Bierbach v. Goodyear Rubber Co.

14 F. 826
CourtU.S. Circuit Court for the District of Eastern Wisconsin
DecidedOctober 15, 1882
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 14 F. 826 (Bierbach v. Goodyear Rubber Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Eastern Wisconsin primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bierbach v. Goodyear Rubber Co., 14 F. 826 (circtedwi 1882).

Opinion

Dyer, D. J.,

(charging jury.) The plaintiff in this action claims that in July, 1880, while he was riding in a wagon which was being drawn by a horse driven by his servant on one of the streets of this city, an employe of the defendant so carelessly and negligently drove a horse which was drawing a wagon belonging to the defendant that the two vehicles came in collision; that the plaintiff’s wagon was overturned, and that he was thrown violently to the ground and seriously injured; and this action is brought to recover damages for the injuries claimed to have been thus received.

The undisputed testimony shows that the plaintiff, in company with his servant, left his place of business on Second street and drove to Grand avenue; that they turned east on Grand avenue and proceeded on their way until they reached a point about midway in the block, and near the Plankinton House, where they attempted to turn about and return to the plaintiffs place of business. It appears that tlie defendant’s horse and wagon were in their rear, and were also going east on the same street, and that as the plaintiff’s horse and wagon were turning about, the collision occurred. Those are general [828]*828facts not questioned, but concerning the precise positions of the two vehicles just before and at the time of the collision, and as to the manner in which the horses of the respective parties were driven and managed, and as to other circumstances bearing upon the occurrence, there is conflict in the testimony.

The ground upon which the contention of the plaintiff necessarily proceeds 'is that the collision was occasioned by the negligence of the defendant’s driver. As he was the defendant’s agent, of course any negligence on his part was the defendant’s negligence. So, too, the plaintiff was chargeable with any negligence on the part of his driver in the management of his horse and vehicle. The collision occurred on a public thoroughfare, where teams have a right, in the course of business, to follow each other, turn about, pass and repass. Upon both of the parties there was devolved the duty of exercising reasonable care to avoid doing each other injury. It was the duty of the defendant’s servant to observe with ordinary care and diligence the movements of the vehicle in advance of him, as it was the duty of the plaintiff, ,in turning his horse and wagon about at that place, to observe with the same kind of care and watchfulness the presence and movements of any vehicle in proximity to his. Ordinary care and caution, as mentioned in these instructions, mean that degree of care and caution which would reasonably be expected of an ordinarily prudent person in the circumstances surrounding the parties at the time of the alleged injury.

It is claimed by the plaintiff that the defendant’s servant was guilty of negligence, and that this was the cause of the collision and injury. The burden of proof, therefore, is upon the plaintiff to prove the alleged negligence. Negligence is not to be imputed to the defendant’s driver from the mere fact of the collision. The negligence or want of care must be proven, as any other fact in the case, and is not to be presumed.

The first question, then, is, was there negligence on the part of the defendant’s servant ? that is, was there, on his part, a want of such care and caution as an ordinarily prudent person would exercise in the circumstances which existed immediately preceding and at the time of the collision? And this question of alleged negligence or want of 'ordinary care must be determined by you in the light of the evidence. If you find that the collision was not occasioned by the fault or negligence of the defendant’s driver, that, of course, will be the end of the case, for in that event the defendant will be entitled to your verdict. But if you find that the defendant’s driver was negli[829]*829gent, then you will have to go a step further, and inquire whether the plaintiff’s driver was or was not guilty of negligence, which proximately contributed to the accident; that is, was there on his part a want of ordinary care, which thus contributed to the injury. For, even though the defendant was guilty of negligence upon the occasion in question, yet if there was a want of ordinary care, however slight, on the part of the plaintiff which, as a proximate cause concurred with the defendant’s negligence in causing the accident, the plaintiff cannot recover. And by proximate cause, or negligence which proximately contributed to the accident, is meant negligence occurring at the time of the event — negligence having immediate or present relation to the accident.

Now, gentlemen, the facts of this case you must determine upon the evidence. As I have indicated, the first question for your consideration is, was the defendant guilty of negligence -which occasioned the alleged injury?

It is claimed by the plaintiff that the defendant’s driver, before a collision was imminent, was inattentive to the movements of the vehicle in advance of him; that he drove on at the speed at which he had been going and made no effort to turn his horse to the right, or towards the curb, until a collision was unavoidable; that there -was ample space between the plaintiff’s wagon and the right margin of the street to pass, and that no effort to pass was made, until it was too late to do so without bringing the two -wagons in contact.

On the part of the defendant it is insisted that the defendant’s horse and wagon were proceeding at a moderate rate of speed, from 10 to 15 feet behind the vehicle of the plaintiff; that the plaintiff gave no indications that he intended to turn about, until the speed of the plaintiff’s horse was suddenly stopped and the effort to turn was made; that the defendant’s driver at once reined his horse to the right so as to pass the plaintiff’s wagon; that the collision was occasioned by the management and movements of the plaintiff’s horse and wagon; and that the defendant’s driver exercised throughout the ordinary care which any reasonably prudent man would have exercised in such circumstances.

It is especially insisted by the defendant’s counsel that no negligence is imputable to the defendant on account of anything that occurred prior to the moment when the plaintiff’s driver began to turn his horse and wagon about, and that when, in consequence of that act, an emergency arose requiring instant action, the defendant’s servant took such measures in the management of his horse, and to avoid the [830]*830collision, as his best judgment prompted; and if he then erred in judgment such error is not to be imputed to him as negligence. Upon that point the court instructs you that if it be true that there was no want of ordinary care on the part of the defendant’s driver in driving his horse and vehicle up to the moment when the danger of a collision was imminent, and if, in the presence of such danger, the defendant’s servant, exercising at the time ordinary prudence and skill, was compelled immediately to choose what course of action he would then take to avoid the danger, and did so in good faith', the mere fact that the result afterwards may have shown that his choice of a way of avoiding the collision was not the. best, cannot properly be imputed to him as negligence. In other words, a mere error of judgment in such circumstances would not be negligence.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
14 F. 826, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bierbach-v-goodyear-rubber-co-circtedwi-1882.