Lacy v. Grinsteinner

190 N.W.2d 11, 1971 N.D. LEXIS 140
CourtNorth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedSeptember 7, 1971
Docket8614
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 190 N.W.2d 11 (Lacy v. Grinsteinner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering North Dakota Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lacy v. Grinsteinner, 190 N.W.2d 11, 1971 N.D. LEXIS 140 (N.D. 1971).

Opinion

*13 KNUDSON, Judge.

This is an appeal from a judgment in favor of the plaintiff against the defendants in the sum of $39,320.42 for personal injuries sustained by the plaintiff in an automobile accident caused by the joint and several negligence of the defendants. The case was tried to the court without a jury and a trial de novo has been demanded.

On the morning of July 1, 1967, at about 7:50 a. m., the plaintiff Andrew J. Lacy was unloading office equipment from a station wagon parked parallel along the curb in the street in front of his employer, Copying and Visual Products Company, in Minot. Mr. Lacy was standing at the rear of the station wagon unloading office equipment when he was struck by the automobile driven by Mr. Grinsteinner. Mr. Grinsteinner had driven up with intentions to parallel park the automobile along the curb behind Mr. Lacy’s station wagon. Mr. Grinsteinner was unable to stop the automobile before striking Mr. Lacy because of the failure of the brakes on the automobile he was driving. Mr. Lacy received multiple injuries.

The automobile driven by Mr. Grinstein-ner was owned by Don Moe Dodge, Inc. About a week before the accident, on the 26th of June, 1967, Mr. Grinsteinner had taken his own automobile to the Don Moe Dodge, Inc., garage for repair and had received from the defendant Don Moe Dodge, Inc., a 1963 Chrysler to use while his car was being repaired. As Mr. Grin-steinner was a traveling salesman for Copying and Visual Products, it was necessary that he have an automobile for his use in the business. Mr. Grinsteinner had used the 1963 Chrysler automobile in making his calls in his territory during the week of June 25th and had returned to Minot on Friday, June 30th, in the evening, from his territory. While on his way to his territory, on or about Tuesday, June 27th, while at Devils Lake, he discovered that the emergency, or parking, brake was defective and that it did not grab or hold the car. jHe did not have the brakes repaired before his return to Minot.

Don Moe Dodge, Inc., is an automobile garage and agency selling Dodge automobiles in Minot. The 1963 Chrysler had been taken in by it in a trade from a previous owner. This car had approximately sixty thousand miles on it. The trial court found that the defendant, Mr. Grinsteinner, was negligent in the operation of the 1963 Chrysler in that he failed to have adequate brakes to stop and control the vehicle as required by § 39-21-32, North Dakota Century Code, or in the alternative, if the automobile had adequate brakes that the defendant Grinsteinner was negligent in failing to use the same to avoid the accident, and that this negligence was a proximate cause of the plaintiff’s injury.

The trial court also found that the defendant Don Moe Dodge, Inc., was negligent in that it delivered the 1963 Chrysler automobile to the defendant, Grinsteinner, when such vehicle had been driven in excess of sixty thousand miles without the brakes having been adequately and properly tested, inspected or repaired by the defendant, Don Moe Dodge, Inc.; that the defendant, Don Moe Dodge, Inc., knew, or in the exercise of reasonable care should have known, that the brakes on the 1963 Chrysler, which had been driven in excess of sixty thousand miles, were defective and in need of repair; and that the negligence of Don Moe Dodge, Inc., in failing to inspect, discover and repair the defective brakes before lending the car to the defendant, Henry M. Grinstein-ner, was a proximate cause of the plaintiff’s injuries. The court further found that the plaintiff was not contributorily negligent.

We are at the outset presented a procedural matter by the plaintiff and respondent, who has argued in his brief, and orally before this Court, that the defendants Henry M. Grinsteinner and Don Moe Dodge, Inc., had not made timely *14 demands for trial de novo within the time for appeal and had failed to include the demand for trial de novo in the settled statement of the case, as required by § 28-27-32, N.D.C.C., nor were specifications of any facts which the appellants desired this Court to review included in the settled statement of the case. The plaintiff contends, therefore, that the review in this Court is limited to errors appearing on the face of the judgment roll.

However, the record shows that the trial court granted separate motions by each of the respective defendants to amend the record to show a demand for trial de novo by each of the defendants and for the amendment of the settled statement of the case to include therein the demand for trial de novo by each of the defendants. These motions to amend the record and for amended settled statements of the case were made after the time for appeal had expired. The record was amended accordingly, with amended settled statements of the case to include a demand for trial de novo by each of the defendants.

We do' not have a motion in this case by the plaintiff and respondent to quash the settled statements of the case, which motion was present in Permann v. Knife River Coal Mining Co., 180 N.W.2d 146 (N.D.1970), wherein we granted the motion to quash the settled statement of the case, holding that

When the party making a motion to quash a settled statement of the case presents a record that shows affirmatively that the evidence adduced in support of a motion to extend the time for settlement of the statement of the case was insufficient as a matter of law to constitute a showing of good cause, the trial court abused its discretion in finding that good cause did exist. * * *

The record in this case is incomplete as to the evidence adduced in support of the motions for amendment of the record to show a demand for trial de novo and for amended settled statements of the case to include a demand for trial de novo, and in the absence of a record showing that good cause was not established, the presumption arises that the trial court found that the evidence submitted to it was sufficient to show that good cause existed. Verry v. Murphy, 163 N.W.2d 721 (N.D.1968).

We have held that a motion to settle the statement of the case after time allowed by law has expired is addressed to the sound judicial discretion of the trial court, and its decision will not be disturbed unless the record clearly shows that it abused its discretion. Verry v. Murphy, supra; Zarak v. Hjelle, 154 N.W.2d 377 (N.D.1967); Kline v. Landeis, 147 N.W.2d 897 (N.D.1966).

We also said in Zarak v. Hjelle, supra, that the determination of whether good cause has been shown is for the trial court to make, and, unless a decision of the trial court indicates an abuse of discretion, it will not be reversed on appeal.

In Permann v. Knife River Coal Mining Co., supra,

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Dale Ex Rel. Heirs at Law of Dale v. Cronquist
493 N.W.2d 667 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 1992)
Westman v. Dessellier
459 N.W.2d 545 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 1990)
Cody v. North Dakota Workmen's Compensation Bureau
413 N.W.2d 316 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 1987)
Schlenk v. Aerial Contractors, Inc.
268 N.W.2d 466 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 1978)
Haider v. Finken
239 N.W.2d 508 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 1976)
Stine v. Weiner
238 N.W.2d 918 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 1976)
Viall v. Triangle Electric, Inc.
204 N.W.2d 390 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 1973)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
190 N.W.2d 11, 1971 N.D. LEXIS 140, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lacy-v-grinsteinner-nd-1971.