Dimon v. Garver

283 P.2d 476, 178 Kan. 21, 1955 Kan. LEXIS 391
CourtSupreme Court of Kansas
DecidedMay 7, 1955
DocketNo. 39,607
StatusPublished

This text of 283 P.2d 476 (Dimon v. Garver) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dimon v. Garver, 283 P.2d 476, 178 Kan. 21, 1955 Kan. LEXIS 391 (kan 1955).

Opinion

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Smith, J.:

This was an action by a mother and her children to recover damages alleged to have been sustained when an automobile driven by defendant collided with a motorcycle upon which plaintiffs’ husband and father was riding, causing his death. The general verdict was for plaintiffs and special questions were answered. Defendant’s demurrer to the evidence and at the conclusion of the trial her motion for judgment on the answers to special questions were overruled. Plaintiffs’ motion for a new trial was sustained. Defendant has appealed.

After alleging the relationship of the parties, the petition alleged on the day in question decedent was riding his motorcycle in a westerly direction on highway 160 on thé: north side of the highway near the eastern city limits of Winfield and defendant was driving her car in an easterly direction on the same highway on the south side of it; that she, without warning, turned abruptly to the left and across into the north side of the highway and directly in front of decedent’s motorcycle, causing a collision of such force and violence that decedent suffered injuries from which he died the next day; that the front end of defendant’s car extended across the central line of [22]*22the highway approximately six feet, at which point the collision between decedent’s body and the front end of defendant’s car occurred.

The petition then set out eight particulars in which defendant was negligent — in failing to signal; failing to yield the right of way; failing to exercise due care; failing to keep a lookout; failing to keep her car on the south side of highway 160; failing to turn her car to the right and away from decedent before the collision occurred; in driving her car on the north side of the highway when there was a yellow line marking the middle; in driving her car in front of decedent and colliding with it, when the exercise of reasonable care would have apprised defendant of decedent’s presence and peril and afforded time and opportunity for her to avoid colliding with the decedent. The petition then alleged that without any contributory negligence on decedent’s part all the acts of negligence set out proximately caused the collision and the death of decedent. The petition then stated plaintiffs’ damages. We are not interested in them here. By an amendment in obedience to an order of the court, plaintiffs stated that decedent was ninety feet from defendant when she turned left into the north side of the highway.

The answer of defendant was first a general denial; next that she was driving on Alexander Street in Winfield at the time in question and turned onto Ninth Street, which is an extension of highway 160, and drove east on the highway toward a grocery store just at the east edge of Winfield; that she was driving at twenty to twenty-five miles an hour; that Ninth Avenue at this point is paved and forty-one feet wide; that as she approached a point more than one hundred feet west of the grocery she signaled for a left turn by extending her left hand and decreasing her speed; that as she approached the place where she expected to turn, still giving her left arm signal, she saw a motorcycle approaching from the east, driving at a speed of from seventy to eighty miles per hour; that she lowered her left hand and stopped her car on the south half of the pavement slightly angled for the left-hand turn, knowing that there was ample room on the left side of her car to allow passage of any vehicle; that just as she brought her car to a stop the motorcycle commenced to skid, the driver lost control of it and it skidded into the front end of defendant’s car; that at all times defendant’s car was within the city limits. The answer then quoted a city ordinance making reckless driving a misdemeanor, also one [23]*23fixing speed limits, and alleged that defendant was at all times on her half of the highway.

The answer set out seven particulars in which decedent was guilty of negligence; in failing to see her signal; in driving at a rate of speed greater than was reasonable and prudent; in driving in excess of thirty miles per hour; in failing to reduce his speed and keep control of his motorcycle; in failing to exercise due care; in failing to keep a lookout; in failing to turn his motorcycle while still under his control to the right so as to avoid the collision; and alleged that decedent was familiar with the highway and was a reckless driver.

The reply was a general denial and a quotation from a city ordinance that vehicles should be driven on the right half of the street except with certain exceptions and a signal of intention to tarn should be given continuously during not less than the last one hundred feet traveled before turning.

At the close of plaintiffs’ evidence defendant’s demurrer to it was overruled.

The jury returned a verdict for plaintiff and answered special questions as follows:

“1.
“Question: At what speed was R. W. Dimon traveling when he saw or could have seen the defendant first slow her vehicle and start to turn to the left? A. 60 miles per hour.
“2.
“Question: At what speed was R. W. Dimon traveling upon his arrival at the east entrance of the Glass Grocery Store? A. About 50 miles per hour.
“3.
“Question: Was R. W. Dimon s motorcycle ever turned from a direct course from the highway prior to the impact? A. Only from the pull from pavement after was on its side.
“4.
“Question: How many feet in distance was there between the left front comer of defendant’s automobile and the north curb line of the highway at the instant of the collision? A. About 15 feet.
“5.
“Question: What, if anything, prevented R. W. Dimon from avoiding the collision by turning his motorcycle to the right and to the north of defendant’s automobile after he saw or could have seen defendant’s automobile slowing and starting to turn to the left? A. Because he had lost control of his motorcycle.
[24]*24“Question: How far east of the point of collision did R. W. Dimon lose control of his motorcycle? A. At about 45 feet.
“7.
“Question: How far was R. W. Dimon from defendant’s automobile when he saw or should have seen defendant’s automobile turning to the left? A. About 100 or 125 feet.
“8.
“Question: How much of the Garver car, in feet and inches, at the time of the impact was:
“(a) North of the center line?
“(b) South of the center line?
“A. (a) About 5 feet of front end of car. (b) About 1 foot of front end of car.
“9.
“Question: Do you find that the force of the impact pushed Garver automobile backward? A. Yes.
“10.
“Question: feet, how far? If you answer the previous question in the affirmative state in A. From 4 to 6 feet.
“11.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
283 P.2d 476, 178 Kan. 21, 1955 Kan. LEXIS 391, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dimon-v-garver-kan-1955.