Chandler v. Gorda

384 S.W.2d 523, 1964 Mo. LEXIS 603
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedDecember 14, 1964
DocketNo. 50643
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 384 S.W.2d 523 (Chandler v. Gorda) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Chandler v. Gorda, 384 S.W.2d 523, 1964 Mo. LEXIS 603 (Mo. 1964).

Opinion

HENLEY, Judge.

Action for damages of $30,000 for personal injuries allegedly received by plaintiff in a one-car accident The trial resulted in a verdict for the defendant and plaintiff appeals from the ensuing judgment

Plaintiff assigns as error (1) that the court erred in refusing to sustain and in overruling plaintiff’s motion for a directed verdict at the close of all the evidence and (2) that the court erred in admitting into evidence defendant’s exhibits 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8, being photographs of a bridge at the scene of this occurrence.

On the afternoon of October 30, 1960 the plaintiff, the defendant, a Mrs. Marie Hasty, and others, left the Hasty residence in Hillsboro in defendant’s automobile en-route to the farm of plaintiff’s daughter in Washington County, approximately 30 miles distant, to pick apples. Defendant was driving, plaintiff was directly behind her in the back seat, Mrs. Hasty was seated in the back seat on the right holding her niece’s baby and her niece and son were sitting in the front seat with defendant. Their route to the farm took them south on State Highway #21 to a point south of Caledonia, off this highway to their right onto a graveled county road for about a mile and three-quarters and again a turn to their right in a westerly direction onto a gravel road about 15 feet wide and across a wooden bridge over a dry branch about 20 feet from their last right turn to plaintiff’s daughter’s home approximately one-half mile distant. Plaintiff was furnishing the directions as they traveled for none of the others knew the route. In crossing this bridge at about five miles per hour the automobile fell off to its right landing on its right side at the bottom of the branch and “just off of” the edge of the bridge floor, as a result of which plaintiff was injured. The branch was about “head-high deep”; the bridge was approximately the same width of the road [525]*525and about 20 feet long. It was constructed of large size log timbers as sleepers on which was laid the bridge floor of three by-six inch boards of varying uneven lengths. On top of this floor running the length of the bridge in the direction of travel were two runways each about 20 inches wide and two or three inches thick so spaced as tracks to accommodate motor vehicles. Pictures offered in evidence would indicate that it was not in the best of repair and was of a kind not commonly seen today except in marginal or wooded areas. Other facts necessary to a decision will be stated in the course of the opinion.

Plaintiff’s petition alleged and the cause was submitted on the theory that her injuries resulted from defendant’s negligence in so operating her automobile as to cause the same to leave the bridge and overturn under what she says were facts making the res ipsa loquitur doctrine applicable. Defendant’s answer was a general denial coupled with a plea of contributory negligence, this affirmative defense not being submitted to the jury.

The plaintiff contends that the court should have sustained, and erred in overruling, her motion for a directed verdict at the close of all the evidence because, she says, under the undisputed evidence and defendant’s own admissions, defendant was guilty of negligence which was the proximate cause of plaintiff’s injuries. For the alleged error, she submits that the cause should be remanded to the trial court with directions to sustain the motion and enter judgment for plaintiff on the issue of liability and that the issue of damages alone be ■submitted to a jury.

On the question of when a verdict may be directed for plaintiff this court said in Coleman v. Jackson County, 349 Mo. 255, 160 S.W.2d 691, 1. c. 693,

“ * * * It is a generally accepted rule in this state that a verdict may not be directed in favor of the proponent, that is the party upon whom the law casts the final burden of proof. Dunham-Buckley & Co. v. Halberg, 69 Mo.App. 509; Wolff v. Campbell, 110 Mo. 114, 19 S.W. 622; Goudie v. National Surety Co., Mo.App., 288 S.W. 369, loc. cit. 374; State ex rel. Strohfeld v. Cox, 325 Mo. 901, 30 S.W.2d 462; Cluck v. Abe, 328 Mo. 81, 40 S.W.2d 558, loc. cit 559. There is, however, a well-recognized exception to the rule. If the opponent, that is the party not having the burden of proof, admits either in his pleadings or by counsel in open court or in his individual testimony on the trial the truth of the basic facts upon which the claim of the proponent rests, a verdict may be directed against him, and if the proof is altogether of a documentary nature and the authenticity and correctness of the documents are unquestioned, and if such proof establishes beyond all doubt the truth of facts which as a matter of law entitled the proponent to the relief sought, and such proof is un-impeached and uncontradicted, the proponent will be entitled to a peremptory instruction. This is upon the theory that there is no question of fact left in the case and that upon the questions of law involved the jury has no right to pass. Magoffin v. Missouri Pacific R. Co., 102 Mo. 540, 15 S.W. 76; Davidson v. St. Louis Transit Co., 211 Mo. 320, 109 S.W. 583; Wendorff v. Missouri State Life Insurance Co., 318 Mo. 363, 1 S.W.2d 99, 57 A.L.R. 615; Clemens v. Knox, 31 Mo.App. 185; Stephens v. Koken Barber Supply Co., 67 Mo. App. 587; Hoster v. Lange, 80 Mo.App. 234; Woods v. Moffitt, 225 Mo.App. 801, 38 S.W.2d 525; Jackson v. Security Benefit Ass’n, Mo.App., 139 S.W.2d 1014.”

It is plaintiff’s contention that defendant admitted in her testimony the truth of the basic facts upon which plaintiff’s claim rests; that defendant has admitted that she drove the automobile upon the bridge and negligently caused the same to leave the bridge and overturn. Plaintiff refers us to the following testimony of defendant as the [526]*526basis of her conclusion that defendant admitted the truth of the basic facts of plaintiff’s claim.

“Q What happened as you started across the bridge?
“A I started across the bridge and the right tire missed this — ran off of this two-board runway on top of the cross-boards, and the car started sliding, the boards broke, and we just slid off into the ditch.”
******
“Q Did you talk to Sheriff Rieffer after this accident?
“A Yes, I did.
“Q Did you tell him when you turned on the bridge you missed the runway and ran off the edge of the bridge?
“A I told him the wheels slid off of those two boards onto the cross-boards.
“Q Did you tell him anything about any boards breaking?
“A I didn’t have to. He could—
“Q I asked if you told him anything about any boards breaking.
“A Yes, I did.
“Q You told Mr. Rieffer the boards broke off?
“A The boards broke off when my—

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Bluebook (online)
384 S.W.2d 523, 1964 Mo. LEXIS 603, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/chandler-v-gorda-mo-1964.