Hubbard v. United States

295 F. Supp. 524, 1969 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8332
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Virginia
DecidedJanuary 21, 1969
DocketCiv. A. No. 4316
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 295 F. Supp. 524 (Hubbard v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hubbard v. United States, 295 F. Supp. 524, 1969 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8332 (E.D. Va. 1969).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

OREN R. LEWIS, District Judge.

The plaintiff, Henry C. Hubbard, was shot while deer hunting on a United States military reservation. This suit for damages against the United States and one Silvio Conte followed.

In count one of his complaint Mr. Hubbard alleges that the commanding officer of the military reservation where the deer hunt was conducted, and his subordinate officers, were negligent in authorizing Congressman Conte and two other men, who did not attend the scheduled briefing the night before, to participate in the hunt and in failing to point out to the Congressman the spot where the plaintiff was standing on his right, and by placing him and the Congressman within range of their guns; and that said negligence was the direct and proximate cause of his injuries.

In count two Mr. Hubbard alleges that Congressman Conte, together with two others, were briefed by Army personnel on the routine and rules of the hunt, namely, that the hunters would stand at assigned positions and that the deer would be driven towards them; that he was advised where fellow hunters were to stand and was cautioned to learn and know the position of the hunter on his right and left; and that all of the hunters were cautioned to fire only to the front or back and not in the direction of their fellow hunters; that he (Hubbard) was stationed on the Congressman’s right flank some fifty or so yards to the south; that when two deer ran between them Congressman Conte fired his shotgun in the direction where he was standing, in a negligent manner, resulting in his being hit in the forehead, and that the Congressman’s negligence in so doing was the proximate cause of his injuries.

Mr. Hubbard prayed for damages against the United States and Congressman Conte, or either of them.

The United States in its answer denied all acts of negligence laid to its military officers and alleged that had Congressman Conte followed the instructions given him the accident would not have occurred. The Government further pled assumption of risk and contributory negligence on the part of the plaintiff, and claimed that Mr. Hubbard’s suit against it is barred by the indemnity agreement he signed prior to engaging in the hunt. It cross-claimed against the plaintiff for any damages assessed against it in this proceeding.

Congressman Conte in his answer admitted the negligence sought to be laid to the United States in count one of the complaint and denied all acts of negligence laid to him in count two thereof. He also pled assumption of risk and contributory negligence on the part of the plaintiff and alleges that the indemnity agreement signed by the plaintiff prior [527]*527to engaging in the hunt ran to him as a member of the Congress of the United States, and that if the said release be not so construed then the plaintiff’s suit against him is barred on the ground that Mr. Hubbard has released a party who is or may be a joint tort-feasor responsible for the injuries complained of.

Congressman Conte cross-claimed against the United States for damages assessed against him in favor of the plaintiff and demanded a jury trial on all issues.

Both claims, counts one and two, were heard together, the one against Congressman Conte by the jury and the one against the United States by the Court. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the defendant Conte. Judgment was entered thereon.

The plaintiff timely moved the Court to set aside the verdict and to vacate the judgment rendered thereon and to grant him a new trial on the ground the Court should not have given an instruction on assumption of risk and on contributory negligence, and upon the ground the Court improperly instructed the jury in telling them that in order to find in favor of the plaintiff they must find that Conte’s negligence was solely the cause of the plaintiff’s injury.

Upon reviewing the transcript of the evidence and the charge to the jury, the Court is of the opinion that the plaintiff’s motion for a new trial ought to be denied. An order to that end will be entered herein.

Much of the evidence as to what happened on the day of the hunt was in dispute. The jury could have found the shooting accidental, caused by Conte’s negligence, or the result of negligence on the part of Conte and Hubbard. The jury resolved the question in favor of Congressman Conte. There is ample evidence in the record to support that finding.

In the charge the jury was told that they would only determine the plaintiff’s claim against the defendant Conte and that they would not have the benefit of the Court’s decision in the plaintiff’s claim against the United States because the liability, if any, on the part of the Government is not in one iota dependent upon the liability or non-liability on the part of Mr. Conte. Conversely, the liability of Mr. Conte has no bearing whatsoever — if there be any liability on his part, Conte’s liability has no bearing whatsoever on Mr. Hubbard’s claim against the Government.

Pertinent portions of the charge read: “ * * * [T]his was a deer hunt. You should take that into consideration. * * [0]ne who voluntarily goes on a deer hunt, and this applies to * * * both the plaintiff * * * and the defendant, assumes the risk of injuries incident thereto and cannot recover for any injury received from such an activity, absent proof of negligence on the part of the person causing the injury complained of. In other words, reduced to simplicity, it gets back to the question of negligence.”

Negligence was defined as follows:

“ " * * [Njegligence is a word that you are all familiar with. It is, really, not hard if you stop to think, to consider it, and to apply it. Negligence is the failure of a person to use for the safety of another the care required of him by law after he knows, or by the exercise of reasonable diligence, could know of the danger to such other person, and after he has had a reasonable opportunity to exercise such care. Negligence is the doing or not doing of some act which a reasonably prudent person would not do under the same or identical circumstances and conditions here existing. In other words, it is the failure to use ordinary care under the circumstances existing. “Ordinary care, in law, is that care which reasonably prudent persons — and here, the persons we are referring to are reasonably prudent deer hunters — exercise in the management of their own affairs in order to avoid injury to themselves or their property or the persons or property of others.

“ * * * [Ojrdinary care is not an absolute term, but a relative one. That is [528]*528to say, in deciding whether ordinary care was exercised in a given case, the conduct in question must be viewed in the light of all the surrounding circumstances, as shown by the evidence in the case, * * * because the amount of care exercised by a reasonably prudent person varies in proportion to the danger known to be involved in what is being done, it follows that the amount of caution required in the use of ordinary care will vary with the nature of what is being done [under] all the surrounding circumstances [as] shown by the evidence in the case. * * * [P]ut [in] another way, as the danger that should be reasonably foreseen increases, so the amount of care required by law also increases.”

The jury was further told:

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
295 F. Supp. 524, 1969 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8332, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hubbard-v-united-states-vaed-1969.