Denning v. Republic National Bank Bldg. Co.

294 S.W.2d 888, 1956 Tex. App. LEXIS 1885
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 25, 1956
Docket15140
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 294 S.W.2d 888 (Denning v. Republic National Bank Bldg. Co.) 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
Denning v. Republic National Bank Bldg. Co., 294 S.W.2d 888, 1956 Tex. App. LEXIS 1885 (Tex. Ct. App. 1956).

Opinions

CRAMER, Justice.

Appellant Anona Denning was an employee of a‘lessee of appellee Republic National Bank Building Company, ' hereafter called Building Company, and filed this suit against ■ Building Company for damages for personal injuries sustained by her when she slipped and fell on an' asphalt tile floor within the'area leased to her employer and upon which water wax had been applied by employees of Building Company. The premises in question- had' been leased by Building Company to Anoiia Denning’s employer, Meyer !-& Achtschin;' for a period of two years. The lease, among other things, provided ■ that lessee was not entitled to sublet or otherwise assign its interest without the consent- of Building Company. Without such consent' Meyer & Achtschin entered into an agreement with Glore, Forgan & Company;' hereafter called Glore Company,' whereby Meyer & Achtschin and Glore Company would purchase ánd manage royalty interests for these others,' and under which Meyer & Achtschin and Glore Company' agreed to provide office space and personnel. ' • Anona Denning was One of the personnel' so furnished. She was not' a regular or usual ’ employee 'of Meyer & Achtschin in their usual operations but was' employed solely in connection with the agreement between Meyer & Achtschin and Glore Company. The record discloses that after regular working hours, Building Company employees were waxing the floor leased to Meyer & Achtschin, when Anona Denning, in walking on wet wax, at about 7:00 P.M., slipped and fell. Building Company employees at the time were still in the process of applying the liquid wax.

The jury in' answer- to -special issues found, in substance: (1) That at the time in question Building Company by and through its agents' covered the asphalt tile flooring of the file ■ room with liquid wax to such-an extent that Anona Denning 1 was afforded no practical means of exit; (2) that such action was negligence; (3) which was ⅛ proximate cause of Anona Denning’s fall; (4) that the failure Of Building Company’s employees to warn Anona Denning of the presence of the wet wax on the tile floor was negligence; (S) which was a proximate cause of her-fall; (6) that the employees of Building Company- failed to provide Anona Denning - a'sáfe-exit from the premises in question; (7)' which failure was negligence; - (8)" and a proximate causé of her fall; (9) that the employees of Building Company applied ■ an excessive amount of wax to the floor at the time ' in ■ question;. (10) which 'was a • proximate' cause- of- Anona Denniiig-’s fall; (11) but that employees of Building Company at the time did not actually know of the presence of Anona Denning- oh the premises in-question; (-12) . that in-the exercise of-ordinary care the employee»* of- Building'- Company - should have known‘‘of -the'-presence- of - Anona Denning'on-the premises; (13) that the action of the employees in commencing: waxing operations under the circumstances was ne^ligende;' (Í4) which'was'a proximate cause of the fall sustained by'Anoha Denning1; ' (IS) that1 Anona Denning at the time' did not' fail to keep a proper lookout; ' (17) she did’not know'and in the 'exercise of ordinary care should not' have known 'that' a waxing operation was' in progress and that there was wet wax' on the floor; (20) that-at the,time and on the occasion in question there w.as no other means of exit from the Building Company’s .office which did not have wet wax thereon; - (23) • Anona Denning’s failure -to ask for assistance of Building Company employees who were nearby was not negligence; (25) ■ her failure to wait for- the wet wax- to dry or the waxing operation to be completed before walking on the floor was not negligence; (27) that Anona Denning’s failure to call for assistance before crossing the floor was not negligence;' (29) that-at the time and [892]*892on the occasion in question there was no convenient means of exit in which there were convenient handholds for Anona Denning in crossing said floor; (32) that her walking on a floor which she knew was covered with a wet material was not negligence; (34) that at the time and on the occasion in question the condition of the floor was not open and obvious; (35) that Anona Denning did not assume the risk of danger in walking upon said floor on the occasion in question; (36) that the injuries sustained by her were not the result of an unavoidable accident; (37) that Anona Denning at the time acted without. knowledge of the danger; (38) at the time and on the occasion in question Anona Denning in the exercise of an intelligent choice did not voluntarily expose herself to the risk of injury; and (39) $32,000 would fairly and reasonably compensate Anona Denning for her physical pain and mental suffering in the past and future, and for reasonable and necessary medical expense in the past and future, as a direct and proximate result of her fall.

After hearing a motion therefor, the court entered a judgment non obstante veredicto. From that judgment this appeal has been duly perfected; appellant Anona Denning here briefing six points of ert;or and Building Company briefing eight counter-points and ten cross-assignments of error.

Points 1 and' 2 assert error, in sub-stánce: (1) In granting Building Company’s motion for judgment n. o. v. and overruling her motion for judgment because as a matter of law Meyer & Achtschin, lessee of Building Company, did not violate the provisions of the lease with reference to subletting the premises and therefore Anona Denning was not an invitee; and (2) in granting Building Company’s motion for judgment n. o. v. and overruling her motion for judgment because a, fact question existed as to whether or -not Meyer & Achtschin subleased a part of the premises, and Building Company having failed to request submission of such issue thereby waived such defense.

Appellee Building ( Company counters that motion for judgment n. o. v. was properly granted since, (1) as a matter of law Meyer & Achtschin did violate the lease provisions in subletting, and Anona Denning was at most a licensee; (2) if any fact issues or questions were raised by the evidence as to the status of Anona Denning as a trespasser, licensee, or invitee, Building Company waived the submission of such ultimate issues to the jury and submitted them to the trial court who found that she was not an invitee.

The facts found by the jury, if the evidence supports them, control the judgment of the court and the trial court is. not permitted to make a finding on a fact not submitted to the jury and render judgment thereon contrary to that required under the jury’s express finding on the only issues submitted to them, absent a motion for an instructed verdict properly based on undisputed evidence for the same reasons-on which the court rendered its judgment. Here, in our opinion, the evidence raised a question of fact for the jury on whether or not Anona Denning was an invitee, and the motion for an instructed verdict was-properly overruled.

Our Supreme Court in Socony-Vacuum Oil Co. v. Aderhold, 150 Tex. 292, 240 S.W.2d 751, at page 755, appropriate here,, stated: “Neither plaintiff nor defendant requested additions to the charge or special, issues upon this testimony or objected to the court’s failure to charge upon this subject. Since issues concerning the amount of shore employment are actually part of the defense, they are issues raising an independent ground of defense and the burden rests upon the defense to request them. Not having requested .issues in this case, the defense waived this independent defense. Rule 279, Texas Rules of Civil Pro[893]*893cedure.” To the same effect, see Brown v.

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Denning v. Republic National Bank Bldg. Co.
294 S.W.2d 888 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1956)

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Bluebook (online)
294 S.W.2d 888, 1956 Tex. App. LEXIS 1885, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/denning-v-republic-national-bank-bldg-co-texapp-1956.