Craker v. City Transportation Company of Dallas

316 S.W.2d 447, 1958 Tex. App. LEXIS 2228
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedSeptember 2, 1958
Docket7047
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 316 S.W.2d 447 (Craker v. City Transportation Company of Dallas) 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
Craker v. City Transportation Company of Dallas, 316 S.W.2d 447, 1958 Tex. App. LEXIS 2228 (Tex. Ct. App. 1958).

Opinions

FANNING, Justice.

The opinion rendered in this cause on. June 24, 1958, is withdrawn and the following opinion is substituted in lieu thereof.

W. H. Craker sued City Transportation. Company and its employee taxi-cab driver,. David P. Fergerson, for damages for personal injuries to his wife, Vivian Craker,. and for damages to his automobile, resulting from an intersectional collision between, plaintiff’s automobile driven by his wife with a taxi-cab of defendant Transportation Company driven by Fergerson at the-intersection of Edgemont Street and Den-ley Drive in the City of Dallas. Trial was-[448]*448to a jury. The jury answered many of the special issues submitted. Defendants’ motion for judgment was granted by the trial court. Plaintiff’s motion for judgment was denied by the trial court. Plaintiff’s motion for new trial was overruled by the trial court. Plaintiff has appealed.

Appellant’s first and second points read as follows:

“(1). The error of the court in entering judgment for defendant on an incomplete ground of defense in that no negligence was found against the plaintiff by the jury.
“(2). The error of the court in refusing to grant plaintiff’s motion for judgment, based on the jury’s findings of negligence against the defendant and no findings on the part of the plaintiff.”

The court submitted various special issues referring to the acts of both drivers. The jury found the defendant Fergerson’s negligence proximately caused the collision in issues Nos. 3 and 4 and in failing to keep a proper lookout; in issues Nos. 8, 9 and 10 in entering said intersection without first ascertaining whether or not such movement could be made in safety; and in issues Nos. 14, 15 and 16 in failing to timely apply the brakes on the taxicab. The jury answered various damage issues in favor of plaintiff in the following amounts: $2,000 (issue No. 45); $831 (issue No. 46); $144 (issue No. 47); and $500 (issues Nos. 48 and 49), said items of damages totaling the sum of $3,475. The jury also found: (in issue No. 25) that plaintiff’s wife could not have avoided the collision with the use of all the means at her command, in safety to herself and plaintiff’s automobile; (in issue No. 28) that plaintiff’s wife did not fail to keep a proper lookout; (in issue No. 30) that plaintiff’s wife was not driving her automobile at an excessive rate of speed; (in issue No. 34) that plaintiff’s wife was not negligent in failing to turn to the left; (in issue No. 37) that she was not negligent in failing to timely apply the brakes; and (in issue No. 39) that the collision was not an unavoidable accident.

The group of issues referring to contributory negligence on the part of plaintiff’s wife were all answered favorably to appellant with the exception of Special Issues 'Nos. 42, 43, and 44. The issues and answers of the jury thereto were as follows :

“Special Issue No. 42: Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that the taxicab driven by the defendant David Palmer Fergerson was already in the intersection in question at the time plaintiff Craker’s Pontiac entered said intersection on the occasion in question?
“Answer ‘yes’ or ‘no.’
“Answer: ‘Yes.’
“If you have answered ‘yes’ to the preceding special issue you will answer the following special issue; otherwise you need not answer the same.
“Special Issue No. 43: Do.you find from a preponderance of the evidence that on the occasion in question plaintiff’s wife, Vivian P. Craker, failed to yield the right-of-way, as that term is defined herein, to the defendant’s taxicab immediately prior to the collision in question ?
“Answer ‘yes’ or ‘no.’
“Answer: ‘Yes.’
“If you have answered ‘yes’ to the preceding Special Issue you will answer the following special issue; otherwise you need not answer the same.
“Special Issue No. 44: Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that such failure, if any you have so found, was a proximate cause of the collision in question ?
“Answer ‘yes’ or ‘no.’
“Answer: ‘Yes.’”

[449]*449Plaintiff objected and excepted to the submission of issues Nos. 42, 43 and 44 on numerous grounds but plaintiff did not clearly or specifically object to the court’s charge because no issue with reference to negligence was submitted in connection with Special Issues Nos. 42, 43 and 44.

No issues were requested by plaintiff or defendants nor were any issues submitted to the jury as to whether plaintiff’s wife was negligent in entering the intersection at a time when defendant Fergerson had already entered the intersection or whether plaintiff’s wife was negligent in failing to yield the right-of-way to defendant’s taxicab immediately prior to the collision in question.

Defendants pleaded various acts of common-law contributory negligence against Vivian Craker and at the time of the trial pleaded particularly: “a. that plaintiff’s wife, Vivian Craker, failed to grant the right-of-way to the defendant David P. Fergerson.” Later, more than 85 days after the jury’s verdict, the following clause “in violation of Article 6701(a) [6701d] Sec. 71” was interlined in the pleading immediately following the above quoted clause “a.” At the time of the trial defendants had no then existing written pleadings of statutory contributory negligence against plaintiff’s wife and their actual written pleadings at that time consisted of allegations of common-law contributory negligence against plaintiff’s wife. Appellees in answer to their failure to make the above quoted interlineation in their pleadings until long after the jury’s verdict state in their brief as follows:

“At the time this case was called for trial and while the court and counsel were awaiting the arrival of the jury panel, a good faith agreement was made between counsel for plaintiff and defendants, permitting interlineations by each side. Defendants were given leave to interline a statutory violation in connection with their right of way allegation and plaintiff was given leave to interline another matter in his pleadings. In addition to this cited statement by the trial judge, the act of the court in overruling plaintiff’s motion for new trial is a finding by implication that such agreement was made.
“Following this agreement, plaintiff made his interlineations but defendants neglected to do so at the time, feeling perfectly secure in their respect for a good faith agreement between counsel made in the presence and with the approval of the court.”

Appellant disputes the terms of the alleged oral agreement and points out that the court reporter had no record of such agreement. The trial court in the bill of exceptions filed in the cause stated his recollections and impressions of the dispute between the. parties with respect to the terms of the alleged agreement, which statements of the trial judge are found in the record. However, under our view of the controlling questions of law in this case, it becomes unnecessary for us to decide whether or not statutory contributory negligence was timely pleaded by defendants.

Article 6701d, Sec.

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Craker v. City Transportation Company of Dallas
316 S.W.2d 447 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1958)

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Bluebook (online)
316 S.W.2d 447, 1958 Tex. App. LEXIS 2228, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/craker-v-city-transportation-company-of-dallas-texapp-1958.