Blanchard v. Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway Co.

1 La. App. 169, 1924 La. App. LEXIS 71
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 2, 1924
DocketNo. 1453
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 1 La. App. 169 (Blanchard v. Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Blanchard v. Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway Co., 1 La. App. 169, 1924 La. App. LEXIS 71 (La. Ct. App. 1924).

Opinion

ELLIOTT, J.

Mrs. Sally C. Blanchard, individually as widow of James M. Blanchard, deceased, and as natural tutrix of Clint and Evelyn Blanchard, her minor children, born of her marriage with the said deceased, brought this action in damages against the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway Company on account of his death.

She substantially alleges that James M. Blanchard, her husband, owned and operated an automobile omnibus and while attempting to make a public highway crossing of said railroad in the City of Oak-dale a little after midnight on March 11th, 1923, a backing freight train operated by said railroad company, with a flat car at the end, shot suddenly out of the darkness at a reckless rate of speed and ran over his automobile, crushing it under the car- and that her husband received injuries in the collision from which he shortly afterwards died.

That her husband approached the crossing driving his automobile so' slow that it was barely moving, not going faster than 2 miles an hour, and entirely under his control; that before entering on the crossing he looked up and down the railroad track and listened for the approach of trains and not seeing nor hearing any he entered on the crossing; that there was no light nor lookout at the end of the backing train, nor at or near the crossing, and he had no warning of its approach.

That the railroad company was guilty of gross negligence and carelessness in the operation of said train and that its said negligence and carelessness was the sole proximate and only cause of said collision and of the death of her husband. She claims individually and as tutrix $39,-000.00 damages, with interest.

[170]*170The railroad company filed an exception of no cause of action, which being overruled it answered, denying the negligence and carelessness alleged by plaintiff and averred that the collision was due solely to the fault of the deceased. Its answer admits that the rear end of the backing train which it was operating collided with the automobile operated by Mr. Blanchard, plaintiff’s husband, and that there was no-light actually on the rear end of the train but avers that the crossing was amply protected by a flagman with a lighted lantern and urged that if defendant was guilty of fault and negligence the decedent, James M. Blanchard, was guilty of contributory fault and negligence in that he did not stop, look and listen before entering on the crossing.

That if he had stopped, looked and listened or had done so at a time and place where the looking and listening would have been effective, he would have seen and heard the approaching train in time to have stopped his automobile and prevented the collision, that his failure to do so precluded recovery by plaintiff.

That said Blanchard was guilty of fault in that he did not look for nor see nor hear the flagman who tried to stop him before he drove upon the track, etc. Judgment was rendered in the lower court in favor of the plaintiff individually and as tutrix for $16,500.00, with interest.

Defendant moved for a new trial which, being overruled, it appealed.

Defendant and appellant has moved this court to set the judgment appealed from aside and remand the case to the lower court for a new trial or that defendant be authorized to take testimony in the lower court to prove certain facts alleged in the motion.

There is no provision for a remand for such a purpose in our Code of Practice; except that all courts have power and authority and it is their duty to accomplish justice and as long as a case is under our control we have that power and to that end such motions are not unknown in our jurisprudence. The motion ' to remand will be considered first.

The ground in the motion to remand that the decedent, while pinned underneath the car, had been heard to say that “he saw the little light” is one of the grounds urged in the motion for new trial. This matter was, therefore, known to defendant previous to the appeal. It was not substantiated on the trial of the motion for new trial by any evidence.

The averment in the motion to remand that the deposition of the'man named Deckler, of Center, Texas, can be obtained in case of a remand; is not coupled with any averment that it could not have been done just as well in support of the motion for new trial or as part of defendant’s testimony on the trial in chief in the lower court.

It would be unreasonable, to remand the case now to give appellant an opportunity to take Deckler’s depositions when it could have done just as well for the trial in the lower court. ‘ Not only that, but the result of a remand for the purpose would be uncertain.

Another ground for the remand prayed for is that Cleveland Conley, witness for plaintiff, testified in the lower court that he had not been charged with any crime; when as a matter of fact he was at the time charged with desertion from the army.

That the court in deciding the case relied largely on his evidence. The record of the War Department annexed to the motion shows that- a Cleveland Conley deserted August 4th, 1921.

This case was tried in the lower court June 11th, 1923, therefore between the date [171]*171of the desertion charged and the trial there intervéned 2 years and 10 months. According' to the testimony of the witness and that is all the information we' have concerning his whereabouts during this interval of time he has not concealed himself. The motion to remand does not suggest .any reason why he has not been arrested on the charge of desertion. Due to the . lapse of time since the date of the charge and the fact that he has not been arrested on such a charge, and nothing indicates that he has evaded arrest, we incline . to the view that this witness is not wanted by the government on said charge.

Then, again, suppose the witness to be the party charged; the charge is open to investigation, and his declaration that he had not been charged, etc., does not bear directly on the facts testified to by him concerning the merits of the case.

The result of a remand for the purpose of proving the desertion would be uncertain. We do not think the case should be remanded on this account.

Another ground urged in the motion to remand is that the witness, Conley, testified in the lower court that he was with a party at the time of the collision whose name he did not know, who saw the collision, etc.; that he thought the party worked in the shop at Meridian, La.; that the court in deciding the case had largely relied on this witness and his testimony that a party was with him and. saw the collision was untrue, etc.; that diligent inquiry made at Meridian had not located anybody there who had been with the witnéss in Oakdale and seen the collision, etc..

Ah' ex parte report, etc., is annexed to the . motion.

W.e. find that Conley testified on the trial that- a : party came to him at the cafe in Oakdale the night of the, collision and asked to be shown the way out to Meridian through the Bowman-Hicks Quarters; that he got into an automobile with the party and .rode with him to the crossing, where they stopped, witness getting out; that the party said to him while they were together that he had taken the wrong road and two men told him to get out; that very soon after their automobile was stopped the collision occurred and he did not' see the party any more; that the party with him saw the collision, etc.

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Bluebook (online)
1 La. App. 169, 1924 La. App. LEXIS 71, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/blanchard-v-gulf-colorado-santa-fe-railway-co-lactapp-1924.