Freedman v. Denhalter Bottling Co.

182 P. 843, 54 Utah 513, 1919 Utah LEXIS 70
CourtUtah Supreme Court
DecidedJune 18, 1919
DocketNo. 3322
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 182 P. 843 (Freedman v. Denhalter Bottling Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Utah Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Freedman v. Denhalter Bottling Co., 182 P. 843, 54 Utah 513, 1919 Utah LEXIS 70 (Utah 1919).

Opinion

FRICK, J.

The plaintiff, Max Freedman, by his guardian ad litem, Bessie Freedman, obtained a judgment for the sum of two hundred and iift^ dollars 'against the defendant in the city court of Salt Lake City. The defendant appealed the case to the district court of Salt Lake county, where, upon a trial to the court, the plaintiff again recovered judgment for the same amount. The defendant brings the case to this court on appeal, and assigns errors as follows: (1) That the district court erred in denying defendant’s motion for a nonsuit; (2) that-it erred in making certain findings of fact therein-after more particularly referred to; (3) that it erred in making its conclusions of law; and (4) that it erred in permitting plaintiff to amend his complaint. One or two other errors were originally assigned, but, in view that they are not argued in the brief, they are waived. ¡

[516]*516In the original complaint filed in tbe city court, after some preliminary statements, and after alleging tbat plaintiff was riding his bicycle on a certain street in Salt Lake City, it was further alleged “that while plaintiff was riding the said bicycle at the time and place aforesaid defendant, by its agent, negligently and carelessly drove an automobile truck, the property of defendant, from a point on the south side of said Fifth South street northward across said street immediately in front of the plaintiff; that the defendant’s said agent at the time and place aforesaid operated said automobile truck at a dangerous and rapid rate of speed, and negligently and carelessly failed to signal the plaintiff or give plaintiff any warning of the approach of defendant’s said automobile truck northeasterly at said point, in violation of the traffic ordinance of Salt Lake City; that by reason of the defendant’s negligence and carelessness in operating said automobile truck defendant’s said automobile truck collided with and struck plaintiff and plaintiff’s said bicycle, thereby demolishing said bicycle, and inflicting on plaintiff’s body bruises and injuries,” etc. The defendant denied the allegations of negligence, and averred that the plaintiff was guilty of contributory negligence, setting forth the acts constituting such alleged negligence.

No ordinance was proved at the trial, nor was there any evidence that the automobile truck was driven at an excessive rate of speed.

In view of the assignments of error herein considered we have deemed it best to set forth the allegations of negligence in plaintiff’s complaint in full.

After the plaintiff rested the defendant interposed a motion for nonsuit upon the following grounds: “That none of the allegations of negligence set forth in plaintiff’s complaint has been proven, and there is no evidence to show that the truck was traveling at a rapid rate of speed; * * * that there is no evidence to show that there is any guilt on the part of the defendant whatsoever. ’ ’ The motion was denied, and it is insisted that the court erred in making the ruling.

[517]*517■It is impracticable to set forth all of the evidence within the limits of an ordinary opinion or to state it even in substance. The plaintiff, however, produced an eyewitness to the accident, Fho, after testifying where he was at the time, and that he saw the plaintiff and another boy riding their bicycles westward on the north side of Fifth South street, and that he saw the driver of the automobile truck driving eastward on the south side of said street, testified as follows:

“As I saw the accident, it appeared to me that the boys were riding westward on the north side of the street, and this Deáhalter truck came eastward on the south side of the street, and as it came about in line with the driveway it turned rather abruptly toward the north, and ran into the bicycle that one of the boys was riding on, and the crush of the impact and the jarring of the bottles in the cases and the noise of the horn was practically simultaneous, as far as I could determine.”

This witness fully explained all he saw, and how the accident occurred from his point of view, and that when plaintiff was struck he fell senseless, and was lying on the street pavement in that condition when the witness arrived at the scene. On cross-examination he was asked the following question: “Is it not a fact that the bicycle ran into the rear end of this truck — the rear right wheel of 'the truck ? ’ ’ The witness answered: “No; it is not.”

"With respect to the signals the witness testified:

“I heard the sound of an automobile horn such as is usually used on that kind of vehicles at the same time that I heard the crash or impact with the bicycle and the jarring of the bottles in the cases on the truck. It was practically simultaneous, the sounds, so far as I could distinguish.” "

The witness, on cross-examination, in further explanation of how the accident oecürred, testified:

“The boys were proceeding westward on the north side of the street, and the truck was proceeding eastward on the south side of the street, and as the car turned abruptly to the north the boy going westward would pass the line of the truck going northward, and he was struck by the front, end of the car; therefore, if he was struck by the front end of the car going west, and the car going northward, it is very reasonable he got in that position.”

On further cross-examination he also testified:

[518]*518“I did not see the bicycle hit the car. I saw the car hit the bicycle.”

The plaintiff, in testifying on his own behalf, in substance said that he heard no signal; that he did not see the truck until he Avas struck; that he was looking “straight ahead” while riding his bicycle, at the time and place of the accident.

There is considerable other evidence with regard to how the accident occurred, some of which is in conflict with the testimony of the eyewitness which we have quoted.

Indeed, the evidence on behalf of the defendant as to how the accident or collision occurred is in many respects most favorable to the defendant. Then again, the findings of the court in some particulars are also somewhat inharmonious; the reason, undoubtedly, for that being that they were not carefully prepared. The court, after finding that the driver of the truck “negligently failed to give any signal or ivarn-ing,” further found “that said driver negligently and carelessly suddenly stopped said automobile wrhile the same was facing northward, * * * at a time AA'hen said driver knew that plaintiff was coming westward, a short distance east of the course across which said truck was stopped; that, by reason of the defendant’s negligence and carelessness in operating said automobile truck, plaintiff was caused to collide with and strike said automobile truck, thereby demolishing said bicycle and inflicting upon plaintiff’s body bruises and injuries, ’ ’ etc. Whatever view we may take of the evidence and the findings, both are sufficient to sustain the judgment. This becomes more apparent still when we keep in mind the fact that we are required to view both the evidence and the findings in a light most favorable to the judgment in 1-3 favor of the plaintiff.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
182 P. 843, 54 Utah 513, 1919 Utah LEXIS 70, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/freedman-v-denhalter-bottling-co-utah-1919.