Halkias v. Wilkoff Co.

46 N.E.2d 199, 141 Ohio St. 139, 141 Ohio St. (N.S.) 139, 25 Ohio Op. 257, 1943 Ohio LEXIS 401
CourtOhio Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 24, 1943
Docket29096
StatusPublished
Cited by62 cases

This text of 46 N.E.2d 199 (Halkias v. Wilkoff Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Halkias v. Wilkoff Co., 46 N.E.2d 199, 141 Ohio St. 139, 141 Ohio St. (N.S.) 139, 25 Ohio Op. 257, 1943 Ohio LEXIS 401 (Ohio 1943).

Opinions

Hart, J.

Substantially, the sole controversy in this-case relates to the question whether the person who-operated the crane causing plaintiff’s injury was at the time acting as .an employee of the defendant and had authority to perform such operation.

The testimony offered by the plaintiff in chief showed that some person without notice to the plaintiff, undertook to operate and did operate the crane from its position at the end to a point near the center of the *142 building where the wheels or truck of the crane came in contact with the plaintiff while he was at work near the crane track on one of the sidewalls of the building. This crane operator was not identified either as to name or as to his employer. No testimony was offered as to his authority to move or operate the crane. At the close of plaintiff’s testimony the defendant moved for a dismissal of the action and also for a directed verdict in favor of the defendant. Both motions were overruled.

Of course, to establish a cause of action, it was essential for the plaintiff to show that the operator of the crane was an employee of the defendant and had authority to operate it at the time of the accident. Lima Ry. Co. v. Little, 67 Ohio St., 91, 65 N. E., 861; White Oak Coal Co. v. Rivoux, Admx., 88 Ohio St., 18, 102 N. E., 302. The burden to produce such proof by a preponderance of the evidence was upon the plaintiff.

Does the fact that the crane was located on the premises of the defendant and was there being operated, give rise to an inference that the operator was an employee of the defendant and had authority to so operate it?

The general rule is that the law raises no presumption of agency. It is a matter to be proved. 2 American Jurisprudence, 349, Section 442. Some courts, however, hold that proof of ownership of an instrumentality, such as the crane in this case, is sufficient to establish a prima facie case that a person operating pt is in the owner’s employ for that purpose, and as such is, at a- specific time, acting within the scope of his authority.

This court, however, is committed to the proposition that proof of ownership alone is not sufficient to raise such an inference of fact. To raise such an inference, it must be shown, in addition to such owner *143 ship, not only that the operator is an employee of the owner but that he is employed generally in the business of his employer to operate such instrumentality. White Oak Coat Co. v. Rivoux, Admx., supra; Lima Ry Co. v. Little, supra; Sobolovitz v. Lubric Oil Co., 107 Ohio St., 204, 140 N. E., 634; Braun v. Averdick, 113 Ohio St., 613, 150 N. E., 41; Lashure v. East Ohio Gas Co., 119 Ohio St., 9, 162 N. E., 41; Tice v. Crowder, 119 Kan., 494, 240 P., 964, 42 A. L. R., 893, and annotation. See, also, Judson v. Bee Hive Auto Service Co., 136 Ore., 1, 297 P., 1050, 74 A. L. R., 944, and annotation; Miller v. Service & Sales, Inc., 149 Ore., 11, 38 P. (2d), 995, 96 A. L. R., 628, and annotation; 26 Ohio Jurisprudence, 679 and 680, Sections 674 and 676.

This rule has been adhered to by the Courts of Appeals of this state in a long series of decisions. Rosenberg, a Minor, v. Reynolds, 11 Ohio App., 66, 70, 72; Rad, Jr., v. Gamble, 13 Ohio App., 488, 490; Schmidt & Schmidt, Partners, v. Schwab, 17 Ohio App., 127, 128; Holmes v. Yellow Taxicab Co., 28 Ohio App., 382, 385, 386, 162 N. E., 710; Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. v. Marhofer, 38 Ohio App., 143, 147, 176 N. E., 120. See, also, House v. Stark Iron & Metal Co. (Ohio App.), 34 N. E. (2d), 592.

In support of this rule, Judge Newman, in the course of his opinion in the case of White Oak Coal Co. v. Rivoux, Admx., supra, decided by a unanimous court, said:

“There are some authorities which go to the extent of holding that where the plaintiff has suffered injury from the negligent management of a vehicle, it is sufficient prima facie evidence that the negligence is imputable to defendant, when it is shown that he is the owner of the vehicle, without even proving affirmatively that the person in charge is the defendant’s servant. * *
“But this court is not in accord with the authorities *144 ■which hold that a prima facie case of negligence is .made against a defendant upon the mere showing that he was the owner of the negligently operated automobile. Such a rule would be unjust and would work hardships. An automobile may be in the possession of one who wrongfully appropriates it to his own use, yet, under that doctrine, if such person negligently operates it to the injury of a third person, a prima ¡facie case of negligence would be imputed to the owner. .Nor do we think that proof of the additional fact that .the operator was an employee of the owner raises a presumption of negligence against him, unless it appears that the duties of the employee are in connection with the automobile or that he was operating the same >with the authority — express or implied — of the owner.”

In the case of Sobolovitz w. Lubric Oil Co., supra, .the plaintiff sought a recovery from the defendant by •showing only that the truck which injured him bore •the name of the defendant company, without any identification of the operator of the truck or his relationship, if any, to the defendant. Judge Robinson, delivering the opinion in that case, said:

“In the instant case the jury, in the absence of proof to the contrary, were justified in inferring the ownership of the truck by reason of the name of the •defendant being upon it. But upon that inference it •could not base an inference that the truck was being •operated by a servant of the defendant, or that it was being operated in furtherance of the business of the •defendant.
“This court would be loath to lay down a rule which •would relieve the plaintiff of the burden of proving the essential facts necessary to create liability and impose upon the defendant in the first instance the burden of proving the non-existence of such facts. But, on the contrary, the majority of this court adhere to the rule that before the defendant is put upon his *145 defense the plaintiff must produce some proof of every fact necessary to create a liability, or some proof of a fact from which a reasonable inference may be deduced which tends to create a liability, and that an inference cannot be predicated upon an inference.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
46 N.E.2d 199, 141 Ohio St. 139, 141 Ohio St. (N.S.) 139, 25 Ohio Op. 257, 1943 Ohio LEXIS 401, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/halkias-v-wilkoff-co-ohio-1943.