City of Waco v. Criswell

168 S.W.2d 272, 1943 Tex. App. LEXIS 775
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJanuary 7, 1943
DocketNo. 2431
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 168 S.W.2d 272 (City of Waco v. Criswell) 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
City of Waco v. Criswell, 168 S.W.2d 272, 1943 Tex. App. LEXIS 775 (Tex. Ct. App. 1943).

Opinion

TIREY, Justice.

This is a damage suit and is the second appeal. See City of Waco v. Criswell, Tex. Civ.App., 141 S.W.2d 1046. On the second trial the jury answered all of the issues favorable to the plaintiff and against the City and acquitted the plaintiff of all negligence; and on the verdict of the jury the court awarded judgment in favor of the plaintiff against the City for the sum of $3075.00, with legal interest. Defendant seasonably presented its motion for peremptory instruction and its motion for judgment non obstante veredicto, both of which were overruled; hence this appeal.

Points 1 and 2 are substantially to the effect that (1) there was no evidence that the City was guilty of negligence in the maintenance of the entrance to the storm sewer out in the traveled portion of the street, nor in its failure to have an iron grating over the entrance to the storm sewer so as to permit automobiles to drive over the same; and (2) there was no evidence that either of said conditions aforesaid was a proximate cause of the injuries sustained by plaintiff.

On the issues pertinent to these points the jury found substantially (1) that Lloyd Barton drove appellee’s car into the storm sewer in question; (2) that just prior to the time Barton drove the said car into the storm sewer he was meeting an oncoming car; (3) that Barton -drove into the storm sewer in order to prevent a collision with the oncoming car; (4) that the City maintained the entrance to the storm sewer out into the traveled portion of the street and that such maintenance rendered the street in a condition that was not reasonably safe for the use of the public traveling in automobiles; (5) that such maintenance was negligence on the part of the City and that such negligence was the proximate cause of the injuries sustained by appellee; (6) that the City failed to have over the entrance to the storm sewer an iron grating, so as to permit automobiles to drive over same without injury to the occupants thereof, and that such failure rendered the street in a condition that was not reasonably safe for the use of the street by the public traveling in automobiles, and that such negligence was the proximate cause of the injury; and (7) that plaintiff’s injuries were-not the result of an unavoidable accident.

The location of the storm sewer and the street at the point of the accident are fully described in the former opinion, and there is no substantial change in the evidence as to the dimensions and location of the storm sewer and the general description of the street. It is undisputed that the street was squeegeed and was about 44 feet from curb to curb; that the distance between the storm sewer on the east and the west side of the street was about 35 feet; that the bridge on Waco Creek was 37½ feet wide and the north end thereof was 54 feet south of the storm sewer on the west side; and that the accident happened in this manner: Appellee and Lloyd Barton came from Marlin to Waco on a joint business trip on the day the accident happened. Just after dark they started home and Barton was driving appellee’s car (appellee could not drive a car) in a southerly direction on South 3rd Street, which was the street customarily used by them in coming to and leaving Waco. As they approached the place of the accident, driving on their side of the street and near the center of same, [274]*274they observed a car approaching' them, going in a northerly direction, and just before they passed the first car a second car, running fast and moving in a northerly direction, in an attempt to pass the first car approaching them, suddenly whipped over on their side of the street, which caused the driver of the Criswell car to pull suddenly to his right in order to avoid a collision; that in doing so the Criswell car struck the storm sewer with its right front wheel; that the wheels became jammed and locked and caused the driver to lose control of the car, which car, after striking the storm sewer, ran a distance of 54 feet, at which point it collided with the bridge on Waco Creek and came to a stop, at which point Criswell was thrown to the ground.

Are the facts and circumstances in evidence sufficient to support the findings of the jury that the City was guilty of negligence (1) in the maintenance of the storm sewer out in the traveled portion of the street, and (2) in not maintaining an iron grating over the mouth of the storm sewer? We think so. One of plaintiff’s counsel testified, in part, “I have examined the storm sewer * * * and the opening, according to my measurements, extended from the curb on the west side of the street out into the street a distance of 42 inches.” The other testimony offered pertinent to these points consisted wholly of the evidence of the City Engineer and certain exhibits. The City Engineer testified, in part, substantially as follows: That along the curb line on the west is a concrete gutter three feet wide, which comes to the inside wall of the catch 'basin; at a distance of about 54 feet north of the catch basin the center of South 3rd Street is 1½ feet higher than the gutter; at a point about six feet north of the catch basin the gutter is 2.2 feet lower than the middle of the street; at the mouth of the catch basin the center of the street is 2.8 feet higher than the gutter; that there is a grate over the top of the catch basin approximately four feet wide; the width of its opening (or inlet uncovered) is about 3½ feet; there is a pipe leading from the inside of the catch basin into Waco Creek 15 inches in diameter, which is the beginning of the storm sewer which drains the water from the catch basin into Waco Creek; there is no storm sewer north from the catch basin draining South 3rd Street, and this catch basin drains all of the water that falls from the center line of South 3rd Street up to Clay Street north, a distance of 5 or 6 blocks, over to the East property line of Fourth Street; the catch basin in question has been constructed 25 or 30 years ago; that that was the type of catch basin that was generally used by cities at the time it was constructed. “Q. What are the facts with reference to whether from the amount of water that goes down Third Street, beginning with Clay, and between 3rd and 4th, what are the facts with reference to whether or not that is the proper type or the only type of catch basin that would effectively and efficiently carry all of the water without danger of flooding? A.

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Bluebook (online)
168 S.W.2d 272, 1943 Tex. App. LEXIS 775, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-waco-v-criswell-texapp-1943.