Dikel v. Mathers

238 N.W. 615, 213 Iowa 76
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedOctober 27, 1931
DocketNo. 40755.
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 238 N.W. 615 (Dikel v. Mathers) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dikel v. Mathers, 238 N.W. 615, 213 Iowa 76 (iowa 1931).

Opinions

Kindig, J.

At about seven o’clock in the evening on June 1, 1930, Abraham Dikel, the plaintiff-appellant, was driving his Nash automobile south on MacDonald Street in Sioux City, while the defendant-appellee, Vivian Mathers, was operating his Chevrolet coupe northwesterly on Stone Park Boulevard, an intersecting thoroughfare. A collision occurred when the two cars met at the intersection.

MacDonald Street extends north and south and intersects with Stone Park Boulevard, which, as before indicated, is a street running in a southeasterly and northwesterly direction. Although these two streets thus intersect, MacDonald Street does not continue south of Stone Park Boulevard.

By an ordinance, the City of Sioux City declared Stone Park Boulevard to be an arterial highway, as provided by section 4995 of the 1927 Code. There was a stop sign duly placed on MacDonald Street several feet north of Stone Park Boulevard.

Various grounds of negligence were alleged by appellant in his petition, wherein damages were sought against the appellee. Likewise, the appellee set forth many grounds of negligence in his cross-petition, wherein he demanded damages from appel *78 lant. One ground of negligence claimed by appellee was that appellant did not stop on MacDonald Street before entering Stone Park Boulevard, as required by law, at the “stop sign” immediately north of the boulevard. This allegation appellant denied, and he further claimed that appellee was negligent in not giving him the right of way at the place in question. The right of way here was claimed by appellant under section 5035 of the 1927 Code, because the appellee approached at his left. Each litigant alleged that the other was driving at an excessive speed.

After a hearing in the district court, the jury returned a verdict on the counterclaim, in appellee’s favor, for $18,000. Later the verdict was reduced by the district court to $9353.00. Appellant asked a rehearing because: First, the district court did not direct a verdict in appellant’s favor on the matters relating to appellee’s counterclaim; second, the district court improperly submitted the issues to the jury, especially on the question of who had the right of way at the intersection; and, third, of many other matters which, under the disposition here made of the case, do not become material.

I. It is apparent from the record that the district court properly allowed the jury to pass upon appellee’s negligence under appellant’s petition, and the latter’s negligence on the former’s counterclaim. So, too, the district court correctly permitted the jury to pass upon appellant’s contributory negligence under the case set forth in his petition, and appellee’s contributory negligence on the issues raised in his counterclaim.

No specific reference is made to the various statements of the many witnesses and the facts and circumstances surrounding the case, for the reason that there is to be a retrial on account of the error hereafter considered.

Consequently, out of fairness to each litigant, the matters relating to the alleged negligence and contributory negligence will not be further discussed.

II. As before indicated, appellant seriously complains because the district court improperly instructed the jury concerning the right of way on the respective highways at the time and place in question.

During its charge, the trial court, told the jury in instruction eight:

*79 “You are further instructed that all motor vehicles traveling on Stone Park boulevard from the east line of Perry Creek to the intersection of 27th street, so designated as a boulevard, shall have right of way over all other vehicles approaching or traveling upon all streets intersecting said designated boulevard. ’ ’

Again in paragraph eighteen of the instructions the same thought is expressed to the jury. Many variations of the thought are elsewhere set forth in the instructions, sometimes to the extent of becoming conflicting.

An attack is made upon the foregoing instruction by the appellant on the theory that it does not correctly set forth the law applicable to the case. In other words, appellant contends that the appellee, although on the boulevard, did not necessarily have the right of way. His thought at this point is that the appellant, after duly stopping on MacDonald Street at the Boulevard sign, had a right thereafter to carefully proceed into Stone Park Boulevard. When so doing, appellant contends that under section 5035 of the 1927 Code, he had the right of way over appellee then on the boulevard, for the reason that the latter was at the former’s left a distance contemplated by the said statute. Section 5035 of the 1927 Code provides:

“Where two vehicles are approaching on any public street or highway so that their paths will intersect and there is danger of collision, the vehicle approaching the other from the right shall have the right of way * * ”

Continuing his argument, appellant asserts that the foregoing section is not overcome by the city ordinance, passed under authority of section 4995 in the same Code. That section contains the following:

“Local authorities of any city or town may also: * * *
“5. Designate certain streets as boulevards or arterial highways and to provide that Vehicles entering such street from intersecting streets shall come to a full stop before such entrance.
“The city or town shall keep placed conspicuously at each point where a street or highway intersects such designated boulevard or arterial highway, a sign bearing the words 'Stop, Boule *80 vard’ of sufficient size to be easily readable at a distance of one hundred feet by a person using such street or highway. ’ ’

Under the provisions of that statute, Sioux City passed Ordinance Number 0-1805, section 55 of which is to this effect:

'£ The following streets in the City of Sioux City are hereby declared and designated as boulevards and arterial highways, and every vehicle entering such streets from intersecting streets shall come to a full stop before such entrance: * * * (d). Stone Park boulevard from the east line of Perry Creek Road to intersection of Twenty-seventh street.”

Such ordinance adopted under the foregoing legislation, appellee asserts, fully justifies the district court’s instruction. Notwithstanding the ordinance and the statute under which it was passed, the appellant, on the other hand, complains of the instruction for the reasons previously indicated. Who is right? The answer can only be found by a careful study of the statutes together with the authorities upon the subject.

Section 4995, above quoted, is in the same chapter with section 5035. Therefore, if possible, the one section must be harmonized with the other. Neither is apparently intended to overcome the other. While section 4995 authorizes the city to designate a boulevard and require travelers on intersecting streets to stop, yet, in no other way does that section purport to overcome or limit section 5035.

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Bluebook (online)
238 N.W. 615, 213 Iowa 76, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dikel-v-mathers-iowa-1931.