Bates v. Utech

1967 OK 256, 441 P.2d 952, 1967 Okla. LEXIS 620
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedDecember 26, 1967
Docket40973
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 1967 OK 256 (Bates v. Utech) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bates v. Utech, 1967 OK 256, 441 P.2d 952, 1967 Okla. LEXIS 620 (Okla. 1967).

Opinion

WILLIAMS, Justice.

This is an appeal from a judgment of the court below, sitting with a jury, in an action wherein plaintiff, defendant in error herein, sought to recover from Claude Bates, Jr., administrator of the Estate of Phillip J. Yahner, deceased, plaintiff in error herein, damages for personal injuries which allegedly occurred as a result of Yahner’s and one Jones’ negligence. The parties herein will be referred to as they appeared below, i. e., defendant in error will be referred to as plaintiff and plaintiff in error will be referred to as defendant.

In his petition below, plaintiff alleged that on June 2, 1962, he was a passenger on a motorcycle, owned and operated by Yahner, which was proceeding north on State Highway No. 7SA located on Deni-son Dam, Bryan County, Oklahoma; that accompanying said motorcycle was a second motorcycle operated by one Jerry W. Jones and upon which its owner, one Hoyle C. Massey, was a passenger; that the two motorcycles, while traveling together at the time and place so alleged, “came together and entangled in such a manner that they were both upset and turned over”, throwing their operators and passengers to the pavement; and, that as a result of such accident, plaintiff was permanently injured and disabled. Plaintiff further alleged that the two motorcycle operators were guilty of the following acts of negligence which proximately caused the accident and plaintiff’s injuries: (1) the operators failed to use ordinary care under the conditions and circumstances; (2) the operators violated 47 O.S.1961, § 11-801(a), which provides that no person shall operate a vehicle at a speed that is greater than or less than is reasonable and proper under the existing conditions; (3) the operators failed to keep a proper lookout; (4) the operators failed to maintain a safe distance between the two motorcycles; (5) the operators violated 47 O.S.1961, § 11-805, which places speed limits on certain specified types of motorcycles; and, (6) the operators were exceeding the posted speed limit at the place of the accident.

To this petition, defendant filed an answer consisting of a general denial. Thereafter and some five days prior to trial of this case, plaintiff filed an amendment to his petition. In this amendment, plaintiff alleged that the motorcycle upon which he and Yahner were riding on June 2, 1962, was proceeding south on State Highway 75A located on Denison Dam, Bryan County, Oklahoma; that the motorcycle operated by Jones and upon which Massey was a passenger was proceeding *954 north on the above designated highway; that both motorcycles were traveling at a speed of at least fifty miles per hour, and, that at such time and place the two motorcycles collided, throwing the operators and passengers to the pavement and resulting in plaintiff being permanently injured and disabled.

Defendant’s amended answer generally denied plaintiff’s allegations and, further, alleged contributory negligence on the part of plaintiff in failing to warn and remonstrate with Yahner concerning the latter’s alleged acts of negligence. Plaintiff filed a general denial to the amended answer.

Upon the issues thus formed by the pleadings, the case proceeded to trial.

We here should note that although the administrator of the Estate of Jerry W. Jones, Deceased, (Jones being the operator of the other motorcycle involved in the accident herein) was a party defendant to the action below, he filed no pleadings nor did he appear at trial, and a default judgment was entered against him. There was no appeal to this Court from such default judgment.

At trial, plaintiff’s testimony, where pertinent to the issue herein, was that he and Yahner had been to a beach and swimming area on the Oklahoma side of Lake Texo-ma; that at approximately 8:00 p.m. the two left the area on a motorcycle owned and at that time being driven by Yahner; that they entered State Highway 75A at a point just north of Denison Dam and turned south to travel across the dam and to proceed on to Denison, Texas; that while on such highway and crossing the dam, they overtook an automobile which was pulling a boat and trailer at a very slow speed; that Yahner “whipped” or “swung” the motorcycle out to pass such automobile; and, that Yahner “passed it on the left and while he was going by and passing it, I looked back to see — to make sure that we could clear it, when we cleared the car pulling the boat, we were turning back in and we had seemed to go far enough ahead of it and then I looked back for an instance and I felt the sudden fear or danger and then I was knocked unconscious.” Plaintiff also testified that although it was dusk, Yahner’s motorcycle’s lights were not on as they began crossing the dam, but that he did not remember whether they were turned on at the time of the accident. Further, plaintiff testified that although he did not see the speedometer, he would estimate Yahner’s motorcycle to be traveling at approximately fifty to sixty miles per hour just prior to the accident and that the posted speed limit on Dennison Dam was forty miles per hour.

On cross-examination, a series of questions asked plaintiff at the taking of his deposition, and his answers to such questions, were read into evidence. In summary, plaintiff testified in such deposition that he did not know where in relationship to the center line of the roadway the accident occurred; that at the time the motorcycle on which he was riding had turned out to pass the car and trailer on Denison Dam, that it was still in its proper lane of traffic although “ * * * we may have been on the center line as far as that is concerned, but I know we weren’t into the other lane”; and, that although he was not sure as he was looking at the car and trailer Yahner’s motorcycle was passing, he was relatively certain, judging from the distance such motorcycle was from such car and trailer, that they were in the lane to their right of the center line.

Plaintiff also introduced the testimony of a Mr. John Clift who had taken photographs of the motorcycles immediately after the accident involved herein. One of the photographs he identified as having been taken at that time shows the motorcycle which was being driven north by Jones to be lying just to the west of the center line of the roadway, while the motorcycle which was being driven south by Yahner is pictured lying just to the east of such center line.

At the close of plaintiff’s evidence, defendant demurred to such evidence. The trial court overruled this demurrer. Defendant offered no evidence, but did move *955 for a directed verdict, which was also overruled. The case was then submitted to the jury, resulting in a verdict for plaintiff. From the judgment entered on such verdict and the lower court’s order overruling his motion for new trial, defendant appeals.

In his first proposition for reversal, defendant contends that the trial court erred in submitting the cause to the jury as plaintiff failed to prove any negligence on the part of defendant. This proposition requires a consideration of the evidence presented by plaintiff and, in the consideration of this evidence, the doctrine set forth in Bankers Security Life Insurance Company v. Sauls, Okl., 385 P.2d 906, must be followed. In the first paragraph of the syllabus, we there said:

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1967 OK 256, 441 P.2d 952, 1967 Okla. LEXIS 620, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bates-v-utech-okla-1967.