Bunch v. Wagner

275 S.W.2d 753, 1955 Mo. App. LEXIS 54
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedJanuary 24, 1955
DocketNo. 7306
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 275 S.W.2d 753 (Bunch v. Wagner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bunch v. Wagner, 275 S.W.2d 753, 1955 Mo. App. LEXIS 54 (Mo. Ct. App. 1955).

Opinion

McDOWELL, Presiding Judge.

This appeal is from a judgment in favor of plaintiff, Sylvia Bunch, for $5,000 damages sustained in an automobile accident. Cause was dismissed as to plaintiff, William Bunch.

The suit was for personal injuries sustained by plaintiff when the car, driven by her husband, collided with a truck owned by defendant-Powell and operated by his employee, defendant-Wagner, about a block and a half east of the village of Bertrand on U. S. Highway 60, while said truck was parked on the north side of the highway, with front end extending out near the center line thereof, at about 7:00 o’clock P.M., Saturday, September 18, 1950.

The cause of action was based upon two grounds of primary negligence: “a. In parking said truck on the highway in such a manner as to totally obstruct the north half of said highway and the shoulder adjacent thereto.

“b. In parking said truck on the highway in such a manner as to totally obstruct the north half of said highway .and the shoulder adjacent thereto at a time more than thirty minutes after sunset, without having a white light visible from a distance of five hundred feet west of where said truck was parked, and a red “light visible from a distance five hundred feet east of where said truck was parked.”

The cause was transferred by change of venue to Butler County and tried by jury September 21, 1953, resulting in a verdict and judgment for plaintiff, Sylvia Bunch, for $5,000. Defendants appealed.

The evidence necessary for a decision of the issues involved is undisputed. It showed William Bunch and his wife, Sylvia Bunch, a guest, were going west on U. S. Highway 60 from . Charleston to Sikeston, Missouri; that about six miles west of Charleston, near the east side of Bertrand, they collided with defendants’ two-ton Ford truck parked on the north side of the highway with the rear end in the north road ditch and the front end extending south across the highway to about two or three feet of the center thereof, blocking the north bound traffic, going west. It was dark, about 7:00 P.M., September 18, 1950. The testimony showed that defendants’ truck had the tail lights burning but they were in the ditch pointing north, the parking, cab and head lights were lighted on front of the truck shining to the south, but, at the time of collision, there were no lights on the truck shining to the east which could be observed 500 feet by plaintiffs as they approached. Plaintiffs’ testimony is that, as they approached the place of collision, they observed no lights and could not see the truck until within about 50 feet thereof; that their speed was about 30 or 35 miles an hour; that the brakes were applied but did no good. They testified they were meeting a car driven by Mr. Gaty, coming east at place of collision; that they thought they could go between the truck and car but could not; that their car struck the front end of the truck spinning the rear end around to the south striking the rear of the Gaty car, injuring Sylvia Bunch.

In our opinion we will refer to appellants as defendants and respondent as plaintiff.

Defendants’ first allegation of error complains of the giving of instruction No. 1 which directed a verdict against defendants upon the finding that the defendants’ truck was not displaying a red light visible for a distance of five hundred feet and directed toward the direction from which, plaintiff was’ coming for the reason that it imposed a greater duty and burden upon the defendants than required by law.

The language of Section 304.450 RSMo 1949, V.A.M.S., a violation of which by defendants is relied upon by plaintiff to establish negligence of defendants requires, for the purpose of revealing the position of a motor vehicle while on the highway, whether parked or stopped, during the period when lighted lamps are required, to be equipped with one or more lamps which shall exhibit a white light on the traffic side visible for a distance of five hundred feet to the front of such vehicle and a red light [755]*755visible for a distance of five hundred feet to the rear.

In plaintiff’s argument, on page 8, she states: “The questioned instruction required a finding that the red light be so placed as to be visible for a distance of five hundred feet from the direction from which respondent was coming.

It is needless to set out the instruction because there is no other issue raised than that part of it which says, “and said truck was not displaying a red light visible for a distance of 500 feet and directed toward the direction from which this plaintiff was coming.” (Emphasis ours.)

This was a verdict-directing instruction and it failed to follow the language of the statute with reference to the tail-light. Such an instruction was held error in McGrory v. Thumau, Mo.App., 84 S.W.2d 147, 149. In this case the negligence relied on was a violation of a similar statute to the one here under consideration. The instruction required the jury to find the defendant negligent if his automobile was not equipped with a red light “ ‘on the lefthand side of the rear of said automobile’ ”, whereas the statute merely requires that the automobile “ ‘shall display * * * one red light mounted at the back and directed to the rear’".

The statute must be given the plain and clear meaning expressed therein. It cannot be said that it was the intention of the legislature to require a truck to be equipped with a tail light directed in any other manner than to the rear.

Parking a truck across a much traveled highway, as in the instant case, may constitute negligence, and, a duty might arise to warn approaching traffic of such a violation. However, instruction No. 1 depends solely upon the violation of the statute to constitute negligence and we hold that the instruction does not properly present the issue to the jury and is error.

Plaintiff cites Purdy v. Moore, Mo.App., 224 S.W.2d 838. The question involved in this action was in determining the applicability of statute prohibiting operator of motor vehicle from passing another motor vehicle while crossing an intersection. It, in no way, touches the issues involved in the instant case.

Brown v. Raffety, 234 Mo.App. 620, 136 S.W.2d 717, decided by this court, also passed upon the question of negligence arising where one motor vehicle undertook to pass another at an intersecting highway. It held that the violation of the statute constitutes negligence as a matter of law.

Smith v. Producers Cold Storage Co., Mo.App., 128 S.W.2d 299, 304, is cited. This case holds that proof that defendant violated a statute requiring display of tail lights constitutes negligence per se. On page 303 of the opinion the court stated:

“The statute, section 7778, Mo.St.Ann. p. 5222, requires to be displayed upon all motor vehicles in operation or resting upon the highway, one red light, mounted at the back and directed toward the rear.”

This holding is contrary to plaintiff’s contention.

Plaintiff contends, under point 1 of her brief, that defendants cannot complain of the error, if any, in instruction No. 1 because they adopted the theory of said instruction in instructions numbered 5, 6, and 7, given at defendants’ request.

To support this contention Raymond on Instructions, Vol. 1, p. 180, Sec. 207, note 77, is cited.

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Bluebook (online)
275 S.W.2d 753, 1955 Mo. App. LEXIS 54, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bunch-v-wagner-moctapp-1955.