Hartley v. A. I. Rodd Lumber Co.

276 N.W. 712, 282 Mich. 652, 1937 Mich. LEXIS 575
CourtMichigan Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 29, 1937
DocketDocket No. 47, Calendar No. 39,488.
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 276 N.W. 712 (Hartley v. A. I. Rodd Lumber Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hartley v. A. I. Rodd Lumber Co., 276 N.W. 712, 282 Mich. 652, 1937 Mich. LEXIS 575 (Mich. 1937).

Opinion

Pottee, J.

Plaintiff sued defendant to recover damages for personal injuries alleged to have been suffered through defendant’s negligence. From verdict and judgment for plaintiff, defendant appeals.

Plaintiff claimed she was driving an automobile in a southerly direction on highway US-23, at about 30 to 35 miles an hour, on her own side of the highway, and that at no time did she cross the center line of the highway or encroach upon the easterly *655 traffic lane thereof; as she approached Hickory Park, located on the westerly side of highway US-23, she observed a truck coming from the southerly direction belonging to the defendant and being operated by the president of defendant company; there was a driveway leading off the westerly side of the highway into Hickory Park and defendant’s driver intended to deliver a load of lumber with which the truck was loaded to the proprietor of the park; when defendant’s truck was about 25 feet south of plaintiff’s automobile, its driver, without any signal or warning, started to make an intended left turn and, after he had turned into the westerly traffic lane directly into plaintiff’s path, he sought to swing his truck to the right in an effort to get back on his own side of the road. Plaintiff testified the truck was crossing directly in front of her at an angle of 45 degrees and with its right side toward her when the two vehicles came into collision; that the point of first contact between her automobile and the truck was when the left front of her car and the right front fender of the truck came together; that defendant was occupying approximately half of the west traffic lane.

Defendant’s version of the affair is that as he came to a point opposite Hickory Park he started to make a turn to the loft to deliver the load of lumber at the park and saw plaintiff approaching rapidly from the opposite direction; that he stopped his truck on his own side of the road but with the left front wheel a few inches over the center line of the pavement. He testified he was practically stopped, that the truck might have rolled six inches; as he was waiting for plaintiff to pass, she suddenly swung her car sharply to the left and drove it almost head-on into the front of his truck; the points of first and most violent contact were the right front corner of *656 plaintiff’s car and the left front corner of the truck, the truck, however, being driven backward 20 feet, coming to rest facing the north and parallel with the pavement, with its right side just off the east edge of the paved portion of the highway, while plaintiff’s car rebounded four or five feet and-came to rest facing east or southeast, with the rear wheels off the west edge of the paved portion of the highway.

The facts contended for by the respective parties are in direct conflict. At the close of all the testimony, defendant tendered special questions and requested the court to instruct the jury to return answers to each. These special questions and the answers thereto were as follows:

“Special question No. 1.
‘ ‘ Did the automobile driven by the plaintiff strike the right side of defendant’s truck?
“Answer: No.
“Special question No. 2. •
“Did the left front headlight and a part of the radiator shell of the automobile driven by-plaintiff make an imprint in the front surface of the radiator core of defendant’s truck, as a result of the collision?
“Answer: No.
“Special question No. 3.
“Was the front end of the chassis on the left side of defendant’s truck bent toward the right side of said'truck?
“Answer: No.
“Special question No. 4.
“Was the-plaintiff continuing to drive the Chevrolet straight, ahead in the west lane of traffic until the instant of collision?
“Answer: Yes.”

The theory of plaintiff as shown by the declaration and transcript of the testimony, with one ex *657 ception hereinafter mentioned, was planted upon the claim defendant turned unexpectedly into her path and she hit the right front fender of defendant’s truck with the left front fender of her automobile. The exception is that defendant introduced some pictures showing the right front portion of the truck was intact after the accident. Plaintiff’s counsel, after he had rested his rebuttal, put plaintiff on the stand and asked her if, after Mr. Bodd had turned into her path, she saw him turn his truck to the right in an effort to get back upon the right side of the road. Plaintiff said yes. Defendant objected to this as improper and objectionable rebuttal. The court' allowed the testimony. Plaintiff’s counsel had laid the foundation therefor by asking Bodd upon cross-examination whether he did not, after swinging over to the lefthand or wrong side of the rqad, .attempt’ to swing his truck to the right and back oh tof the right side of the road. The order óf proof under the circumstances was in the sound discretion and judgment of the trial court. Brown v. Marshall, 47 Mich. 576 (41 Am. Rep. 728); Hoffman v. Harrington, 44 Mich. 183; 10 Encyc. of Evidence (1st Ed.), p. 640; 4 Wigmore on Evidence (2d Ed:),p. 28, § 1877.

The photographs introduced in evidence by do-" fendant Showed the right’side of defendant’struck was not damaged; the left front'end of the chassis’ on the left front side was bent to the right; the1 head-' light of plaintiff’s automobile whs' imprinted’ ih the radiator of defendant’s truck, as'stipulated by counsel. ’ ’

The jury, in answer to the special questions, 'found-controlling facts contrary to thé material, hlíégáti’ons of plaintiff’s declaration, to her testimony on her examination in chief, and contrary'to'the facts’as stipulated by counsel........'i: ' ' '

*658 Plaintiff calls attention to Bates v. Franson, 276 Midi. 79, where it is said:

“Unfortunately, physical science does not furnish us with any satisfactory rules by which we may deduce with any certainty from physical facts after the collision just what occurred immediately prior to and during the impact.”

In that case, the language used was in relation to skid marks on the surface of the road testified to by one side and controverted by the other.

The photographs involved remain unvarnished testimony of what took place. The reception thereof in evidence was proper. It was only after defendant introduced these photographs that plaintiff’s counsel attempted to change the theory upon which he based recovery by placing plaintiff upon the stand, after he had rested the rebuttal testimony, to testify defendant attempted to turn to the right after swinging in front of her.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
276 N.W. 712, 282 Mich. 652, 1937 Mich. LEXIS 575, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hartley-v-a-i-rodd-lumber-co-mich-1937.