J. M. Dellinger, Inc. v. McMillon

461 S.W.2d 471, 1970 Tex. App. LEXIS 1932
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedNovember 19, 1970
Docket528
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 461 S.W.2d 471 (J. M. Dellinger, Inc. v. McMillon) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
J. M. Dellinger, Inc. v. McMillon, 461 S.W.2d 471, 1970 Tex. App. LEXIS 1932 (Tex. Ct. App. 1970).

Opinion

OPINION

NYE, Justice.

This is a personal injury suit arising out of a one vehicle accident. The suit was instituted by Claude W. McMillon against J. M. Dellinger, Inc., a road building contractor. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company intervened to recover workmen’s compensation benefits which it had paid to McMillon. After the suit had been filed, McMillon died from a heart condition and his wife, Agnes M. McMillon continued the suit under the Texas Survival Act. (Art. 5525, Vernon’s Ann. Civ.St.).

The case was tried to a jury which answered various special issues convicting the defendant of negligence in several particulars and exonerating McMillon of contributory negligence. The jury found damages in favor of the plaintiff in the amount of $81,000.00 which was reduced to the sum of $75,000.00 in the judgment as being the amount sought by the plaintiff in his petition. The defendant has perfected its appeal to this Court. We affirm.

Appellant’s points one and two complain that there was no evidence and/or insufficient evidence to support the jury’s answer to special issue No. 5. Issue No. 5 inquired of the jury: “Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that on the occasion in question the Defendant, J. M. Dellinger, Inc., through its agents or employees, wet down the highway at the place of the accident at the time when a person of ordinary prudence in the exercise of ordinary care would not have done so?” The jury answered: “It did.”

The Statement of Facts reflects that the accident occurred at about 10:30 p. m. on June 21, 1960. McMillon had left Mc-Allen, Texas and had travelled 165 miles to the point where the accident took place *473 between Beeville and Berclair. The road from Beeville to a bridge 3½ miles out of Beeville was a black top type road. McMillon testified (by deposition) that there were no visible signs of construction work at all, from the time he left Bee-ville until he got to the bridge. He admitted there was a sign just outside of Beeville which said “Road under Construction.” McMillon testified that as he approached the bridge, the lane to the left was eight inches higher than the black top on which he was travelling. This elevation commenced about 150 feet before he reached the bridge. He testified that he was travelling about 38 to 40 miles per hour as he approached the bridge; that at about 75 to 100 feet from the bridge, there was mud on the pavement; and that at about 35 to 40 feet from the bridge, his truck began to slide. This caused the truck to jackknife, and then strike the corner of the bridge.

The testimony shows that John A. Sikes, an employee of the defendant, testified that he was working for the defendant on the highway construction job where the accident occurred. The construction job covered about 12 miles including the area where the bridge was located. He stated that his job was to cut down the old road bed, spread the existing pavement and put a new base of caliche on top of that. He testified that after this operation each day, it was his responsibility to get the highway ready to put traffic over it. In this connection he would stay and drive the maintainer. The caliche would then be watered down, and then the roller would come along and compact the caliche. The water that was used for wetting down the caliche was hauled by trucks owned by the defendant, with truck drivers who were employed by the defendant. Sikes testified that Mr. Gamble, the foreman, was responsible for putting out barricades and flares along the highway. With the exception of barricades at each end of the construction job, he did not remember any flares or barricades near the bridge on the night of the accident. Other witnesses testified that there were no warning signs, flares or barricades where the accident occurred. On the evening in question, it was nearly dark when Sikes wet down the caliche on the highway for the purpose of rolling it. As best he could recall, he was working on the Beeville side of the bridge where the accident occurred that day. He testified he did not recall exactly how close the construction was to the bridge at that time.

G. T. Hicks testified that when he arrived at the scene of the accident on the night of the occasion, the road was freshly graded. He noticed mud on his shoes as soon as he got out of his car. It was not raining and he could see down the embankment where the truck was. It was dry down there. Still another witness testified that he was standing in front of a cafe across the highway where the accident occurred and was talking to the man that owned the cafe. He observed that the road was wet and slick even though the weather was fair and nice. He testified that the particular condition of the road, i. e., (being wet and slick) was for a distance of about 150 feet before you got to the bridge. The road was wet only in that particular area. He further testified that this area had been graded out, watered and it was wet all the way through where they had watered it.

Finally, McMillon also testified that the weather was good and fair and it had not rained that day. He stated that the road was muddy in his lane of traffic as he approached the bridge, but he did not see the mud until he was in it. This was the only muddy area that he had travelled through.

When a no evidence point is raised by a point of error, the appellate courts consider only that evidence which, when viewed in its most favorable light, tends to support the jury’s finding. The court must disregard all evidence that would lead to a contrary conclusion. Thoreson v. Thompson, 431 S.W.2d 341 (Tex.Sup.1968). Reasonable inferences and legitimate conclusions are considered from the evidence re *474 ceived, if they tend to support the jury’s answer. It is clear that Sikes’ crew wet down the roadway just before dark on the night of the accident. The crew had knowledge of its slippery and muddy condition. There were no flares or warning signs to point out the change of the road conditions. The wet caliche looked just the same as the dry caliche. We believe the jury’s answer is supported by the evidence. Appellant’s points one and two are overruled. In re King’s Estate, 150 Tex. 662, 244 S.W.2d 660 (1951).

Special Issue No. 1 inquired of the jury as to whether from a preponderance of the evidence that on the occasion in question the defendant, J. M. Dellinger, Inc., through its agents or employees, failed to give such warning about the condition of the road surface of the highway at the place of the accident as would have been given by a person of ordinary prudence in the exercise of ordinary care under the same or similar circumstances. The jury answered “It did fail.”

Appellant, by points four, five and six complains that there was no evidence that the defendant, had a duty to warn, no evidence as to how the surface became slippery, and/or if it was slippery, there was no evidence as to when and how the defendant became aware of the slippery condition. The facts as we have outlined them hereinabove support the jury’s answer to the special issue. These points of error are overruled.

Appellant’s third point of error is that Special Issue No. 3 was a global issue and amounted to a general charge. Special Issue No.

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Bluebook (online)
461 S.W.2d 471, 1970 Tex. App. LEXIS 1932, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/j-m-dellinger-inc-v-mcmillon-texapp-1970.