentlemen of the jury, that one of the defenses filed in this case by the defendant was that the plaintiff was guilty of some negligence which proximately helped to produce or bring about the accident and resulting injuries. If you find from the evidence that the plaintiff proximately contributed in any manner to the bringing about of the accident, then she cannot recover and your verdict must be for the defendant.’ ”

The charges as given by the trial court sua sponte applicable to the several points are a complete answer to this contention and are viz:

“I charge you at the request of the defendant, that if you 'find from the evidence that both the driver of defendant’s truck, and the plaintiff, were guilty of negligence, and that the negligence of each helped to produce or bring about the accident then the plaintiff cannot recover; where both parties to a collision are guilty of negligence, and the negli *883 gence of each helps to bring about the collision, then the law leaves them where it finds them; under such circumstances neither is entitled to recover from the other.”
“Actionable negligence is any injury to another by reason of the failure of a person to use such ordinary care and prudence to avoid injury to such other person, when it is reasonably certain that the failure to use such ordinary care and prudence will likely or probably cause injury to another in the ordinary course of events.” ' '
“By ordinary care, the law means such a degree of care under the circumstances, as in the situation in which the parties were placed, so far as it may be shown by the evidence, as an ordinarily prudent person would exercise under the circumstances and in the same situation, for one of his age, capacity and experience.
“To constitute actionable negligence there must be not only casual connection between the negligence complained of and the injury suffered, but the connection must be by natural and unbroken sequence without intervening efficient cause, so that but for the negligence of the defendant, the injury would not have occurred. It must not only be a cause, but it must be the proximate cause; proximate cause and efficient cause, from which the injury follows in unbroken sequence without any intervening cause to breach the continuity.
“You are charged here that an unavoidable accident is a casualty which occurs without negligence of either party, and when all means which common prudence suggests have been used to prevent it. Therefore if you find from the evidence that the plaintiff received the alleged injuries, if any, by reason of an unavoidable accident brought about as the direct, proximate result of unavoidable circumstances as here defined by the court, you will find for the defendant.”

A single instruction is not required to contain all the law relating to the subject treated, and, in determining whether challenged instructions are proper or improper, the entire instruction as given must be considered as an entirety. See Police and Firemen’s Ins. Asso. v. Hines, 134 Fla. 298, 183 So. 831. The charges to a jury should be considered as an entirety and not isolated portions. Hollywood v. Bair, 136 *884 Fla. 100, 186 So. 818.

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Bluebook (online)
13 So. 2d 453, 152 Fla. 879, 1943 Fla. LEXIS 1053, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/baston-v-shelton-fla-1943.