Kirkpatrick v. Neal

153 S.W.2d 519, 1941 Tex. App. LEXIS 697
Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided June 25, 1941·No. No. 3857·Published·Cited by 22 cases

Opinion

O’QUINN, Justice.

This is an appeal by Blair Kirkpatrick, a minor (represented by his father, W. W. Kirkpatrick, as guardian ad litem) from a judgment of the 127th district court of Harris County, Texas, in favor of Miss Hazel Neal, a minor (suing by and through her father, Robert Neal, as next friend, and Robert Neal for himself), in the sum of (after remittitur) $21,123.95, on account of personal injuries sustained by Miss Neal on June 17, 1939, while riding as a gratuitous guest (within the purview of the Texas Guest Statute) of appellant, Blair Kirkpatrick, in an automobile driven by him, owned by his father, W. W. Kirkpatrick. The amounts of damage found by the jury were: Miss Neal, $18,800; Robert Neal, her father, $5,000; and hospital and medical charges, $1,025, but of this re-mittitur was made of $3,500 from the amount awarded Robert Neal, the father, and $201.05 from the hospital and medical charges, leaving the sum of $21,123.95 recovered in the judgment. Motion for' a new trial was overruled, and this appeal is from that order.

The case was tried to a jury upon special issues, in answer to which the jury found:

(1) That appellant was driving his automobile at a speed in excess of 45 miles per hour prior to the accident;
(2) That he was driving his automobile at a speed which was dangerous under the circumstances;
(3) That he failed to keep a reasonable lookout;
(4) That he failed to keep his automobile under proper control;
(5) That he failed to reduce the speed of the automobile;
(6) That he failed to stop the automobile;
(7) That he failed to apply the brakes on the automobile.

The jury further found (in answer to separate issues) that each of the above men[521] tioned acts or omissions was done by appellant “in heedless and reckless disregard” of the rights of the minor plaintiff Hazel Neal, and that each of said acts or omissions of appellant was a proximate cause of the injuries sustained by appellee Hazel Neal in the collision between the automobile in which she was riding (as the unpaid guest of appellant Blair Kirkpatrick) and a bridge on the highway over which they were driving. The jury further found that the collision between the automobile and the bridge was not the result of an unavoidable accident, and answered all defensive issues submitted in favor of ap-pellees.

Appellant’s first seven propositions complain that the evidence disclosed by the record was insufficient to raise a jury issue as to whether appellant, Blair Kirkpatrick, in operating the automobile at the time of the collision, under the circumstances, was guilty of heedless and reckless disregard of the safety and rights of appellee, Hazel Neal, in respect to (a) the speed at which he was driving his automobile, (b) his failure to keep a reasonable lookout, (c) his failure to keep his automobile under proper control, (d) his failure to reduce the speed of the automobile so as to avoid the collision, (e) his failure to stop the automobile so as to avoid the collision, and (f) his failure to apply the brakes on the automobile within such time and at such distance as to avoid the collision, and therefore such issues should not have been submitted to the jury, and that the answers of the jury finding these acts to have been committed by appellant in heedless and reckless disregard of the rights of appellee Hazel Neal should be set aside.

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Kirkpatrick v. Neal, 153 S.W.2d 519, 1941 Tex. App. LEXIS 697 (Tex. Ct. App. 1941).

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