Bonelli v. Branciere

90 So. 245, 127 Miss. 556
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 15, 1921
DocketNo. 22125
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 90 So. 245 (Bonelli v. Branciere) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bonelli v. Branciere, 90 So. 245, 127 Miss. 556 (Mich. 1921).

Opinion

Anderson, J.,

delivered the opinion of the court.

The appellee, David Branciere, sued appellants, E. Bonelli Company, in the circuit court of Warren county for an injury received by him in the loss of four fingers of his left hand alleged by him to have been caused by the negligence of appellants’ driver of their auto delivery truck, and recovered a judgment in the sum of twelve thousand dollars, from which appellants prosecute this appeal.

Appellants assign several errors. Only those which were argued are considered of sufficient importance to notice. The action of the trial court in refusing appellants’ request to direct a verdict in their favor is assigned as error. This assignment is based on the contention on behalf of appellants that the evidence did not tend to establish liability. In considering this question every fact favorable to appellee’s case, either proven directly or reasonably infer-able from the evidence should be treated as established. We find that the testimony either established or tended to establish the following facts: Appellants were merchants in the city of Vicksburg and made delivery of goods sold to their customers in the city and vicinity by means of an auto-delivery truck, which on the occasion in question was driven by one McGuire accompanied by a negro boy who carried the packages from the truck to the residences of the customers. Appellee was a pipe fitter, 81 years of age, with a wife and child. The rear of the premises where he resided bordered on the west side of an alley running-north and south fourteen and one-half feet wide, from which there was an entrance into his back yard by means of two folding gates opening out east into the alley. The injury to appellee occurred about noon. Appellants’ delivery truck was being driven by their employe McGuire through this alley from north to south making delivery of goods to their customers. It stopped at or near the back entrance to appellee’s premises to make delivery of a package of goods to a customer on the east side of the alley. [559]*559At tbis time appellee was at or near tbe folding- gates entering bis back yard on his way to tbe noon meal. His little child was present urging him to come in. His wife bad seen and called him in to lunch. He opened the south wing of the folding gates which swung back to the south, and entered. This gate had a handhold through it for use in opening and closing, in which appellee had his hand attempting to close the gate; his child .was pulling at him and urging him to come in. At this juncture appellant’s truck continuing south passed the gate, and in doing so the front or rear fender came-in contact with the gate and his hand, cutting off all the fingers of appellee’s left hand, except the little finger. The exact position of appellee, the gate and the truck when the injury occurred is left in some confusion by appellee’s own testimony as it appears in the record. He first conveys the impression that the gate was closed when his fingers were cut off, and therefore the driver must have negligently driven the truck too close to the fence and gate; and later in his testimony he states that on account of his child pulling at him and urging him to. come in, he lost control of the gate, by reason of which it opened into the alley and there his hand was caught by the fender of the truck — which would indicate that the truck was well away from the fence and gate at the time of the injury, and therefore the driver was without fault. If this were all the evidence before the jury on this question, the issue would be clouded and in much doubt, to say the least of it. However, there was other and most material evidence not in the record and which in its nature could not be gotten into the record exactly as it was given, and still it must be considered. The trial judge, the jury, the appellee, and counsel for the respective parties visited the locus in quo as authorized by statute, and there the appellee testified fully as to how the injury occurred, pointing to the marks on the gate claimed to have been made by the truck, as well as to the position of the truck with reference to the fence and gate when the injury took place, showing how near closed the gate was and where he was [560]*560standing, all of which he demonstrated by acts as well as words in the presence of the trial judge, jury, and counsel, which demonstrations, of course, the court reporter could not exactly translate into the record. The jury heard and saw it all. It was an issue of fact alone for the jury.. They were instructed by the court that there was no liability on the part of the appellants unless the injury was caused by the negligent handling of the truck, and also that there was no liability if it resulted from the appellee pushing the gate out into the alley and thus coming in contact with the truck; and it is to be presumed that they understood the issue and the evidence.

It is true, as argued on behalf of the appellants, that every negligent act does not carry with it liability of the guilty person for any and all resulting injuries to others; that such wrongful act must be the proximate cause of the injury which follows; that the person guilty of the wrong must have reasonably anticipated that some injury might result therefrom to another. But it cannot be said in this case the testimony did not tend to show that the driver of the truclrknew or should have reasonably anticipated, when the truck struck the gate while the appellee was in the act of closing it, some injury might result therefrom to the appellee. There was nothing to prevent the driver’s seeing the gate and the conduct of the appellee in trying to close it, unless at the time of the injury the front part of the truck had passed the gate, which appellee denies, for he says his fingers Avere cut off by the front fender. This Avas a question for the jury. We conclude therefore there Avas no error in refusing to direct a verdict for the appellants.

The court refused an instruction requested on behalf of appellants to the effect that if the evidence showed that the injury Avas caused solely by the negligence of the appellee they should find a verdict for the appellants.

This instruction embodied a correct statement of the law, because the appellee \Aras not entitled to recover for an injury attributable entirely to his OAvn fault. How[561]*561ever, no harm could have resulted to the appellants from its refusal by the court. Other instructions were given for appellants in which the same principle of law was forcibly and clearly put to the jury. For instance, the second instruction given for appellants informed the jury that if the evidence showed that the truck in question stopped in the alleyway near the gate and was seen by the appellee, and ivas started again, and, when passing, the appellee opened the gate causing it to come in contact with the fender of the truck which cut off his fingers, then they should find for the appellants. And in the first instruction given for the appellants the jury were told that unless the evidence showed appellee’s fingers were cut off while the gate was practically closed, then they should return a verdict for appellants. There were nine instructions given for the appellants and four for the appellee, in several of which the jury were informed that they would not be justified in returning a verdict for the appellee unless the evidence showed that the injury was caused by the negligent driving of the truck. We are unable to see how the jury could have misunderstood the issue. We are of the opinion that the question of liability was properly submitted to the jury by appropriate instructions.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
90 So. 245, 127 Miss. 556, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bonelli-v-branciere-miss-1921.