Corbett-Barbour Drilling Co. v. Hanna

1950 OK 200, 222 P.2d 376, 203 Okla. 372, 1950 Okla. LEXIS 617
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedJuly 18, 1950
DocketNo. 33954
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 1950 OK 200 (Corbett-Barbour Drilling Co. v. Hanna) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Corbett-Barbour Drilling Co. v. Hanna, 1950 OK 200, 222 P.2d 376, 203 Okla. 372, 1950 Okla. LEXIS 617 (Okla. 1950).

Opinion

ARNOLD, V.C.J.

This is a damage action for personal injury suffered by plaintiff by reason of the alleged negligence of defendants.

Plaintiff alleged that defendants violated certain provisions of the Oklahoma City Traffic Code (Ordinance No. 5791) which were expressly set forth, and that such acts of negligence on the part of defendants were the proximate cause of the injury.

Defendants alleged that the accident occurred solely because of the negligence of the driver of the automobile in which the plaintiff was driving; that the negligence of the driver was imputable to plaintiff; that plaintiff was guilty of contributory negligence in that while under the influence of intoxicating liquor himself he rode with a driver who was under the influence of intoxicating liquor, failed to maintain a proper lookout for his own safety and grabbed the steering wheel of the automobile causing it to strike defendants’ loaded trailer.

The testimony of plaintiff tended to show that plaintiff, E. J. Hanna, was riding as a passenger in a 1936 model Ford automboile owned by his father C. W. Hanna and driven by George Byrd; that the defendant Corbett-Barbour Drilling Company was the owner of a truck and semi-trailer designed for hauling oil field equipment; that same at the time of the collision was loaded with oil field pipe and under the control of Bert Carrington, an employee of the drilling company; that on the evening of April 4, 1947, Carrington parked the truck with its loaded trailer in the 300 block on the north side of S. E. 29th street in Oklahoma City parallel with but more than 18 inches from the curb; that the truck was facing west and on the right side of the street but was not equipped with any signal devices; that the drill stems extended more than 6 feet beyond the rear end of the trailer; that Carrington left the truck and trailer in this condition and position when he went to a hotel for the purpose of spending the night; that at about midnight on the above date plaintiff and George Byrd were proceeding west on S. E. 29th street at a speed of approximately 15 or 25 miles an hour when their car collided with the rear end of said loaded trailer, resulting in serious personal injuries to plaintiff necessitating hospitalization, medical care and the removal of a portion of his skull on the right side.

The evidence of defendants was in direct conflict with that of plaintiffs in many respects.

There was a verdict and judgment in favor of the plaintiff.

For reversal defendants rely upon four propositions thus stated in their brief:

“(1) In refusing to give defendants’ requested instructions Nos. 3 and 8, the court failed to instruct on the theory of the defendants’ defense. For that reason, the rulings were prejudicial to the defendants and constituted reversible error.
“(2) Section 17 of Title 3 of Ordinance 5791 of the Ordinances of Oklahoma City was not admissible in evidence. The court in admitting it in evidence and in instructing as to the effect of its violation committed reversible error.
[374]*374“(3) There was no evidence sufficient to show a violation of Sections 22 and 23 of Title 4 of Ordinance 5791 of the Ordinances of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It was, therefore, reversible error for the trial court to instruct that such ordinances were in effect and that the effect of the violation of those ordinances was to establish that the defendants were negligent per se.
“(4) Even though there was sufficient evidence to support a finding that the defendants had violated Sections 22 and 23 of Title 4 of the Ordinances of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the violation of those ordinances could not have been the proximate cause of the collision. The giving of the tenth instruction of the court, therefore, was erroneous.”

Under their first proposition the defendants contend that the court failed and refused to instruct the jury on one of its defenses, to wit: that the negligence of Byrd by reason of his intoxication was the sole cause of the collision and resulting injury to plaintiff. To cure this alleged defect in the instructions defendant requested the giving of their instructions 3 and 8. They are as follows:

“No. 3. You are instructed that an automobile driver upon the streets and highways of this state has the duty of keeping a lookout for other vehicles that might be upon said streets or highways and to use reasonable care in so driving his car that he will avoid striking such vehicles, whether they be moving or parked, and you are further charged that Title 47, O. S. A. Sec. 92, provides as follows:
“ ‘Any person driving a vehicle on a highway shall drive the same at a careful and prudent speed not greater than nor less than is reasonable and proper, having due regard to the traffic, surface and width of the highway and of any other conditions then existing, and no person shall drive any vehicle upon a highway at a speed greater than will permit him to bring it to a stop within the assured clear distance ahead.’
“In this connection, you are charged that if you find from the evidence that the driver of the car in which plaintiff was riding was guilty of negligence in any of these respects and that such negligence was the sole, proximate cause of the accident, then your verdict should be in favor of the defendants and against the plaintiff.”
“No. 8. You are instructed that the driving of an automobile upon the streets and highways of this state while under the influence of intoxicating liquor is negligence per se, that is negligence in and of itself, and as a matter of law.”

It is contended by plaintiff that the theory of defense made was adequately included in the instructions given.

The court in its statement of the issues explained to the jury that one of the defenses made by the defendants was that the negligence of the driver Byrd was the sole' cause of the collision. It defined proximate cause and told the jury that no negligence was actionable unless it directly caused the collision and resulting injury. The court specifically instructed the jury as to the duty of the driver of a car under 47 O. S. A. §92 in the same language as that offered by the defendants in its proffered instruction No. 3.

By instruction 18 the court in effect told the jury that if George Byrd, driver of the colliding car, was under the influence of intoxicating liquor, and as a result thereof in a condition which rendered him incapable of operating his vehicle with reasonable care and skill and by reason of that condition failed to operate his car with reasonable care and skill, ,he was guilty of negligence.

By instruction 15 the jury was told that if it found from the evidence that George Byrd’s negligence was the sole proximate cause of the accident, then their verdict should be for the defendants.

By these instructions we think the defense of defendants that, if the violation of 47 O. S. A. §93 and 10324, O. S. 1931, by Byrd, the driver of the car, [375]*375was the sole cause of the collision the plaintiff could not recover against the defendants, was clearly submitted to the jury.

Defendants present their argument in support of their second proposition under two subdivisions.

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Bluebook (online)
1950 OK 200, 222 P.2d 376, 203 Okla. 372, 1950 Okla. LEXIS 617, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/corbett-barbour-drilling-co-v-hanna-okla-1950.