Beach v. City of Seattle

148 P. 39, 85 Wash. 379, 1915 Wash. LEXIS 846
CourtWashington Supreme Court
DecidedMay 6, 1915
DocketNo. 12235
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 148 P. 39 (Beach v. City of Seattle) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Washington Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Beach v. City of Seattle, 148 P. 39, 85 Wash. 379, 1915 Wash. LEXIS 846 (Wash. 1915).

Opinion

Ellis, J.

This is an action for damages resulting from personal injuries to the plaintiff caused by the alleged negligence of the defendant.

Boston street, in the city of Seattle, runs east and west, Queen Anne avenue north and south. The Whittlesey home was located near the intersection of Fourth avenue, north, and Crockett street. Fourth avenue, north, is parallel to and six blocks east of Queen Anne avenue. Crockett street runs in the main parallel to and one block south of Boston street. Crossing Crockett street a little south of its intersection with Third avenue, north, is a gulch or ravine about thirty feet deep and nearly eighty feet wide. On the west side of this ravine, the pavement on Crockett street extends to within five or six feet of the abrupt edge of the ravine. From Queen Anne avenue east to Warren avenue, a distance of two blocks, Crockett street has a considerable up grade. From Warren avenue east almost to the gulch it is considerably down grade. From the gulch east to Fourth avenue, north, the grade again rises. The altitude of Crockett street at its intersection with Warren avenue about two blocks west of the ravine, and at its intersection with Fourth avenue about one and one-half blocks east of the ravine, is about the same, so that going eastward on Crockett street one’s vision from Warren avenue naturally strikes a point on Crockett street about Fourth avenue. The ravine, the balance of the street in the block in which it is located being unpaved, gives in the nighttime to an observer coming east on Crockett street the appearance of a continuous street with an intervening un[382]*382paved block, the street lights being continuous on both sides of the ravine.

On the night of the accident, there was no barrier, red light or any danger signal of any kind to indicate the presence of the gulch. There was no light of any kind near the gulch except a street light on a telegraph pole at the northwest corner of Crockett street and Third avenue. This was not an arc light, but an ordinary incandescent lamp. The evidence shows that this light rather obscures than discloses the gulch, as it is of such height that it is directly in one’s face as he approaches from the west, so that the gulch is not perceived until after passing the light. Several witnesses who had viewed this situation in the nighttime testified in substance that the contour of the ground and the lighting of the streets on each side of the gulch gives the impression that the street is a continuous street until one is very near the brink of the ravine.

The plaintiff, on the evening of March 80, 1913, as the guest of the Whittlesey family, attended a social dance held at a hall near the intersection of Boston street and Queen Anne avenue, the party going in the Whittlesey automobile. The dance concluded near midnight, and the Whittlesey party, including the plaintiff, started to the Whittlesey home in the automobile, which was driven by a young man of the family. The side curtains and wind shield were up and the lamps were lighted. The automobile proceeded one square south on Queen Anne avenue, then east on Crockett street and up grade to Warren avenue; thence down grade for a distance of two squares, plunging into the ravine, inflicting the injuries of which plaintiff complains.

There is no satisfactory evidence that the automobile was proceeding at a very rapid rate of speed until after it started down grade. From there on the speed was increased, and it was evidently excessive at the time of the plunge. The appellant sat on the front seat with the driver, but the evidence indicates that she had no appreciation of the speed of the [383]*383automobile and that she had no knowledge of the existence of the gulch. She had never been in this part of the city before and was unfamiliar with the streets. She testified that she could see the lights on the other side of the ravine, which she noticed only as a kind of dark spot or shadow in the street, but did not think it indicated any danger. She did not attempt to exercise any control over the automobile or to select the streets over which it was driven. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff for $3,500. From the judgment thereon, the defendant appeals.

We shall spend little time in a discussion of the negligence of the appellant. A careful consideration of the whole record convinces us that the city was grossly negligent in leaving a gulch of this character, with the pavement of the street running to its very brink, without providing a barrier of any kind or any red light or other danger signal to indicate its presence. There was ample evidence to take the case to the jury upon the primary question of appellant’s negligence.

The question of respondent’s contributory negligence was also one clearly for the jury. She had no control over the' automobile, had never driven or operated one and, so far as the record shows, had no reason to believe that the driver was incompetent or careless. The contributory negligence charged is that the automobile was running at an excessive rate of speed. This is probably true, but there is no evidence that the respondent appreciated that the speed was dangerous, and the evidence is positive that, though looking straight ahead, there was nothing to warn her of the existence of the gulch or to lead her to believe that there was any danger. She was merely an invited guest; and even conceding that the driver was running the car at an excessive rate of speed, that fact would not impute negligence to the respondent. The correct rule in such cases is that declared in Cable v. Spokane & Inland Empire R. Co., 50 Wash. 619, 97 Pac. 744, 23 L. R. A. (N. S.) 1224, and quoted with approval in Wil[384]*384son v. Puget Sound Elec. R. Co., 52 Wash. 522, 101 Pac. 50, 132 Am. St. 1044., as follows:

“Ordinarily where one' rides in a vehicle with the driver thereof and is injured by the negligence of a third person, to which negligence that of the driver contributes, this contributory negligence is not imputable to the passenger, unless said passenger has, or is in a position to have and exercise some control over the driver with reference to the matter wherein he was negligent.”

See, also, Shearer v. Buckley, 31 Wash. 370, 72 Pac. 76; Brabon v. Seattle, 29 Wash. 6, 69 Pac. 365.

The appellant insists that the court erred (1) in sustaining the challenge to a juror for cause; (2) in not sustaining appellant’s motion to discharge the jury as disqualified; (3) in improperly admitting certain evidence; (4.) in giving certain instructions and refusing to give certain others.

I. In his examination on his voir dire, Louis Benson, who had been called as a juror, answered questions as follows:

“Q. Have you any prejudice against young people attending social dances? A. Yes, sir, I have. Q. And the fact, if it occurred in this case, that these people were returning from a social dance would prejudice you, would it? A. It would.”

The respondent interposed a challenge for cause. On further examination and after much explanation by counsel, the juror finally stated, in substance, that while he was decidedly opposed to dances, if it appeared that the fact that respondent was injured in no manner grew out of her having attended a dance he would not lay that up against her, but would “go according to the law and the testimony.” Over the appellant’s resistance, the court sustained the challenge. We find no error in this.

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Bluebook (online)
148 P. 39, 85 Wash. 379, 1915 Wash. LEXIS 846, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/beach-v-city-of-seattle-wash-1915.