Betts v. Baldwin

482 S.W.2d 299, 1972 Tex. App. LEXIS 3044
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 8, 1972
DocketNo. 711
StatusPublished

This text of 482 S.W.2d 299 (Betts v. Baldwin) 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
Betts v. Baldwin, 482 S.W.2d 299, 1972 Tex. App. LEXIS 3044 (Tex. Ct. App. 1972).

Opinion

OPINION

SHARPE, Justice.

This appeal is from a judgment rendered after jury trial that appellants take nothing from appellee.

Plaintiff-appellant James G. Betts, instituted this suit in the 135th District Court of Victoria County, Texas (Cause No. 18135) against the defendant, Jerry Lynn Baldwin, to recover damages for personal injuries sustained in an automobile collision which occurred on September 20, 1967, at approximately 8:45 a. m. on the Arenosa Bridge on U.S. Highway No. 59 at a point 15 miles northeast of Victoria, Texas. Austin Bridge Company also instituted a suit in the 24th District Court of Victoria County, Texas (Cause No. 18146) against Jerry Lynn Baldwin, to recover damages sustained to its truck which James G. Betts was driving. The two causes were consolidated under No. 18135.

The cause was submitted to the jury on twenty special issues with the following results; the special issue numbers being indicated in parenthesis. The jury refused to find: (1) That Jerry Lynn Baldwin failed to keep a proper lookout; (3) That Jerry Lynn Baldwin was driving at a greater speed than a person using ordinary care would have driven; (5) That Jerry Lynn Baldwin failed to make such application of the brakes as a person using ordinary care would have made. The jury found: (7) That Jerry Lynn Baldwin was following the vehicle ahead (driven by Betts) more closely than a person using ordinary care would have followed under the same or similar circumstances; but refused to find (8) That such action was a proximate cause of the occurrence in question. The jury further refused to find: (9) That Jerry Lynn Baldwin negligently attempted to overtake and pass the vehicle driven by James G. Betts. The jury found (11) That Jerry Lynn Baldwin was confronted by a sudden emergency; (12) That after such sudden emergency arose, Jerry Lynn Baldwin acted as a person of ordinary prudence would have acted under the same or similar circumstances; (13) That such sudden emergency was not the sole proximate cause of the occurrence in question. The jury refused to find: (14) That James G. Betts failed to keep a proper lookout; (16) That James G. Betts failed to keep his vehicle completely within the right half of the roadway. The jury found (18) That from a preponderance of the evidence, the reasonable expenses for necessary medical and hospital care received by James G. Betts in the past for treatment was $0.00 Dollars; (19) That from a preponderance of the evidence, reasonable compensation for necessary medical and hospital care which James G. Betts would, in reasonable probability, require in the future was $0.00 Dollars; (20) That from a preponderance of the evidence, James G. Betts suffered $0.00 Dollars on general damages for: (a) Past pain and mental anguish; (b) Future pain and mental anguish; (c) Loss of earnings in the past; and (d) Loss of earning capacity in the future. Issues Nos. 2, 4, 6, 10, 15 and 17 were submitted conditioned upon an affirmative finding of each respective immediately preceding issue and were properly left unanswered by the jury.

Analysis of the verdict reflects that the jury failed to find liability in favor of Betts against Baldwin.

The collision in question occurred on the Arenosa Bridge, on U.S. Highway 59 about fifteen miles east of Victoria, Texas. Three vehicles were involved. Baldwin and Betts were travelling in the same direction, generally southward toward Vic[301]*301toria, Texas. The third vehicle, a large truck, was travelling generally northward, toward Edna, Texas. Prior to the collision or collisions, Baldwin had been following the Betts vehicle for a mile or more. Four witnesses testified on the trial of the case. They were James G. Betts, plaintiff-appellant, Jerry Lynn Baldwin, defendant-appel-lee; Maxie Ward, a Texas Highway Patrolman, who made an investigation of the accident, and Dr. Jerome C. Hohf who treated Betts after the accident. Some conflicts existed between the testimony of Betts and Baldwin concerning the details of the accident. However, it is undisputed that at one time the front end of Baldwin’s car collided with the rear end of Betts’ vehicle. The testimony of the witnesses concerning the accident will be more fully discussed in connection with appellant Betts’ contentions under his points ten, eleven and twelve.

We will first consider the appeal of James G. Betts, who asserts thirteen points of error. The first nine points complain of the jury answers to special issues numbers 18, 19, 20, (the damage issues), asserting in substance that the trial court erred in accepting the jury verdict on those issues; in failing to grant a mistrial; that plaintiff was entitled to some money damages for his injuries; and that the evidence is legally and factually insufficient to support the jury findings mentioned. In connection with appellant Betts’ first nine points, appellee contends that the failure of the jury to award damages is immaterial because the verdict will not support a judgment for appellant in any event, and that the trial court did not err in accepting the jury verdict on the damage issues and in failing to grant a mistrial based thereon. We agree with appellee. This is not a case wherein liability was found against the defendant and the evidence established that the plaintiff was entitled to a jury award in some amount on the damage issues. See Gallegos v. Clegg, 417 S.W.2d 347 (Tex.Civ.App., Corpus Christi, 1967, wr. ref. n. r. e.) and cases therein cited. Instead, we are dealing with a case wherein liability was not established against the defendant (which subject is to be more fully hereinafter discussed) and the answers to the damage issues therefore became immaterial. Southern Pine Lumber Co. v. Andrade, 132 Tex. 372, 124 S.W.2d 334 (1939). The first nine points of appellant Betts are overruled.

Appellant’s points ten, eleven and twelve complain of the jury answer to special issue No. 8, contending in substance that the trial court erred in accepting the verdict on that issue in that appellant was entitled to an affirmative answer as a matter of law, and that the evidence was legally and factually insufficient to support the jury answer which in effect refused to find that Baldwin’s action in following the vehicle ahead (Betts’ automobile) more closely than a person using ordinary care would have followed under the same or similar circumstances, was a proximate cause of the occurrence in question. In connection with appellant Betts’ points ten, eleven and twelve appellee contends that Betts was not entitled to an affirmative answer to special issue No. 8 as a matter of law and that the evidence was legally and factually sufficient to support the jury answer to that issue which refused to find Baldwin’s conduct was a proximate cause. We also agree with appellee’s contentions on this phase of the case.

The material testimony of Jerry Lynn Baldwin was in substance as follows: On the morning of September 20, 1967 he left Houston, Texas, in his automobile at about 5 o’clock a. m. to go to Victoria, Texas. He stopped at Edna, Texas, for a cup of coffee. The weather was bad and it was raining hard. The headlights of his car were turned on. About one mile before reaching the bridge where the accident later occurred, he saw a pickup truck in front of him. The pickup was driving slowly and Baldwin cut the speed of his car to about fifty miles per hour. As the vehicles entered the bridge Baldwin saw a truck [302]

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Yarborough v. Berner
467 S.W.2d 188 (Texas Supreme Court, 1971)
Gallegos v. Clegg
417 S.W.2d 347 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1967)
Southern Pine Lumber Co. v. Andrade
124 S.W.2d 334 (Texas Supreme Court, 1939)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
482 S.W.2d 299, 1972 Tex. App. LEXIS 3044, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/betts-v-baldwin-texapp-1972.