Dallas Ry. & Terminal Co. v. Farnsworth

221 S.W.2d 981, 1949 Tex. App. LEXIS 1998
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMay 20, 1949
DocketNo. 14009
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 221 S.W.2d 981 (Dallas Ry. & Terminal Co. v. Farnsworth) 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
Dallas Ry. & Terminal Co. v. Farnsworth, 221 S.W.2d 981, 1949 Tex. App. LEXIS 1998 (Tex. Ct. App. 1949).

Opinions

YOUNG, Justice.

The suit was for damages growing out of personal injuries sustained by Mrs. Farnsworth when struck by the rear overhang of one of defendant’s street cars as it turned to the left at an intersection. Upon a trial and jury answers to special issues, judgment was rendered for plaintiff (appellee) in the sum of $12,518, with consequence of this appeal. Appellee had been a passenger on defendant’s vehicle, having alighted therefrom just before receiving the alleged injuries.

The material elements of plaintiff’s cause of action and 'the company defenses thereto are sufficiently reflected in the following summary of jury questions and answers: (1) That the operator of the street car failed to give Mrs. Farnsworth an opportunity to get beyond the overhang of said street car before starting the same (around the intersection), which was negligence and a proximate cause of injuries; (2) that the street car operator failed to keep a proper lookout for Mrs. Farnsworth, which was likewise a proximate cause of injury; (3) that the street car operator did not fail to give warning of his intention to start the street car; (4) that on the occasion in question Mrs. Farnsworth did not fail to keep a propér lookout for her own safety; (5) that Mrs. Farnsworth failed to listen for the movement of the street car, which was not negligence on her part; (6) that Mrs. Farnsworth failed to walk to a position beyond the overhang of the street car, which was not negligence; (7) failure of Mrs. Farnsworth to step out of the way of the street car overhang at said time and place was not negligence; (8) no negligence was involved in Mrs. Farnsworth’s being at the place where she was when struck by the street car; (9) the automobile traffic moving eastwardly on Elm Street just west of St-Paul Street at the time was not the sole proximate cause of injuries to plaintiff;, and (10) nor were such injuries the result of an unavoidable accident.

Appellant’s points on appeal may be summed up in the following: The trial! court’s error (1) in overruling defendant’s-, motion for instructed verdict and for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, and in [983]*983thereby holding that there was some negligence on part of the street car operator which proximately caused plaintiff’s injuries; (2) in failing to rule that the evb dence was insufficient to constitute negligence on part of said street car driver, whereby plaintiff sustained injuries; (3) in refusing to hold that Mrs. Farnsworth was contributorily negligent as a matter of law; (4) in failing to set aside the jury verdict of $12,518 as excessive; (5) error-in the court’s admission of evidence in various particulars, also charging improper jury argument on part of counsel for ap-pellee.

The locale of the occurrence was at intersection of Elm Street (running east-wardly) and St. Paul, where defendant’s tracks turn to the left and proceed north on 'the latter street. Also, on Elm Street adjacent to south street-car track and intersection, the City maintains a safety zone for use of street-car patrons, marked with a row of metal buttons, each one foot in diameter, three feet apart, and extending along some 48 feet to the west. Within and overlapping these safety zone buttons to the east was another line of small brass buttons installed by defendant to mark the extreme outer sweep of its cars when making the left turn; all traffic of both streets being controlled by safety lights.

Under the first three points appellant company urges insufficiency of evidence as a matter of law to show any negligence on part of its operator proximately causing the injuries complained of; also arguing that plaintiff, in standing within reach of the street car overhang after alighting, was conclusively guilty of contributory negligence. These points require a determination of the legal sufficiency of all evidence tending to support the findings so challenged, viz.: (Issue 1) Failure of car operator to give plaintiff an opportunity to get beyond overswing of car before starting it; (Issue 4) his 'failure to keep a proper lookout for plaintiff; and (Issues 14, 15) that the failure of Mrs. Farnsworth to walk to a position beyond the street car overhang was not negligence.

Plaintiff, aged 51 at time of accident, on December 13, 1946, was employed as proprietor of a restaurant at Sears Roebuck’s South Lamar -store. ;She had then resided in Dallas some three years, having previously lived in Milwaukee and Saint Paul. Her testimony in brief was that she had used the same car line (Myrtle-Belmont) in going to and from work, always leaving it at Main and Lamar, never having ridden as far up town as Élm and St. Paul; was therefore not familiar with the situation at place of accident, nor that the tracks there turned left and to the north; that she became a passenger on date of injury along in afternoon, boarding the car on South Lamar, together with afflicted adult daughter and grandson, aged three, intending to visit a place in vicinity of Titche-Goettinger’s on upper Main Street; that when the car reached Elm and St. Paul she proceeded to get off in safety zone at the front exit behind a number of other passengers; that the signal light changed to red in the direction she was facing (south) just as she alighted, traffic blocking 'her movement to the south curb of Elm Street where she had intended to go; that after stepping off, holding the child by one hand, she had no time to take any further step when struck by the rear overhang of the street car.

P. K. Rogers, who was then a city traffic officer at the intersection, saw the street car strike Mrs. Farnsworth, stating that it was moving rapidly; that she was standing at approximately the most easterly safety zone button and two feet from it with a group of people there in the safety zone; that the daughter was the last one off car; that the south traffic light was red, with a lot of traffic moving east. To the question “From the time you saw Mrs. Farnsworth * * *. until the time the street car struck her, was there any time for you to warn her, or anything of that sort?” he answered “No, sir, there was no time.” “Q. Was it kind of like that (snapping fingers) ? ” His answer was: “Yes, sir, fast”; estimating on, another answer that the time was about ten seconds. He further testified that some one was Standing in front of plaintiff at the moment, where she couldn’t move ahead because of the traffic; - there was some one to her right and a little forward; indicating'from his observation of plaintiff’s pre[984]*984dicament that' if she .had moved, either;to. the left and'outside the safety zone, or to. the right, she would still have been within swing of the car.

Plaintiff’s witness Roy Jackson, in' an' automobile parked '' directly behind - the street car, testified that it started up rather abruptly; that when he first saw plaintiff it was “pretty crowded right in front of her”; stating on crq'ss-examinafiori that' plaintiff was ten ' feet back of the front door of -street car when hit; on redirect-examination, that he did not know whether she moyed after stepping from the car, not having seen her until she was hit. 0.‘ W. Hanna, operator of the car in question, testified that his first'knowledge of the accident was on return trip downtown when so advised by the -supervisor; remembering little about the mishap at Elm and St.

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Related

Dallas Railway & Terminal Co. v. Farnsworth
231 S.W.2d 518 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1950)
Dallas Railway & Terminal Co. v. Farnsworth
227 S.W.2d 1017 (Texas Supreme Court, 1950)

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221 S.W.2d 981, 1949 Tex. App. LEXIS 1998, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dallas-ry-terminal-co-v-farnsworth-texapp-1949.