Cohen v. Ramey

147 S.W.2d 338, 201 Ark. 713, 1941 Ark. LEXIS 24
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedJanuary 20, 1941
Docket4-6159
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 147 S.W.2d 338 (Cohen v. Ramey) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cohen v. Ramey, 147 S.W.2d 338, 201 Ark. 713, 1941 Ark. LEXIS 24 (Ark. 1941).

Opinion

Hxjmphebys, J.

This is an appeal from judgments rendered on February 23, 1940, in favor of Flora Eamey for $2,000 and in favor of W. R. Eamey in the sum of $1,200 in a suit brought by them against appellant in the circuit court of Franklin county on November 14, 1939, for injuries which each received through the alleged negligence of appellant in operating his automobile on highways Nos. 64-71 south of the Fort Smith-Yan Burén bridge in Sebastian county so as to strike the automobile in which appellees were riding and injure them.

After suit was filed and service had upon appellant he appeared specially in court and filed a motion to quash the service of summons upon him on the ground that he was a resident of the city of Fort Smith, that appellees were residents of Crawford county, that the accident occurred in Sebastian county, and that the venue was not properly laid in the Ozark district of Franklin county where the suit was brought. He alleged in his motion that while he was in Ozark in Franklin county for the purpose of delivering an address at a banquet summons was served upon him; that apprehending he might be sued while in Franklin county he was induced to remain and deliver the address by a statement of the circuit clerk that his office had been closed for the night, and that no suit had been filed and none would be filed that night, so he remained after receiving such assurances from the clerk, and for that reason the summons should be quashed. Appellant introduced evidence to sustain the allegations contained in the motion, but there is a total absence of any evidence connecting appellees or their attorneys with the assurances given by the circuit clerk to appellant. There is no evidence to show that there was any connivance between appellees or their attorneys and the circuit clexdc to induce appellant to remain in Franklin county to deliver his address at the banquet.

Under the law as it existed when appellees were injured and at the time of the trial of the- ease a transitory suit for personal injuries might be brought in any county where service of summons could be obtained upon a defendant. Appellant has cited a number of cases of our own court to the effect that even under the law as it existed a person seeking to recover damages from another could not inveigle the other into a county other than that of his residence and through such -fraud procure service upon him, but none of the cases cited are authority for quashing the service of summons unless the party bringing the suit was a party to the fraud or conspiracy-. The trial court, therefore, properly overruled the motion to quash the service of the summons.

The defenses to the alleged cause of action consisted in a denial that appellant was negligent in the operation of his automobile resulting- in the injuries to appellees and a plea of contributory negligence on the part of appellees.

The record reflects that about eleven o’clock a. m. on May 17, 1938, appellees were riding in an automobile on highways Nos. 64-71 about a quarter of a mile south of the Fort Smith-Yan Burén bridge, which runs north and south; that the concrete highway was about forty feet wide; that after leaving the bridge en route to Fort Smith they decided to stop at Massey’s Auto Salvage Place about a quarter of a mile south of the bridge; that Massey operated a second-hand car and salvage business on the east or left-hand side of the highway traveling south, and that a gravel driveway leads from the main highway to his place of business; that Flora Ramey was driving the car, and that she began to slow down and signal about one hundred yards before reaching Massey’s place of business that she was going to cross the concrete highway into the gravel road that led into Massey’s place of business; that while signaling and after turning- slightly to her right so as to permit the cars immediately in front of her and immediately behind her to pass she continued to give the warning signal as she proceeded across the concrete, and after crossing-same and getting on to the gravel road appellant’s car ran into and struck their car; that as she turned to her left to cross the highway into the gravel road she observed appellant’s car about two hundred yards back of her, and said that he must have been driving his car at a terrific rate of speed to strike her car so soon after she had seen his automobile; that before the impact appel-lees had crossed over the concrete pavement and were on their side of the road when they were struck by appellant’s automobile. A witness who was working at the Massey place of business testified that appellant was traveling at the rate of about sixty miles an hour as he approached and ran into the Ramey car.

Appellant testified that when he was driving off the bridge on to the highway which was running south he was traveling at the rate of about forty miles an hour, and that he discovered appellees’ car about a block or three hundred feet ahead of him driving about the same rate of speed, and that he did not see any signal coming from the car of appellees indicating that they were going to cross the highway, and that when he was about forty feet behind appellees’ car he turned to the left in order to pass them after sounding his horn; that appellees did not stop their ear, but suddenly turned their car to the left in front of him, and that he ran into their car as they entered the gravel road leading to the' Massey place.

On cross-examination he testified as follows: “Q. How far was that car ahead of you when you first saw it? A. Maybe a block, 300 feet. Q. 300 feet ahead of you? A. Yes, sir. Q. 100 yards? A. Yes, sir. Q. As you went down toward the Massey salvage place down there, what distance did it maintain ahead of you ? A. "We were going about the same speed. Q. You were going about the same speed. A. Yes, sir. Q. It continued on ahead of you at about the same speed, about a block ahead of you? A. It was some distance ahead of me, I want to be honest about this thing. Q. I thought you were going to be. A. It might have been less than a block. Q. And it might have been more! A. I doubt it. Q. If it was less, how much less! A. I couldn’t say, I didn’t measure the distance. Q. Was it a half a block! A. I couldn’t say. Q. Was it a third of a block! A. I couldn’t say. Q. Was it a tenth of a block! A. I couldn’t say. Q. Was it a twentieth of a block! A. I don’t know what that is, it was a reasonable distance ahead of me.”

In addition to contending that the service of summons should have been quashed by the trial court appellant contends that the judgments should be reversed because they were guilty of contributory negligence as a matter of law; that the court erred in giving appellees’ requested instruction No. 2; that the court erred in giving' appellees’ requested instruction No. 3; that the court erred in permitting prejudicial argument by appellees’ attorney, Mr. Partain, and that the verdicts were excessive.

(1) We cannot agree with learned counsel for appellant that the undisputed evidence shows that appel-lees were guilty of contributory negligence, and that the trial court should have declared as a matter of law that they were.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
147 S.W.2d 338, 201 Ark. 713, 1941 Ark. LEXIS 24, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cohen-v-ramey-ark-1941.