Bowen Motor Coaches v. Young

138 S.W.2d 145, 1940 Tex. App. LEXIS 91
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 1, 1940
DocketNo. 14105.
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 138 S.W.2d 145 (Bowen Motor Coaches v. Young) 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
Bowen Motor Coaches v. Young, 138 S.W.2d 145, 1940 Tex. App. LEXIS 91 (Tex. Ct. App. 1940).

Opinion

SPEER, Justice.

This is a proceeding in which -Bowen Motor Coaches seeks a writ of mandamus to require Hon. Bruce Young, Judge of the 48th District Court of Tarrant County, •to enter judgment for relator upon a jury’s •verdict returned in the trial of a cause pending in that court, styied J. V. Willis v. Bowen Motor Coaches, a corporation.

Attached to and made a part of the application for writ are the pleadings of the parties to the suit, a copy of the special issues submitted, the answers to such of the issues as the jury could agree upon, and a ■copy of the judgment as finally entered by the court.

From the judgment it appears that after the verdict was returned, relator moved the court to enter judgment in its favor upon the answers made by the jury to the issues submitted. Plaintiff Willis filed a motion asking that a mistrial be declared The court overruled the motion of relator and sustained that of plaintiff; judgment was entered declaring a mistrial and in this condition the case remains on the docket.

Plaintiff’s case was based upon allegations that he sustained injuries as a result of the negligence of relator while driving along Grapevine Highway, near its intersection with 28th Street. For the purposes of this discussion, it is sufficient to refer briefly to the pleadings of the parties. Plaintiff described his own conduct just prior to the collision in a way so as to show that he was not guilty of any negligence, but that relator’s negligence consisted, among other things, in driving its bus at the time and place at a rate of speed in excess of 45 miles per hour; the driver’s failure to keep a proper lookout; and in failing to keep his bus under control, under the circumstances surrounding the time and place. Other allegations described his injuries.

The relator, as defendant below, answered by general and special demurrers, general denial and special pleas, to the effect that plaintiff was not seriously .injured, but that such minor injuries as were sustained •by him proximately resulted from his own ¿negligence, in_ (a) while plaintiff was driving his car in the outside lane of the four lane highway, relator was operating its bus in the second or inside lane, going in the same direction of plaintiff’s car, the plaintiff suddenly, unexpectedly and without a warning signal to relator’s driver, changed the course of his vehicle, by attempting to make a left hand turn across the highway and into the path of defendant’s bus; (b) that plaintiff failed to keep a proper lookout for his o\Vn safety; (c) plaintiff failed to give any signal to the driver of defendant’s bus that he expected to change the course of his vehicle; and (d) that plaintiff violated several sections of Article 801, Penal Code of the State, pertaining to duties of operators of automobiles on the highway; each and all of said alleged acts of negligence were charged to have contributed to and proximately caused such injuries as were sustained by him.

Obviously no statement of the facts proved upon the trial is before us, but the Special Issues submitted by the court are made a part of the application. We may properly assume that there was evidence offered in support of the issues submitted, and from this assumption, we may draw a conclusion as to the theories relied upon by the parties in support of their pleadings. Panhandle & S. F. Ry. Co. v. Sutton, Judge, 125 Tex. 401, 81 S.W.2d 1005.

We find it difficult to discuss the contentions of the parties without giving a summary of the issues submitted, and the answers made and those not made. Some issues, will be quoted, when considered necessary, and others will be stated. They were as follows:

“Special Issue No. One: At what rate of speed in miles per hour do you find from a preponderance of the evidence, the defendant’s bus was being driven, immediately pri- or to the collision in question?” The answer was, “40.” Whether or not this was negligence and a proximate cause, not answered.
No. 4: Whether or not the driver of the bus failed to keep a proper lookout; and if such failure, if any, was negligence and a proximate cause, not answered.
No. 7: Did the driver of the bus fail to exercise ordinary care to keep his bus under control just prior to the collision? Was such- failure, if any, negligence and a proximate cause? ■ Neither was answered.
No. 10: The jury found that the collision was not the result of an unavoidable accident.
*147 No. 11: Did plamtiff, J. V. Willis, fail to keep a proper lookout just prior to the collision? Not answered. Nor was there an answer to either of the conditionally submitted issues of negligence and proximate cause, which followed.
No. 14: “Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that the plaintiff, J. V. Willis, at the time of the collision in question, was attempting to make a left hand turn from the outside lane of the highway?” No answer. Negligence and proximate cause, relating to the above question, were conditionally submitted, but were not answered.
No. 21: “Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that at the time of the collision in question, the plaintiff had suddenly driven his automobile from the outside lane of the highway and into the inside lane in the path of defendant’s bus ?” This was not answered; nor was either of the succeeding conditionally, submitted questions of negligence and proximate cause answered. '

This is found in the charge: “If you have answered special issue 21 ‘no’ you need not answer this question, but if ‘yes,’ then answer:”

No. 24: “Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that J. V. Willis failed to give a signal of his intention to turn from the outside lane to the inside lane of said highway immediately prior to the collision in question?” The answer was “Yes.” In response to issues 25 and 26, respectively, the jury answered that plaintiff’s failure to give a signal of his intention to turn from the outside to the inside lane was negligence and a proximate cause of the collision.
No. 27: An inquiry of whether plaintiff failed to render to the bus driver such assistance as the circumstances reasonably demanded in order to enable the bus to pass, along with the accompanying inquiries of negligence and proximate causé, were unanswered.
No. 29-A reads : “Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that plaintiff failed to give a signal of his intention to change the course of his vehicle just prior to the collision in question ?” This, with the conditionally submitted questions of whether such failure was negligence and a proximate cause, were unanswered.
No. 29-F reads: “Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that at the time of the collision between defendant’s bus and plaintiff’s car, the plaintiff was making a right hand turn?” If the answer to 29-F was “yes,” then the jury was requested to answer No.

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Bluebook (online)
138 S.W.2d 145, 1940 Tex. App. LEXIS 91, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bowen-motor-coaches-v-young-texapp-1940.