Hennings v. Schufeldt

384 N.W.2d 274, 222 Neb. 416, 1986 Neb. LEXIS 919
CourtNebraska Supreme Court
DecidedApril 4, 1986
Docket84-968
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 384 N.W.2d 274 (Hennings v. Schufeldt) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Nebraska Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hennings v. Schufeldt, 384 N.W.2d 274, 222 Neb. 416, 1986 Neb. LEXIS 919 (Neb. 1986).

Opinions

Per Curiam.

This case arose out of a motorcycle-pedestrian accident that occurred in Louisville, Nebraska, on April 9, 1983. The plaintiff, Dayton Hennings, was walking across Main Street between intersections when he was struck by a motorcycle operated by the defendant Scott C. Schufeldt. Farmers Mutual Insurance Company of Nebraska was joined as a party defendant because it had issued a policy of insurance to the [418]*418plaintiff which provided coverage against uninsured motorists.

At the close of all the evidence the trial court sustained the defendants’ motion for a directed verdict. The plaintiff has appealed and claims that the trial court erred in sustaining the defendants’ motion for directed verdict.

The accident occurred between 7 and 7:30 p.m. It was dark and misting at the time of the accident. The plaintiff was dressed in dark clothing, but a street light illuminated the accident site fairly well.

On the night of the accident the plaintiff had driven to Louisville to speak with his wife’s employer at Schram’s Restaurant and Lounge. Schram’s is located on the east side of Main Street, about two-thirds of a block south of 2d Street. Main is a two-lane street which runs north and south and is intersected by 2d Street to the north and 3d Street to the south. It is 58 feet wide and has diagonal parking on both sides.

After parking his car on the west side of Main, directly across from Schram’s, the plaintiff crossed the street. Following a brief conversation with Thomas Michael Schram, Jr. (Mike Schram), the plaintiff left the sidewalk in front of Schram’s, intending to cross the street to his car. The path the plaintiff took was located between intersections and was not a crosswalk. He walked between cars which were diagonally parked on the east side of Main Street in front of Schram’s. After he had passed between the cars, he looked both to his left (south) and right (north). He saw no traffic to his left. To his right he saw a small light by the Flower Patch, a florist’s shop located over two-thirds of a block to the north, on the northwest corner of 2d Street and Maim He believed the light to be coming toward him. Thinking he had adequate time to cross, the plaintiff proceeded to walk straight west across the street. The plaintiff was nearly 60 years old and had an artificial right leg. He walked with a cane and was said to walk slower than the average person, due to the artificial leg.

The defendant testified that he had not passed the Flower Patch on Main Street but, instead, had turned left onto Main from East 2d Street. He also testified that he did not see the plaintiff until just before the collision and that, at that time, the plaintiff was looking west and down toward the ground a bit, [419]*419not at the defendant. In deposition statements the defendant said that at the time of the accident his motorcycle lights were on, he was driving 15 m.p.h. in a 20 m.p.h. zone, and he was looking straight through the windshield, which he later testified had not collected enough rain to obstruct his view.

Neither party was aware of other traffic on the street when the accident occurred. The defendant stated that he was not sure which direction the plaintiff had come from, but he thought he came from the east because the plaintiff was facing west when the collision occurred. He also indicated that because he did not see the plaintiff until just before the collision, he had not had time to brake to avoid the plaintiff. The testimony was uncontradicted that it was commonplace to cross streets between intersections in Louisville.

Somewhere in the southbound lane of Main Street, the plaintiff collided with the fairing near the handlebars on the left front side of the southbound motorcycle driven by the defendant. The plaintiff was spun around by the impact and fell to a sitting position in the street.

At the close of the plaintiff’s case, the defendants made a motion for a directed verdict, which was overruled. No further evidence was adduced, and the defendants renewed their motion for a directed verdict. This time the motion was sustained, the court ruling

that when one moves from the place of safety and could have seen the approaching vehicle in close proximity to him and suddenly moves into the path of the vehicle and he’s struck, his own conduct is contributory negligence more than slight, which is a matter of law and precludes his recovery.

The court also noted that it had not originally sustained the motion at the end of the plaintiff’s case because, at that point, the evidence had to be treated in the light most favorable to the plaintiff and, as such, was too close to direct the verdict. In considering the renewed motion the court stated that it would consider the evidence as it was, not in the light most favorable to the plaintiff.

This court, when reviewing an order sustaining a motion for directed verdict, will construe all controverted facts and [420]*420inferences arising from the evidence in favor of the party against whom the verdict was granted. Mitchell v. Kesting, 221 Neb. 506, 378 N.W.2d 188 (1985). Where the facts adduced on an issue are such that reasonable minds can draw but one conclusion, the court must decide the question as a matter of law rather than submit it to the jury for determination. Poppe v. Petersen, 221 Neb. 877, 381 N.W.2d 534 (1986).

Although it appears the trial court did not view the evidence in a light most favorable to the plaintiff in directing a verdict, we believe the trial court reached the correct result in directing the verdict for the defendants. “A proper judgment will not be reversed even if the trial court gave the wrong reasons for its rendition.” Kresha v. Kresha, 220 Neb. 598, 602, 371 N.W.2d 280, 283 (1985).

In the amended petition the plaintiff alleged that the defendant Schufeldt was negligent in the following particulars:

a. In failing to have his vehicle under reasonable control;
b. In failing to keep a proper lookout for the plaintiff;
c. In failing to yield the right of way to the plaintiff;
d. In operating his vehicle at an excessive rate of speed; that is, a rate of speed that was greater than was reasonable and prudent under the circumstances then and there existing.

In his answer the defendant Schufeldt denied the plaintiff’s allegations of negligence and alleged that the plaintiff’s own negligence was more than slight and sufficient to bar his recovery from the defendants. In particular, he alleged that the plaintiff was negligent in (1) failing to keep a proper lookout for the vehicle operated by Schufeldt, (2) failing to yield the right-of-way to the vehicle operated by Schufeldt, and (3) failing to cross the street within a designated pedestrian crosswalk.

On direct examination the plaintiff testified that as he got into the street he looked back and forth but was not aware of the motorcycle again until he collided with it. On cross-examination the plaintiff testified that his eyesight and hearing were good on the night of the accident.

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Hennings v. Schufeldt
384 N.W.2d 274 (Nebraska Supreme Court, 1986)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
384 N.W.2d 274, 222 Neb. 416, 1986 Neb. LEXIS 919, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hennings-v-schufeldt-neb-1986.