Eastern Texas Electric Co. v. Smith

298 S.W. 314, 1927 Tex. App. LEXIS 725
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJuly 7, 1927
DocketNo. 1553. [fn*]
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 298 S.W. 314 (Eastern Texas Electric Co. v. Smith) 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
Eastern Texas Electric Co. v. Smith, 298 S.W. 314, 1927 Tex. App. LEXIS 725 (Tex. Ct. App. 1927).

Opinion

©’■QUINN, J.

Appellees George Smith and his, wife, Maude Smith, brought this suit against appellant, Eastern Texas Electric ■Company, for damages on account of the death of their minor son, James L. Smith, who was hilled in a collision between an automobile in which he was riding and one of appellant’s street ears January 5, 1926.

Appellees alleged that appellant operated a street car line for the transportation of passengers in the city of Beaumont, and especially along and over Magnolia avenue, and that •on or about January 5, 1926, James D. Smith, minor son of appellees, about 18 years of age, was an invitee and guest of a person driving an automobile on Magnolia avenue, traveling in a southerly direction towards the business portion of the city of Beaumont, and that a street car of appellant was going in a northerly direction along Magnolia avenue away from the business portion of said city; that the automobile in which appellees’ son was riding, as it came to Polk street, which intersects Magnolia avenue at right angles, had to be suddenly turned to the left, in order to avoid a collision with another automobile which was approaching Magnolia avenue from Polk street, and that in doing so it skidded and slipped on, over, and across appellant’s said street car track and stalled and stopped thereon, and it became and was impossible for the driver of the automobile to operate said automobile off of said street car track, which was in plain view of the motorman operating appellant’s said street car and not more than 100 feet frond same; that the motorman in charge of said street car carelessly, negligently, and violently collided said street car with and against said automobile, injuring and killing their said son. .

Appellees alleged that appellant was guilty of negligence in the following particulars:

(a) That the motorman in charge of appellant’s street car saw, or by the exercise of ordinary care could .have seen, the automobile on the street car track, or by the exercise of ordinary care could have known and realized. the danger to which the occupants of the automobile were about to be subjected, and, after fully realizing and comprehending their danger, carelessly and negligently failed to use ordinary care, and carelessly and negligently failed to use that degree of care required by law in cases of discovered peril, and negligently failed to use every reasonable effort and means at hand to prevent the collision. -

(b) That the motorman negligently failed to shut off the motor power and to properly apply the brakes and other appliances with which the said street car was equipped to stop or slow down said street car as quickly as possible, by the prompt use of which he could'have stopped or slowed down said car in time to have prevented the collision, or that if the brakes of said car were defective or out of repair, so* that by their use the motorman could not have stopped the car in time to have prevented the collision, then that appellant was guilty of negligence in failing to have its said car properly equipped with sufficient and proper appliances to control same, and was guilty of negligence in not inspecting and adjusting same.

(c) That if the motorman operating said street car did not see the automobile stalled upon its tracks, then appellant was guilty of negligence in failing to keep a proper lookout for the protection of those that might be upon its tracks.

(d) That the street car was being negligently operated at a rapid and dangerous rate of speed, by reason of which the motorman ■ could not stop said street car by application of all the means at hand in time to prevent the collision.

(e) That appellant and its agent, the motorman in charge of said street car, were guilty of negligence in failing to use ordinary care in the operation of said street ear, in that the pavement of Magnolia avenue was wet and slippery and said street car was operated at a rapid and dangerous rate of speed, such that the motorman could not, under the circumstances, control the movement of said *316 street car, and could not stop same in time to prevent tile collision.

(f) That tiie motorman failed to slow down said street ear as it approached the intersection of said Polk and Magnolia streets, and that it was customary to slow down for said intersection.

< (g) That the motorman in charge of said car was wholly incompetent and unfit to have charge of and to operate said street ear, and that this was known to appellant, or could by the use of ordinary care have been known to it.

Appellees further pleaded that they were compelled to and did expend the sum of $750 for funeral and burial expenses of their said son, and that they were further damaged in the sum of $25,000.

Appellant answered by general demurrer and certain special exceptions, which were all overruled. Appellant further answered by general denial, and specially that appel-lees’ son and the driver of the automobile were engaged in a joint enterprise, and that the acts and omissions of the one should be imputed to the other, and that the driver of the automobile was guilty of wrongs, omissions, and negligence, and that James L. Smith,, son of appellees, observed, noticed, and was cognizant of same, and acquiesced therein, and that the acts, omissions, and negligence of the driver of the automobile were the sole and proximate cause of the collision and consequent injuries of deceased, or that deceased was guilty of acts, omissions, and negligence which were the sole and proximate cause of his injuries and death, or proximately contributed to his said injuries.

The case was submitted to the jury on the following special issues:

“(1) Do you believe from the evidence that at the time of the injury set 'out in plaintiffs’ petition, the automobile in which the deceased was riding was stalled or stopped upon the street car track of the defendant company?”
To which the jury answered, “Yes.”
“(2) Do you believe from the evidence that the motorman in charge of defendant’s street car at the time of the accident saw, or by the exercise of ordinary care could have seen, the danger of the car in which deceased was riding, in time to have in the exercise of ordinary care avoided the injuries?”
To which the jury answered, “Yes.”
“(3) Do you believe from the evidence that such failure to exercise ordinary care was the proximate cause of the injuries to and death of James L. Smith?”
To which the jury answered, “Yes.”

In answer to the fourth question, the jury said:

“We award to plaintiff George Smith, $2,000. We award to plaintiff Maude Smith, $3,000.”

After and beneath the signature of the foreman, the jury appended the following-: “For. burial expenses $700” — which was signed, also, by the foreman.

On motion of appellees the court rendered judgment for plaintiff George Smith in the sum of $2,700, and for plaintiff Maude Smith in the sum of $3,000. Motion for a new trial was overruled. The case is before us on appeal.

The record is voluminous, the transcript containing 244 pages and the motion for a new trial 171 paragraphs or reasons why a new trial should be granted.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
298 S.W. 314, 1927 Tex. App. LEXIS 725, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/eastern-texas-electric-co-v-smith-texapp-1927.