Guinn v. Kemp

136 So. 764, 18 La. App. 3, 1931 La. App. LEXIS 580
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 7, 1931
DocketNos. 832 and 833
StatusPublished
Cited by110 cases

This text of 136 So. 764 (Guinn v. Kemp) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Guinn v. Kemp, 136 So. 764, 18 La. App. 3, 1931 La. App. LEXIS 580 (La. Ct. App. 1931).

Opinion

ELLIOTT, J.

• An automobile belonging to and while being driven by Mrs. Ola Guinn, widow of W. J. Guinn, deceased, and in which was riding as her guest Eugenia Guinn, her niece, minor daughter of J. L. Guinn, was struck by an automobile belonging to W. J. Kemp, while being driven by his wife, Mrs. Pearler Kemp, with the result that Mrs. Ola Guinn and Eugenia Guinn were both badly injured.

The collision occurred on September 10, 1930, in the city of Baton Rouge, Subdivision Istrouma, at the intersection of Ontario and Pocahontas streets.

Mrs. Ola Guinn brought suit against W. J. Kemp and his wife, Mrs. W. J. Kemp, for damages resulting from the collision. Her claim is for physician’s and nurse’s fees, medical and surgical bills, pain and suffering, impairment of hearing, and loss of her automobile — a total of $7,800.

J. L. Guinn brought suit at the same •time for $300 as due himself on account of physician’s and nurse’s fees, medical, hospital, surgical bills, and X-ray pictures necessary in the treatment of his . daughter Eugenia. He further claims of them the sum of $10,000 for the use and benefit of his daughter Eugenia on account of her personal injuries, impairments, pain, and suffering — a total of $10,300. The petitions of the two plaintiffs each allege that the collision was due to the reckless, excessive speed and want of care on the part of Mrs. Kemp in driving her automobile into said intersection from Pocahontas street, into which the plaintiff Mrs. Ola Guinn had already entered from Ontario street.

That the defendant W. J. Kemp has an insurance policy in the Georgia Casualty Company under the terms of which the said company being primarily liable to each of them for the amount claimed, the company was made a party defendant in each case.

W. J. Kemp and Georgia Casualty Company each filed an exception of misjoinder in each of the suits, urging that the casualty company should not have been made a party defendant. While this exception was pending and without action having been taken thereon, Georgia Casualty Company filed a further exception of no cause or right of action, in that $5,000 being the limit of the policy issued to W. J. Kemp, it could not be sued for an amount in excess of that sum. That no suit should be filed on the policy until after the amount of the loss had been fixed and rendered certain by a final judgment against the assured. It further urged alternatively that the Act No. 55 of 1930 under which the suit against it had been brought, if applied to the policy in question, was unconstitutional.

The exception of no right or cause of action was sustained and both suits as to Georgia Casualty Company were dismissed.

There was no appeal from that ruling. This judgment of dismissal, in so far as regards the joinder of Georgia Casualty Company as a defendant herein, is therefore not before us on appeal and calls for no action on oui part. The failure 'to appeal from this judgment also eliminates from the case the question of applicability of Act No. 55 of 1930 to the policy in question.

The defendants Mr. and Mrs. Kemp, each answering each of the suits, deny the negligence alleged by the plaintiffs against Mrs. Kemp and allege that the collision was due entirely to the fault and negligence of the plaintiff Mrs. Ola Guinn and [5]*5Eugenia Guinn. In the alternative and in case it be found that there was negligence or want of care on the part of Mrs. Kemp, they allege that there was also negligence and want of care on the part of Mrs. Guinn and Eugenia Guinn, leading to the collision; that their negligence contributed to bring it about and that no recovery could be had of them on said account.

The two suits, each based on the same collision, the defenses in each being practically the same, the issue in each largely dependent on the same testimony, were consolidated, tried together, and decided in the same judgment.

There was judgment in the lower court in favor of Mrs. Ola Guinn and against Mrs. W. J. Kemp for $1,200, and in favor of J. L. Guinn and against Mrs. W. J. Kemp for $3,000 for the use and benefit of Eugenia Guinn.

No judgment was rendered on the demand of Mrs. Ola Guinn and J. L. Guinn against W. J. Kemp.

The failure of the lower court to act on the demand of Mrs. Ola Guinn and J. L. Guinn against W. J. Kemp amounts to a rejection of their demand against him. The failure is not urged in plaintiffs’ brief as error, so we look on plaintiffs’ claim against W. J. Kemp as abandoned and have not considered it on appeal.

The court did not act on the claim of J. L. Guinn individually against Mrs. W. J. Kemp for $300, for which he was obligated legally as father of Eugenia. The failure amounts to a rejection of the same, but J. L. Guinn has appealed and urges i’n his brief that this was error; consequently this matter will be reviewed.

The' petition of the plaintiffs aver, and the answer of the defendants practically admits, that the Subdivision Istrouma is within the limits of the city of Baton Rouge, but the city ordinances concerning speed, traffic, rights of way, etc., at the place in question, if any exist, were not offered in evidence, proven on the trial, and there - are no admissions in¡ the record on the subject.

Act No. 169 of 1898, with amendments, under which the city of Baton Rouge was incorporated, contains no provisions, of the kind mentioned.

The evidence shows that Ontario and Pocahontas streets are both public streets and used as such by the public.

Speaking generally all streets may be said to be highways.' Elliott on Roads and Streets (3d Ed.) subject Streets, sec. 1®, p. 21; Dillon on Municipal Corporations, vol. 2, subject Streets, pp. 805 and 806, secs. 676 and 680.

All highways are not streets, but the streets in question may be regarded as coming within the law on that subject.

The word “highway” is defined in Act No. 296 of 1928 (section 2) to mean, “Every way or place of whatever nature open to the use of -the public, as a matter of right, for purposes of vehicular travel.”

The word “street” is used in the title of the act and in section 11 of the body of the act.

The term “local authorities” is defined in the act (section 2) to mean, “Every parish, municipal and other local board or body having authority to adopt local police regulations under the constitution and laws of this State.”

Section 5, subsection (c), section 18, subsection (b), and section 35 makes the traffic and speed ordinances, and regulations [6]*6of local authorities, 'subservient to the act, except in particular and specified instances. In this instance no ordinance, regulation, or other provision of the city of Baton Rouge. having been produced, we take as governing law the Highway Act to! the extent applicable to an intersection of the kind in question.

The evidence shows that.Mrs. Ola Guinn was driving west on, Ontario, and Mrs. Kemp south. on Pocahontas streets, at about 9 o’clock a. m. on the day stated. Weather conditions are not spoken of as unfavorable to seeing ahead. We therefore assume that ordinary weather conditions as to seeing prevailed at the time.

The speed at which Mrs. Guinn and Mrs. Kemp were each driving and the care' or want of care which each observed on entering the intersection are therefore matters of great importance in the determination of the case.

Mrs.

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Bluebook (online)
136 So. 764, 18 La. App. 3, 1931 La. App. LEXIS 580, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/guinn-v-kemp-lactapp-1931.