Grossman v. Wells

282 S.W. 710, 314 Mo. 158, 1926 Mo. LEXIS 680
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedApril 12, 1926
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 282 S.W. 710 (Grossman v. Wells) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Grossman v. Wells, 282 S.W. 710, 314 Mo. 158, 1926 Mo. LEXIS 680 (Mo. 1926).

Opinion

*162 GRAVES, J.

Action for personal injuries against the receiver of the United Railways Company of St. Louis. The collision occurred between one of defend *163 ant’s street ears and plaintiff’s one-horse wagon at or near 3025 Olive Street in the city of St. Louis. The alleged negligence of the defendant is stated in the petition in this language:

“Plaintiff further says that said injuries were directly caused on account of the negligence of the defendant in this, to-wit:
“First. That the motorman in charge of said car saw or by the exercise of ordinary care could have seen plaintiff in a position of peril in time by the exercise of ordinary care to have stopped the oar or checked its speed or given plaintiff timely warning of its approach and thereby avoid any injury to plaintiff, but negligently failed to do so.
“Second. That the defendant neg]ig*ently failed to give plaintiff any warning of the approach of said car, thereby causing the injuries to plaintiff as aforesaid.
“Third. That on said date and long prior thereto Section 1055 of the Revised Code of the City of St. Louis for the year 1914 was in force, which is as follows:
“ ‘See. 1055. Regulations as to rate of speed.— No car shall be drawn or propelled at a speed greater than the rate of ten miles per hour in that part of the city bounded by the Mississippi River on the east, Arsenal Street on the south, and Grand Avenue and its prolongation to said river on the west and north, inclusive of both said streets, said districts so bounded to be known as central district, and no oar shall be drawn or propelled at a speed greater than at the rate of fifteen miles per hour in that part of the city not included in the said central district above bounded and described, to be known as the outer district.’
“That the place where plaintiff was injured whs in the central district as defined by said ordinance and that at the time defendant’s car was being negligently run at a rate of speed in excess of ten miles per hour, thereby causing plaintiff’s injuries as aforesaid.
*164 “Fourth. That on said date Subdivision 4 of Section 1054 of the Revised Code of the City of St. Louis for the year 1914 was in force, which is as follows:
“ ‘Fourth. The conductor, motorman, gripman, driver, or any other person in charge of each car, shall keep vigilant watch for all vehicles and persons on foot, especially children, either on the track or moving towards it, and on the first appearance of danger to such persons or vehicles, the car shall be stopped in the shortest time and'space possible.’
“That the motorman in charge of said car negligently failed to keep á vigilant watch for vehicles and persons on the track or moving toward it and on the first appearance of danger to plaintiff to stop the car in the shortest time and space possible with safety to the passengers, thereby causing plaintiff’s injuries as aforesaid.
‘ ‘Wherefore, plaintiff says that he has been damaged in the’ sum of twenty-five thousand dollars on account of the injuries sustained as aforesaid, for which he asks judgment against defendant with his costs.”

The answer was (1) a general denial, and (2)' a plea of contributory negligence. Reply was a general denial. Upon a trial before a jury a verdict was returned in favor of defendant. A timely motion for new trial having been filed and overruled, the plaintiff has appealed from the judgment entered upon the verdict aforesaid. The amount ($25,000) asked in the petition casts the appellate jurisdiction upon this court. The assignments of error are five in number.

Assignments 1, 2, 3 and 4 charge erroneous action by the trial court in the giving1 of instructions numbered 6, 7, 8 and 9 for the defendant. The fifth and last assignment is one which charges generally that the court erred in refusing to sustain plaintiff’s motion for new trial.

Details of the facts and a discussion of the assignments of error are left to the opinion. This is a general outline of the case.

*165 I. While there are five assignments of error, yet when learned counsel for appellant comes to his points and authorities only one, or, at most two, are seriously urged, and these go to the alleged errors in instructions. A short outline of the facts is required for a discussion of these argued points. In this, like all cases of this kind, the facts are conflicting. The evidence for plaintiff has been abstracted by counsel and this abstract is as short as I could make it. The plaintiff testified:

“My name is Max Grossman and I now live at L011-A Walton Avenue. I am forty-seven years old, and am in the junk business and was in that business on the 17th day of April, last year, and have been for about twenty-five years.
“I was injured about April 17th, last year, about 3025 Olive Street. Garrison Avenue is the first street east of that place, and it is east of Grand Avenue. I was hurt about 3:30 in the afternoon. I went into the Auto Top Company place at 3025 Ojlive Street and asked the boss if he had some stuff to sell and he said he had a little. It is a big place — regular automobile place. The building extends to the sidewalk — the front part of the building — on the building line. There is a driveway from Clive Street into the building. I judge the sidewalk in front of the building is about eleven feet wide, and from the edge of the sidewalk to the first rail of the car track on Olive Street is about the same distance— eleven feet. Olive Street from 3025 looking east, is straight; just a little curve. From the sidewalk in front of the building I could see east to Garrison Avenue, a distance of about three hundred feet.
“I drove into the building with a single wagon with one horse to it. After I got in I loaded this wagon with some material, and when I had it loaded I called to the man inside of the place and I said, ‘Won’t you please lead me out of the place’ and he said, ‘Yes, sir,’ and he went right out, and when he went out then he started to wave me with his hands, and he said ‘Nothing in view, you can come out, both sides are clear,’ and I came out *166 right to the door. I was about two or three feet from, the door when he said for me to come out. I was on the ground. I took the horse by the bridle and started to lead him, and when I got outside of the pavement I was looldng east and west. I was looking east as far as Garrison Avenue and I saw no car. I didn’t see anything — I mean a street car — no street car. There was no street car at that time between me and Garrison Avenue. When I looked again I was on the sidewalk pretty near the edge. I looked three or four times back and forth. The last time I looked I was at the track in front of the horse, and I saw no car.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
282 S.W. 710, 314 Mo. 158, 1926 Mo. LEXIS 680, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/grossman-v-wells-mo-1926.