Chapman v. Evans

186 S.W.2d 827, 1945 Tex. App. LEXIS 946
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 16, 1945
DocketNo. 14669.
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 186 S.W.2d 827 (Chapman v. Evans) 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
Chapman v. Evans, 186 S.W.2d 827, 1945 Tex. App. LEXIS 946 (Tex. Ct. App. 1945).

Opinion

SPEER, Justice.

This suit was instituted by J. A. Jeffrey as next friend. for his minor daughter, Louise Jeffrey, and in his own behalf to recover ambulance, hospital and doctor’s bills incurred by him for and in behalf of his said daughter, against Arch Evans, hereinafter referred to as defendant. We shall designate the plaintiffs, when necessary, as J. A. Jeffrey and Louise Jeffrey.

*829 The action grew out of the striking of Louise Jeffrey by the automobile of defendant while being driven by him on West Seventh Street in the City of Fort Worth.

The street on which the accident happened is 76 feet wide, paved, and leads west out of the city and has three lanes for vehicular traffic on either side of the central dividing line. Carroll Street intersects West Seventh Street and has a dead end at the south side of West Seventh. A marked walk or pedestrian way crosses West Seventh and there are oval discs dividing West .Seventh Street at its center, but no discs are in the marked pedestrian passageway on Carroll Street.

During the early evening hours, after dark, Louise Jeffrey met some friends by appointment on the north side of West Seventh and its intersection with Carroll Street to attend a carnival on the south side of West Seventh. They started across West Seventh at the intersection following the marked pedestrian walk-way; Louise Jeffrey looked in both directions, east and west, before starting across the street; she saw the lights of a car coming from the east, but it was some distance away, moving slowly next to the curb on the north side of West Seventh Street. This was not the car that struck her, since it arrived at the scene immediately after the accident occurred. She said she looked east on West Seventh as she walked across the street until she stopped; that she stopped “close to the buttons” but did not know how far away she was when struck. She saw a car coming from the west and stopped to await its passage. None of the party looked east again and while standing there, defendant’s car, traveling west in the traffic lane next to the center line of West Seventh Street, struck Louise Jeffrey, she being on the east side of the group of ladies; all were knocked down and Louise was seriously injured. The streets were dry, well lighted and a “blinker” warning light was over the intersection. Defendant was driving in the traffic lane next to the center of West Seventh Street because he expected to turn left at the next street intersection one block beyond where the accident happened. He saw the ladies in the street and immediately applied his brakes. His car tires marked the pavement parallel with the center marker for a distance of 41 feet before Louise was struck. The closest mark on the pavement was approximately three feet from the center line. The pedestrians were directly in front of the automobile when struck; there was a dent on the radiator near its center.. If the dent in the radiator was caused by the collision, Louise Jeffrey was approximately five feet from the center of West Seventh Street and perhaps near the center of the traffic lane in which defendant was driving.

The case was tried to a jury on special issues, the answers of the jury will reflect the issues of fact presented by the pleadings and evidence. The fact findings in the verdict were susbtantially as follows: (S) Immediately prior to the collision the defendant did not fail to keep a proper lookout; (8) At the time of the collision defendant was not operating his car at a greater rate of speed than thirty miles per hour. (10) Defendant was not operating his car at a greater rate of speed than a person of ordinary prudence would have done under the same or similar circumstance. (12) It was not negligence for defendant to fail to turn his car to the right after he discovered the plaintiff (Louise Jeffrey). (14) Defendant did not fail to sound his horn immediately prior to the time he reached the place of the collision. (17) Louise Jeffrey was guilty of negligence, (a) proximately causing the collision, by standing at the place where she was in the street, at the time of the collision. (19) Louise Jeffrey was negligent, (a) which proximately caused the collision, in the manner in which she was walking across the street at the time. (21) Immediately before the collision, Louise Jeffrey failed to keep a proper lookout, and (a) such failure was a proximate cause of the collision. (23) Louise Jeffrey failed immediately before the collision to walk to the space between the discs in the center of the street before stopping; (a) such failure was negligence and (b) a proximate couse of the collision. (26) Louise Jeffrey, immediately prior to the collision, did not stop suddenly immediately in front of the defendant’s moving automobile. Issues were submitted inquiring about the amount of damages sustained by each of the plaintiffs, Louise Jeffrey and her father, J. A. Jeffrey. Each of these issues were accompanied by proper explanations relating thereto, but neither inquiry was answered by the jury.

*830 Judgment was entered for the defendant on the verdict and plaintiffs have appealed.

First four points assert error in that there was no evidence to support the jury findings of contributory negligence on the part of Louise Jeffrey; that the evidence was insufficient to show contributory negligence ; no evidence that such contributory negligence was a proximate cause and because the verdict finding contributory negligence is against the overwhelming preponderance of the evidence.

It would serve no useful purpose to set out the evidence on these issues, but it appears that defendant’s qar tires marked the pavement 41 feet and these marks were parallel with the center line of the street; defendant said the ladies were directly in front of his car, the radiator hood was dented near the center, and Louise Jeffrey also said she was “in the middle of the car.” It cannot be said that such matters are without probative value, and these facts obviously placed Louise Jeffrey from three to five feet north of the discs, and she said she was standing still where she was struck and looking in the opposite direction from whence came the car that struck her. True there were other circumstances which could be construed as conflicting with what we have pointed out, but the testimony must be construed in its most favorable light in support of the jury finding, even to the discarding of all evidence to the contrary. 17 Tex.Jur. 910 sec. 410; later than the above text is Texas & N. O. R. Co. v. Brannen et al., 140 Tex. 52, 166 S.W.2d 112. When, as in this case, the substantial evidence is conflicting and the jury decides in favor of one contention we may not disregard such finding and adhere to the opposite view. Long-Bell Lumber Co. v. Bynum, 138 Tex. 267, 158 S.W.2d 290; Choate v. San Antonio & A. P. R. Co., 91 Tex. 406, 44 S.W. 69; Sproles Motor Freight Lines v. Juge, Tex. Civ. App., 123 S.W.2d 919, writ dismissed. Plaintiffs (appellants) have cited many cases to the effect that when the verdict is contrary to the overwhelming preponderance of the evidence, and is clearly wrong, and that justice demands another trial, or is so unreasonable as to shock the conscience of the court, a reversal is required.

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Bluebook (online)
186 S.W.2d 827, 1945 Tex. App. LEXIS 946, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/chapman-v-evans-texapp-1945.