Brown v. Mitts

153 N.W. 714, 187 Mich. 469, 1915 Mich. LEXIS 610
CourtMichigan Supreme Court
DecidedJuly 23, 1915
DocketDocket No. 117
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 153 N.W. 714 (Brown v. Mitts) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Brown v. Mitts, 153 N.W. 714, 187 Mich. 469, 1915 Mich. LEXIS 610 (Mich. 1915).

Opinion

Stone, J.

This is an action on the case to recover damages for injuries to the plaintiff’s automobile, which he claims were caused by the negligent conduct of the defendant. In the city of Saginaw Germania avenue runs east and west and is intersected by Warren avenue, which runs north and south. About 1 o’clock p. m. on Sunday, May 18, 1913, the plaintiff owned and was driving a Reo automobile west, on Germania avenue. With him was one passenger, the witness Adam Sharp. At the trial it was the claim of the plaintiff that he was proceeding west on the north side of Germania avenue at about six or seven miles an hour, across Warren avenue at its intersection with Germania avenue, intending to stop at the Elks’ Temple on the northwest .corner; that as he was about 10 feet from the east line of Warren avenue he first saw the automobile of the defendant, driven by defendant, proceeding northerly on Warren avenue, in the center of the street, and on the street car track which ran along the last-named avenue; that defendant was running his car at the rate of 20 to 25 miles per hour at the time; that plaintiff sounded his horn three times to attract the attention of defendant; that defendant did not heed the warning, but was looking westward toward the post office, which was near the southwest corner; that finally the plaintiff called to the defendant, shouting a warning; that nevertheless the defendant drove at the same rate of speed into the car of the plaintiff, striking the rear wheel and injuring the fenders and running board and springing the axle. The plaintiff claimed that there was plenty of room for the defendant to have gone behind plaintiff. There was a conflict in the evidence, the defendant claiming that he was going north at the time of [472]*472the collision, but, instead of being in the center of the highway, or street,_ and on the street car track, which runs pretty near the center of Warren avenue, that he was on the east side and near the east curb of the street, and that he was proceeding at a rate of speed not to exceed 8 or 10 miles an hour, and claims that he had his machine under perfect control; that as he came to the corner of Warren and Germania avenues he did not discover the plaintiff’s machine on account of some billboards which stood at the southeast corner on the lot line, and that suddenly the plaintiff’s machine, driven by plaintiff, appeared in front of him on the south side of Germania avenue instead of on the north side; and he claimed that the reason he did not see plaintiff sooner was because the plaintiff was on the south side, or wrong side of the avenue, and that he did not see plaintiff’s machine in time so that he could stop his machine. The declaration claimed careless and negligent driving by defendant and a violation of certain ordinances of the city of Saginaw, and also the statutory violation. The ordinances, which were introduced in evidence, provided that no person should run or propel an automobile on any street or avenue within the territory where this accident occurred at a higher rate of speed than 8 miles per hour. Another ordinance provided that vehicles should be driven in a careful manner, and with due regard to the safety and convenience of pedestrians and all other vehicles, and that vehicles should be kept on the right side of the street except when necessary to turn to the left in crossing or overtaking another vehicle; that drivers or operators of vehicles before turning, stopping, or changing their course should make sure that such movements could be made in safety, and that no vehicle should cross any main thoroughfare or make any turn thereon at a greater speed than one-half of the legal speed limit which was per[473]*473mitted upon such thoroughfare. In its charge to the jury the trial court called attention to the ordinances, and also to section 7, subd. 1, Act No. 318, Pub. Acts 1909, entitled:

“An act providing for the registration, identification and regulation of motor vehicles operated upon the public highways of this State, and of the operators of such vehicles.”

The issues in the case were submitted to the jury under a lengthy charge, and the plaintiff recovered a verdict and judgment for $33.40 and costs.

The defendant has brought the case here upon writ of error. Error' is assigned upon certain rulings of the court in the admission of evidence, for refusal to give certain requests of defendant, and upon a portion of the charge of the court. We cannot better dispose of the assignments of error relating to the admission of testimony than to quote somewhat at length from the cross-examination of the plaintiff. That testimony was as follows:

“Q. (Had that been a street car instead of Mr. Mitts coming down at that same speed, could you have stopped so as not to have collided with the car?
.“Mr. Crane: Objected to as incompetent.
“The Court: Objection sustained.
“Q: Could you have stopped your car when you seen him coming down there before you entered upon Warren avenue?
“Mr. Crane: I object to that. It was not incumbent upon Mr. Brown, under the rule of law, to stop his car.
“The Court: I don’t know what counsel is trying to get at, I must say.
“Mr. Kirby: It is the duty of every man operating an automobile to exercise due care, and if he sees a car coming, and he can avoid a collision, that he has reason to think from a man who is coming so fast he should, and it is his duty to exercise care and not run in front of him.
“The Court: I don’t think it is competent. I think it is the duty of a man who is running an automobile [474]*474down the street to pay attention to the law of the State and the city ordinances. If he violates it he is responsible for the violation of' it. It is not the duty of the other man to assume he won’t take care of his automobile and manage it in that way.
“Mr. Kirby: Do I understand a man is not chargeable with the exercise of due care even though the other man is violating the ordinance?
“The Court: He has a right to assume a man will avoid him on coming up toward him until such time as he sees an accident cannot be avoided. A man who is running too fast is the man who is responsible.
“Mr. Kirby: Exception. On cross-examination I claim I have a right to ask the witness whether he could not have stopped his car to avert this accident.)
“Mr. Crane: I have already stated my objection.
“The Court: What is the objection?
“Mr. Crane: I object to it as incompetent, there is no duty in the law making it incumbent upon Mr. Brown, under such circumstances, to stop his car. He had a right to assume that the other man was paying attention to his duties. What was going on in Mr. Mitts’ mind Mr. Brown did not know.
“The Court: Well, I will admit it. I will strike it out afterwards upon the motion, if you can satisfy me it should not be in. I don’t know upon what theory Mr. Brown was obliged to stop his machine at that time.
“Mr. Kirby: (We are not admitting that Mr.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
153 N.W. 714, 187 Mich. 469, 1915 Mich. LEXIS 610, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/brown-v-mitts-mich-1915.