Edelson v. Ochroch

111 A.2d 455, 380 Pa. 426, 1955 Pa. LEXIS 580

• Court: Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
• Decided: January 4, 1955
• Docket: Appeals, 205, 206 and 207
• Status: Published

Opinions

Opinion by

Mb. Justice Bell,

Edelson and his two sisters, who were passengers in his car, brought an action against Ochroch Transportation Company and Charles Ochroch and Albert Ochroch, individually, for damages resulting from a right-angle collision at the intersection of Ridge Avenue and Wissahickon Drive in the City of Philadelphia, in which the Ochroch car struck the Edelson car, damaging it and injuring the parties-plaintiff. The defendants Ochroch brought in as additional defendant one of the plaintiffs, Samuel Edelson, who was driving the Edelson car.

There was a direct conflict of evidence; moreover, the testimony of one or more witnesses was contradictory, and as the Court below found, unworthy of belief. The jury found a verdict in favor of the Ochroch Transportation Company and the Ochrochs individually. The jury also found that “the entire negligence lies with Samuel Edelson” and awarded damages to Ida Edelson in the sum of $12,671. and to Fanny Edelson in the sum of $700. The lower Court granted a new trial as to all defendants.

It will not be necessary to recite the facts; it will suffice to merely quote the following excerpts from the Per Curiam opinion of the lower Court:

“In the face of these contradictions, [by Dupree, the driver of Ochroeh Transportation Company’s truck] it is difficult to understand how the jury could find that defendant’s driver Dupree was not negligent, that Samuel Edelson was and that the negligence of Samuel Edelson alone was the cause of the accident. Where traffic lights are controlled automatically, they do not change in so rapid a succession as in the versions of the occurrence given by Dupree. If the light was green for Edelson when he entered the intersection, he had a right to assume that Dupree would heed the traffic light against him and would not enter the intersection. Jones v. Williams, 358 Pa. 559, 562. Moreover, the evidence showed that Edelson was not relying solely on a favorable traffic light and dispensing with due care in crossing the intersection. See Lewis v. Quinn, 376 Pa. 109. On the contrary, Edelson’s uneontradicted testimony showed that he looked up and down Ridge Avenue, observed the lights of a vehicle approaching from the west when it was 135 feet away, [and] that it appeared to be slowing down, ....

“While it is not the province of the court to resolve conflicts in the testimony or to usurp the function of the jury, fit is the duty of a trial court to pass upon the weight of the evidence and to grant or withhold a new trial accordingly’: Hershey v. Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railway Company, 366 Pa. 158, 162.

“We are satisfied that the verdicts reached were against the weight of the evidence and that justice requires a new trial. Bellettiere v. Philadelphia, 367 Pa. 638. See also Pendleton v. Philadelphia Transportation Company, 376 Pa. 598; Harris v. Ruggles Lumber Company, 376 Pa. 252; Streilein v. Vogel, 363 Pa. 379. The overwhelming weight of the evidence indicated plainly that the traffic light was in favor of Samuel Edelson and against the Ochroch driver.

“It is our opinion that the verdicts of the jury absolving the original defendant were so clearly against the weight of the evidence that the ends of justice required the granting of a new trial in all the cases.”

The rule is well settled that where a trial Judge or Court, who saw and heard the witnesses, grants a new trial, we will not reverse unless there is a clear abuse of discretion or an error of law which necessarily controlled the grant of the new trial or the outcome of the case: Foster v. Waybright, 367 Pa. 615, 80 A. 2d 801; Bellettiere v. Philadelphia, 367 Pa. 638, 81 A. 2d 857; Morse Boulger Destructor Co. v. Arnoni, 376 Pa. 57, 101 A. 2d 705; Harris v. Ruggles Lumber Company, 376 Pa. 252, 101 A. 2d 917.

In the Harris v. Ruggles case, 376 Pa., supra, the following quotation from page 255 is particularly pertinent : “ ‘ “One of the least assailable grounds for the exercise of such power [to grant a new trial] is the trial court’s conclusion that the verdict was against the weight of the evidence and that the interests of justice therefore require that a new trial be awarded; especially in such a case is an appellate court reluctant to interfere.” ’: Bellettiere v. Philadelphia, 367 Pa. 638, 643, 81 A. 2d 857.”

We have examined the record and find no palpable abuse of discretion or error of law.

The Order of the Court of Common Pleas granting a new trial as to all defendants is affirmed.