Kimble v. Younger Bros.-J. M. English Truck Lines, Inc.

283 S.W.2d 254, 1955 Tex. App. LEXIS 2119
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 20, 1955
Docket12809
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 283 S.W.2d 254 (Kimble v. Younger Bros.-J. M. English Truck Lines, Inc.) 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
Kimble v. Younger Bros.-J. M. English Truck Lines, Inc., 283 S.W.2d 254, 1955 Tex. App. LEXIS 2119 (Tex. Ct. App. 1955).

Opinion

HAMBLEN, Chief Justice.

This litigation arose out of a collision between an automobile being driven by appellant and a truck owned and being operated by appellee. The collision occurred shortly after midnight on the morning of September 21, 1951, on U. S. Highway 59, about two miles south of Rosenberg. Appellant’s automobile was proceeding in a westerly direction when it was in a “sideswiping” collision with appellee’s truck proceeding in an easterly direction. The evidence is highly conflicting as to the position of the vehicles relative to the center line of the highway. It is undisputed that the: collision occurred at a point where the highway was a straight two-lane highway 24 feet in width; that appellant’s automobile was 5 to 6 feet in width, and appellee’s truck was eight feet in width; that the collision occurred when both vehicles were upon the paved portion of the highway; and that appellant received an injury to his left arm, necessitating its amputation above the elbow.

Trial of the disputed issues of fact was had before a jury in the District Court of Harris County. In response to special issues submitted, the jury found the collision to have been proximately caused by negligence on the part of appellee in failing to yield at least one-half of the main travelled portion of the highway, in failing to turn the truck to the right in time to avoid the collision, and in driving the truck to the left of the center line of the highway. Issues of contributory negligence were submitted, and in response- to issu'es Nos. 23, 24, and 25, the jury found the appellant negligent in failing to- turn his automobile to the right, which failure proximately caused the collision. The jury acquitted appellant of other submitted issues of negligence, including that of failing to have his automobile under proper control. Damages were assessed at approximately $9,000. Upon receipt of such verdict, the trial court entered judgment denying recovery by appellant.

The judgment of the trial court is attacked by appellant in four asserted points of error. By points Nos. 1 and 2, appellant contends that the trial court erred in submitting and in failing to disregard the jury’s answers to issues Nos. 23, 24, and 25, which relate to the failure of appellant to turn his automobile to the right. We overrule the points.

The basis of appellant’s argument is that the ultimate and controlling fact issue raised by the evidence was properly submitted by the court in the issues relating to the failure of appellant to have his automobile under proper control, and that the submission of the issues relative to appellant’s failure to turn to the right constituted the submission of a mere shade, phase and degree of that .ultimate issue and was, therefore, error. As a corollary argument, appellant contends that the court should have disregarded the jury findings in response to issues Nos. ,23, 24, and 25, which he terms evidentiary issues, and should have entered judgment upon the jury findings that appellant did not fail to have his automobile under proper control, which, he contends, is the controlling issue.

Such contentions made by appellant are not the law in Texas. On the other hand, it has been clearly and consistently held that a failure to find that there has been improper control of a vehicle does not conflict with, nor override, a specific finding of some act of omission or commission which might, in the broad sense, be considered to constitute one of the elements of *256 ■proper control of a vehicle. Dorsey v. Younger Bros., Tex.Civ.App., 216 S.W.2d 294; Manlove v. Lavelle, Tex.Civ.App., 235 S.W. 324; Smith v. Young, Tex.Civ.App., 147 S.W.2d 859; Rankin v. Joe D. Hughes, Inc., Tex.Civ.App., 161 S.W.2d 883; Akers v. Epperson, Tex.Civ.App., 172 S.W.2d 512. In the present case it is undisputed that appellant did not turn his vehicle to the right. There is evidence that the collision happened at a point in close proximity to the center line of the paved portion of the highway. The inference is permissible, if not,, compelled, if that evidence be believed, that by turning to the right, appellant could have avoided the collision. It was appellee’s defensive theory ■of the lawsuit that appellant’s failure to so turn, constituted contributory negligence and a proximate cause of the collision. Appellee was entitled to a submission of that theory. Fox v. Dallas Hotel Co., 111 Tex. 461, 240 S.W. 517; Roosth & Genecov Production Co. v. White, 152 Tex. 619, 262 S.W.2d 99. In view of the nature of this ■collision, the jury finding that appellant’s failure to turn to the right constituted negligence proximately causing the collision does not in any way conflict with, but on the other hand is entirely consistent with, the finding that appellant did not fail to have his vehicle under proper control. We do not consider the decisions of the Supreme Court in Northeast Texas Motor Lines v. Hodges, 138 Tex. 280, 158 S.W.2d 487, and Schuhmacher Co. v. Holcomb, 142 Tex. 332, 177 S.W.2d 951, cited by appellant to be factually analogous nor legally applicable to the present case.

Appellant’s third and fourth points are directed to the asserted error of the trial court in refusing to grant a new trial because of jury misconduct. The substance of the complaint is that during the deliberations of the jury the foreman made representations to the panel that it would make no difference, in so far as appellant’s right to recovery was concerned, how the jury answered Special Issues Nos. 23, 24, and 25, as a result of which representation the jurors answered said issues adversely to appellant, even though they did not think he was negligent, or alternatively that they, as a result of such representation, changed their answers to such issues. Aside from the motion for a new trial, the record upon this issue consists of the transcription of the testimony of two jurors taken at the hearing of the motion. This transcript is 25 pages in length, and is obviously too lengthy to incorporate in this opinion. We have carefully examined it, and, after doing so, conclude that the appellant’s points three and four must be overruled.

Each of the jurors who were interrogated testified that during their deliberations some one of their number expressed the opinion that it wouldn’t make any difference how they answered Special Issue No. 23. They likewise testified that because of such representation they answered the issue adversely to appellant, even though they did not think he was negligent. However, on further examination, both by counsel, and by the court, these witnesses testified that they did not know who had made the statement; that other members of the panel had expressed a contrary opinion; that during their deliberations, which extended over a period of three days they had long discussions about all of the issues submitted; and finally, each witness, in contradiction to his original testimony, stated that he answered the issue according to the evidence. We quote the following cross-examination of one of the jurors:

“Q.

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Bluebook (online)
283 S.W.2d 254, 1955 Tex. App. LEXIS 2119, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kimble-v-younger-bros-j-m-english-truck-lines-inc-texapp-1955.