Dobson v. GULF SUPPLY COMPANY

399 S.W.2d 882, 1966 Tex. App. LEXIS 3011
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedFebruary 17, 1966
Docket14609
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 399 S.W.2d 882 (Dobson v. GULF SUPPLY COMPANY) 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
Dobson v. GULF SUPPLY COMPANY, 399 S.W.2d 882, 1966 Tex. App. LEXIS 3011 (Tex. Ct. App. 1966).

Opinion

WERLEIN, Justice.

Appellant brought this suit to recover damages for personal injuries sustained by her in a rear-end collision at about 10:30 a. m. on March 13, 1962. One Joe F. Williams was joined as a party plaintiff in the suit but during the trial he took a non-suit.

Appellant testified in substance that while her car was stopped facing a red light at the intersection of Scott Street and Griggs Road in Houston, waiting for the traffic light to turn green, the rear end of her automobile was struck by a Chevrolet pick-up truck owned by appellee, Gulf Supply Company, Inc., and driven by its employee, one Q. L. Anderson. Anderson, on the other hand, testified in substance that he had driven up behind appellant’s automobile and had come to a stop without striking appellant’s car, and that when the traffic light turned green appellant started up and he started the truck which struck the rear end of appellant’s car when she came to a sudden stop before entering the intersection.

The jury, in answer to Special Issues, found that immediately prior to the collision Anderson failed to keep such lookout as an ordinarily prudent person would have kept in the exercise of ordinary care under the same or similar circumstances, and that such failure was a proximate cause of the collision in question. The jury did not find that Anderson failed to make a proper application of the brakes of the truck, nor did the jury find that Anderson while operating the truck was following the automobile being driven by appellant more closely than a person of ordinary prudence in the exercise of ordinary care would have done under the same or similar circumstances immediately prior to the collision in question.

The jury also found that appellant brought her automobile to a sudden stop before entering the intersection after the signal light had turned green; that she failed to give such warning of her intention to stop her automobile as a person of ordinary prudence would have done in the exercise of ordinary care under the same or similar circumstances; and that such failure was a proximate cause of the collision in question. The jury found $329.00 for medical expenses incurred by appellant as a proximate result of the collision, and $3,500.00 for the personal injuries sustained by her. The court entered judgment on the jury verdict that appellant take nothing. Appellant’s motion for judgment non ob-stante veredicto, and her amended motion for new trial, were overruled.

In her motion for judgment non obstante veredicto appellant alleged that there was no evidence that appellant failed to give ap- *884 pellee Anderson a warning of intention to stop, and further that even if she did fail to give a warning it would not be a proximate cause of the collision since said ap-pellee would never have seen the warning because of his failure to keep a proper lookout. In her amended motion for new trial, appellant alleged that there was no evidence and insufficient evidence to support the jury’s finding to Special Issue No. 7 that appellant brought her automobile to a sudden stop before entering the intersection after the signal light had turned green, and also that there was no evidence and insufficient evidence to support the jury’s findings to Special Issues Nos. 8 and 9, respectively, that appellant failed to give such warning of her intention to stop her automobile as a person of ordinary prudence in the exercise of ordinary care would have done, and that such failure was a proximate cause of the collision in question.

The jury in finding in answer to Special Issue No. 7 that appellant brought her automobile to a sudden stop before entering the intersection after the signal light had turned green, manifestly accepted appellee’s version of the manner in which the collision occurred. We cannot say that there is no evidence or insufficient evidence to support the jury’s finding to such issue. No issue with respect to whether such sudden stop constituted negligence was requested or given, and hence there was no finding that such sudden stop constituted negligence on the part of appellant and, of course, no finding of proximate cause with respect thereto.

The question arises, however, as to whether or not the jury’s answers to Special Issues Nos. 8 and 9 are supported by any evidence and if so whether such answers are against the great weight and preponderance of the evidence. Appellant’s testimony is that her car was stopped at the time of the collision, waiting for the red light to change to green. Whereas Anderson’s testimony was that the light turned green and appellant’s car started up and then came to a sudden stop. Appellant and appellee Anderson were the only eyewitnesses who testified as to what occurred at the time and on the occasion in question. In order to determine whether there was any evidence to support the findings of the jury to such issues, it is necessary to analyze the testimony of Anderson. We quote Anderson’s testimony as to what occurred:

Q Now, when you and she were both moving up, how far were you from her when — how close were you to her when you were moving up? Did you have a car’s length between you when you were moving up or were you bumper to bumper ?
A I wouldn’t say bumper to bumper.
Q How much distance was between you when you were moving up?
A I would say about three feet or something like that.
Q Did you see her brake lights come on?
A I didn’t pay that much attention. When she stopped I put my foot on the brakes and stopped.
Q Did you see her brake lights come on?
A I imagine they did.
Q> Did you see them come on?
A No, I didn’t see them come on.
Q You say she stopped all of a sudden. If you didn’t see the brake lights come on what made you—
A I was watching her car.
Q Watching the rear end of her car?
A I was watching her ear — I mean looking right at it when she stopped.
Q Looking right at her car?
A That’s right, it was in front of me.
Q You are telling us she stopped real fast?
A She stopped all of a sudden.
*885 Q When you stop a car real fast you skid your wheels on the pavement. Did you see any of that? Did she skid her wheels?
A No, I didn’t see any of that.
Q What did you see that made you think she stopped real fast?
A I saw her car stop. I can see when a car is stopped.
Q What did you see that made you think her car stopped fast instead of slow?
A When she stopped, I can tell when a car stops.
Q What did you see that made you think it stopped fast instead of slow? What did you see?

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Bluebook (online)
399 S.W.2d 882, 1966 Tex. App. LEXIS 3011, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dobson-v-gulf-supply-company-texapp-1966.