Garrett v. Nagel

417 N.W.2d 855, 1988 N.D. App. LEXIS 2, 1988 WL 493
CourtNorth Dakota Court of Appeals
DecidedJanuary 8, 1988
DocketCiv. 870093CA
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 417 N.W.2d 855 (Garrett v. Nagel) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering North Dakota Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Garrett v. Nagel, 417 N.W.2d 855, 1988 N.D. App. LEXIS 2, 1988 WL 493 (N.D. Ct. App. 1988).

Opinions

PER CURIAM.

Juliann and Wendell Garrett appeal from a judgment dismissing their personal injury action against John and Connie Nagel. They also appeal from the trial court’s order denying their alternative motions for judgment N.O.V. or for a new trial. We affirm.

On March 17, 1983, Juliann traveled with her husband and three children from their home in Mayville to attend a basketball tournament in Bismarck. They secured a room at the Kirkwood Motor Inn, which is located in South Bismarck along the west side of Third Street.

Indiana Avenue is a two-lane street running east and west, which intersects with South Third Street to form a “T” intersection. On March 18, 1983, Juliann, with her two daughters and a friend, walked from the motel north along the west side of Third Street. After crossing Indiana Avenue they proceeded east across Third Street. At about that time Renee Welle was driving a Ford Bronco east on Indiana Avenue. She stopped at the intersection of Indiana Avenue and South Third Street and proceeded to make a left turn onto Third Street. She then noticed Juliann and her companions crossing Third Street and stopped her vehicle in the center lane of Third Street, allowing them to cross a few feet in front of her vehicle. At about this time defendant Connie Nagel was driving north on Third Street, and as she proceeded in the right lane to drive past Renee’s vehicle she struck Juliann, severely injuring her.

The Garretts filed a negligence action against the Nagels. The jury returned a verdict finding that Juliann’s damages were proximately caused by negligence in the following percentages: the plaintiff, Juliann — 80 percent; the defendant, Connie —5 percent; Renee, driver of the Ford Bronco and a nonparty, — 15 percent. In accordance with that verdict and pursuant to Section 9-10-07, N.D.C.C., the trial court entered a judgment awarding no damages and dismissing the action on its merits.

The trial court determined that there was a crosswalk in the vicinity of the accident, but it instructed the jury that, as a matter of law, the accident did not occur in the crosswalk. The Garretts assert that [857]*857the question of whether the accident happened in the crosswalk should have been decided by the jury. We hold that the trial court did not err in its instruction, because at the time of this accident there was no east/west crosswalk on the north side of the Indiana and Third Street intersection.

The term “crosswalk” is defined under subsection 39-01-01(10), N.D.C.C.:

“ ‘Crosswalk’ means that part of a roadway at an intersection included within the connections of the lateral lines of the sidewalks on opposite sides of the highway measured from the curbs, or, in the absence of curbs, from the edges of the traversable roadway; or any portion of a roadway at an intersection or elsewhere distinctly indicated for pedestrian crossing by lines or other markings on the surface.”

The parties concede that there was no marked crosswalk in the vicinity of the accident. For an unmarked crosswalk to exist the foregoing definition unambiguously requires that there must be an intersection and that there must be sidewalks at the intersection on opposite sides of the highway from which to connect their lateral lines. At the time of the accident there was no sidewalk on the east side of Third Street running in an east/west direction at the Indiana Avenue and Third Street intersection. Consequently, there were no lateral sidewalk lines on the east side of Third Street to connect with the west side to form an unmarked crosswalk.

Several jurisdictions have construed similar statutes in accord with our interpretation of subsection 39-01-01(10), N.D.C.C., in this case. Kauffman v. Schroeder, 116 Ariz. 104, 568 P.2d 411 (1977) (and cases cited therein); Pierce v. Barenberg, 91 Idaho 354, 421 P.2d 149 (1966); Griffin v. Odum, 108 Ga.App. 572, 133 S.E.2d 910 (1963); Langlois v. Rees, 10 Utah 2d 272, 351 P.2d 638 (1960), Martin v. Harrison, 182 Or. 121, 186 P.2d 534 (1947). Contra Fan v. Buzzitta, 42 A.D.2d 40, 344 N.Y.S.2d 788 (1973). We believe that the rationale of the Arizona Supreme Court in Kauffman, supra, in construing a similar Arizona statutory provision, is applicable to this case:

“While a ‘T’ intersection is within the statutory definition of an intersection, see A.R.S. § 28-602(6), this does not necessarily mean that an unmarked crosswalk exists at such an intersection.... An unmarked crosswalk is ‘That part of a roadway at an intersection included within the connections of the lateral lines of the sidewalks on opposite sides of the highway’ (emphasis added), A.R.S. § 28-602(2), supra. Since the ‘T’ intersection here did not have a sidewalk on the ‘opposite side’ of the highway, there are no lateral lines to ‘connect’ to each other in order to form an unmarked crosswalk.” 568 P.2d at 413.

We hold that the trial court did not err in instructing the jury that the accident did not occur in a crosswalk.

The Garretts also assert that the trial court erred in not permitting Norman Evans, a State Highway Patrol Officer, to testify as an expert on the point of impact.

During the trial two eyewitnesses testified with regard to the point of impact. Their testimony on that issue was consistent, both witnesses placing Juliann in approximately the same location when she was hit by Connie’s vehicle. Evans’s testimony was based upon an investigation of the accident many months after it had occurred. Evans did not interview the eyewitnesses to the accident, but instead relied upon interviews with the investigating police officers, written statements of the eyewitnesses, photographs, and a survey of the scene.

During direct examination by plaintiffs’ counsel, Patrolman Evans gave the following testimony, without objection by defense counsel:

“Q. And what is your opinion relative to where the incident occurred in relationship to the intersection at Indiana and Third Street?
“A. The accident occurred right near the intersection of Indiana Avenue and [858]*858Third Street approximately twenty feet north of the east corner of the intersection.”

Later, in chambers, defendants’ counsel asserted that he would object if Evans “is going to try to determine the point of impact.” A lengthy discourse-followed between counsel and the court regarding Evans’s qualifications as an accident reconstruction expert. During the chamber discussion the trial court stated that, in the court’s opinion, Evans had already testified on the point of impact without objection by defendants’ counsel. The trial court ultimately determined that Evans was qualified to testify as an expert on such matters as braking distances and speed but that Evans would not be allowed to testify further with regard to the point of impact.

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Related

McKenzie v. Detenber
487 S.E.2d 497 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1997)
Garrett v. Nagel
417 N.W.2d 855 (North Dakota Court of Appeals, 1988)

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Bluebook (online)
417 N.W.2d 855, 1988 N.D. App. LEXIS 2, 1988 WL 493, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/garrett-v-nagel-ndctapp-1988.