Jones v. Talbot

394 P.2d 316, 87 Idaho 498, 1964 Ida. LEXIS 262
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedJuly 23, 1964
Docket9433
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 394 P.2d 316 (Jones v. Talbot) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jones v. Talbot, 394 P.2d 316, 87 Idaho 498, 1964 Ida. LEXIS 262 (Idaho 1964).

Opinion

*501 McQUADE, Justice.

On January 8, 1962, plaintiff-appellant, H. Alvaro Jones, filed a complaint against the defendant-respondent, Albert V. Talbot, seeking general and special damages for injuries. It was alleged therein that respondent had driven his automobile in a negligent manner causing a collision with a motorcycle driven by appellant. An amended complaint was filed on February 17, 1962.

Respondent filed an answer to the amended complaint on March 2, 1962, in which he denied negligence and alleged contributory negligence on' the part of appellant. Respondent further alleged that appellant had the last clear chance to avoid the accident.

The jury verdict was rendered in favor of respondent and against appellant. Judgment for respondent on the jury verdict *502 was duly entered,' from which appellant takes this appeal.

Main Street in Preston, Idaho, is U. S. Highway 91 and State Highway 34. It runs north and south and is wide enough to accommodate two lanes for vehicular travel in each direction in addition to a parking lane on each side for parallel parking.

On Sunday morning, March 19, 1961, appellant and his brother-in-law, Bud Call, were riding appellant’s Harley-Davidson motorcycle on the inside lane for northbound traffic on Preston’s main street. Appellant slowed at the Oneida Street intersection, shifted gears and continued north. The highway was dry and the weather was clear and bright.

Shortly prior thereto, respondent and his son-in-law, Raymond L. Villiard, drove into and parked in an alleyway immediately north of the Arctic Circle Drive Inn on the east side of Main Street in Preston. Their purpose was to look at a used Dodge automobile in the car lot near the alley. After spending approximately ten minutes in the car lot, the pair returned to respondent’s automobile, a 1955 Plymouth, and respondent began to drive out of the alleyway and onto Main Street. His purpose was to cross the northbound traffic lanes and turn south.

Respondent’s view to his left was obstructed by the Arctic Circle building until he arrived at the sidewalk area. However,, he testified at the trial that the road appeared to be clear when he pulled out into-the main stream of traffic and he only saw-appellant’s motorcycle when it was about, to strike the front of his automobile. Respondent further testified that he then accelerated the speed of his automobile in an-unsuccessful attempt to avoid a collision.

Appellant’s motorcycle struck the automobile near its left rear door and wheel. After the impact the automobile was facing-east while appellant and Call were found-some distance north of the point of impact. There were 24 feet of skid marks to the-point of impact left by the motorcycle and', no skid marks left by respondent’s Plymouth automobile. The collision occurred iru midblock across from the Arctic Circle-Drive Inn and approximately 300 feet north*, of the Oneida Street intersection.

At the trial appellant produced evidence-tending to show that respondent was negligent in failing to yield the right-of-way and', in failing to stop before entering the main-street. Respondent, on the other hand, produced evidence tending to show that appellant was contributorily negligent in speeding and failing to keep a proper lookout. As noted previously, the jury awarded its-, verdict to respondent.

Appellant contends that the jury arrived at its verdict because of errors whichs. *503 -were committed by the trial court. Specifically, appellant asserts the trial court -erred in refusing to admit certain evidence and testimony and in giving and omitting -certain instructions.

The investigating officer testified that shortly after the collision occurred the respondent admitted that “he was at fault, that he would take care of it.” This admission was again received into evidence when the appellant testified that in various cc«iversations after the collision respondent 'had said to appellant that “he was sorry that it happened and he still figured he was -to blame for what happened, * *

In the same context, however, appellant attempted to introduce into evidence a conwersation which supposedly occurred sever.al months after the crash, in which respondent allegedly told appellant “he had received a ticket for failure to yield the right-of-way; that he felt that he was .-guilty, and that he pleaded guilty and paid a fine,” and “that he had received a ticket for failure to yield the right-of-way, that 'his insurance man told him to plead not .guilty, but that he felt that he was guilty, .and that he did plead guilty and paid a fine.” Upon timely objection by respondent, -the trial court held the conversation was in.-admissible because of I.C. § 49-1119:

“Evidence of conviction inadmissible in a civil action.- — No evidence of the •conviction of any person for any violation of this act shall be admissible in any court in any civil action.”

Appellant contends that the statute does not apply in this instance. He argues that it was not his intent to introduce evidence of a conviction but merely evidence of a plea of guilty and that the statute does not exclude evidence of a plea.

In Utah Farm Bureau Ins. Co. v. Chugg, 6 Utah 2d 399, 315 P.2d 277, 279-280 (1957), the Utah Supreme Court, under an identical statute, considered the same question raised herein as follows:

“Appellant also contends that the court erred in admitting in evidence as an admission against interest a plea of guilty to drunken driving by Chugg in a criminal proceeding arising out of the accident involved herein because Sec. 41-6-170, U.C.A.1953, provides that:
“ ‘No record of the conviction of any person for any violation of this act shall be admissible as evidence in any court in any civil action.’ (Uniform Act Regulating Traffic on Highways.)
“We agree. The above quoted statute clearly prohibits the admission in evidence of a record of conviction of a violation of the Uniform Act Regulating Traffic on Highways. A plea of guilty is as much a conviction as a *504 verdict and judgment to that effect and therefore under the provisions of this statute should not have been admitted in evidence. * * * ”

The same conclusion also has been reached by the Supreme Courts of Colorado and Minnesota under similar statutes. Ripple v. Brack, 132 Colo. 125, 286 P.2d 625. (1955); Warren v. Marsh, 215 Minn. 615, 11 N.W.2d 528 (1943). In both jurisdictions it was pointed out that any other construction of the statute would fail to take into consideration the general purpose of the legislature in enacting such a provision. As noted by the trial court, appellant’s purpose was to achieve by indirection what the statute prohibits directly. The evidence was properly excluded.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
394 P.2d 316, 87 Idaho 498, 1964 Ida. LEXIS 262, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jones-v-talbot-idaho-1964.