Lay v. McGrane

331 S.W.2d 592
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedFebruary 11, 1960
Docket47175
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 331 S.W.2d 592 (Lay v. McGrane) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lay v. McGrane, 331 S.W.2d 592 (Mo. 1960).

Opinions

COIL, Commissioner.

James Lay was a passenger in an automobile operated by his host, Donald Hays, when that vehicle and a car operated by defendant Harold McGrane collided. Lay’s verdict was for $16,500 and both defendants have appealed from the ensuing judgment. Plaintiff submitted his case against Hays on humanitarian negligence assignments, failure to slacken or swerve, and as to Mc-Grane on the primary negligence specification, failure to yield the right of way. Hays contends the evidence not only failed to make a submissible humanitarian case but that there was no substantial evidence of any negligence on his part and that, in any event, the trial court erred in giving instructions. Defendant McGrane contends the trial court erred in giving plaintiff’s instruction 1.

Hays does not contend that the humanitarian doctrine is inapplicable (as between guest and host) where, as here, plaintiff was a guest-passenger in the host-defendant’s automobile. We shall, therefore, assume without deciding that instant plaintiff properly could submit his case against defendant Hays under the humanitarian doctrine. See Downing v. Dixon, Mo., 313 S.W.2d 644, 650 [3]; Downing v. Dixon, Mo.App., 314 S.W.2d 927, 929; Thompson v. Gipson, Mo., 277 S.W.2d 527, 532 [9], See also Mc-Combs v. Ellsberry, 337 Mo. 491, 85 S.W.2d 135, a guest-passenger versus driver-host humanitarian case.

In determining whether there was evidence to support the hypothesis that after plaintiff was in a position of imminent peril defendant Hays, in the exercise of the highest degree of care, could have so acted as to have avoided collision with defendant McGrane’s automobile, we review the evidence from a standpoint favorable to plaintiff and give him the benefit of all reasonable inferences.

So stating the evidence, a jury reasonably could have found the facts to have been as they appear in the following statement. Laura was an east-west and Mimika a north-south St. Louis street which intersected at right angles. Each was 15 feet wide and level leading into and within the intersection. There were no stop signs or other forms of traffic control at the intersection. There was an offset in Laura at its intersection with Mimika. The center line of Laura east of Mimika became Laura’s north curb line west of Mimika, so that as one proceeded west on Laura he “jogged” obliquely left in order to proceed west on Laura west of Mimika. There was a residence facing Laura at the southeast corner of the intersection.

On August 1, 1957, the streets were dry and about 4:20 in the afternoon of that bright day, plaintiff was a left rear-seat passenger in the automobile being driven by Hays west on Laura. McGrane drove his car north on Mimika. Hays’ left rear fender and bumper were struck by the left front of defendant McGrane’s car at about the center of the intersection, i. e., the Hays car had proceeded west and slightly southwest to a point where all but its rear two feet was west of the center line of Mimika and (by fair inference) its left wheels close to the center line of Laura (west of Mimi-ka) and the McGrane car’s left side was adjacent to the center line of Mimika. Plaintiff did not see the McGrane car until an instant before the collision when he said “look out” and attempted to protect his face with his hands. Hays did not see the McGrane car until he heard plaintiff exclaim and then saw “a flash as he hit me.”

Each automobile approached the intersection at 20 miles per hour and each slowed to and entered the intersection at 15 miles per hour and at the same time. At 15 miles per hour each automobile could [595]*595have been safely stopped in 35 feet including reaction time. When 50 feet east of the east curb line of Mimika, Hays, in the exercise of the highest degree of care, could have seen an automobile on Mimika approaching the intersection from the south when it was 250 feet away from and continuously up to the collision point. Mc-Grane didn’t see the Hays car until it “first started to enter the intersection” and, as noted, Hays didn’t see the McGrane car until the instant of impact.

There was no substantial evidence from which the jury reasonably could have found that if Hays had maintained a proper lookout and if when he was 50 feet east of the east curb line of Mimika he had seen Mc-Grane’s car approaching the intersection, he should have observed any reasonable appearances of that approach from which he should have known of McGrane’s obliviousness to his (Hays’) approach; taking into account particularly the fact that Hays properly could rely to some extent and for some period of time on McGrane’s observance of his duty to yield the right of way. (Under instant circumstances, i. e., a host-passenger humanitarian doctrine submission, it would appear that it would have been the reasonably apparent obliviousness of McGrane rather than the obliviousness of plaintiff which would have extended plaintiff’s zone of imminent peril.) Thus, we think it clear that the jury properly could not have found that plaintiff was in a position of imminent peril until the Hays automobile was a few feet from the point after passing which Hays could not have stopped his automobile short of the path of McGrane’s car. Ukman v. Hoover Motor Express Co., Mo., 269 S.W.2d 35, 38 [4]. The jury reasonably could have found, however, that when the Hays car reached some place a few feet short of the point after passing which Hays could not stop his automobile short of the path of McGrane’s steadily approaching car, plaintiff was in imminent peril of being injured by a collision between the Hays and McGrane vehicles. McCombs v. Ellsberry, supra, 85 S.W.2d 138. There was no duty on Hays to act until plaintiff was in imminent peril and consequently the decisive question is whether Hays, in the exercise of the highest degree of care and with the means and appliances at hand, and with requisite safety to others, could have so acted after plaintiff was in imminent peril as to have avoided the collision.

When Hays was at least 50 feet east of Mimika’s east curb line he saw or in the exercise of the highest degree of care should have seen McGrane’s car approaching the intersection when McGrane was at least 50 feet south of Laura’s south curb line and approaching at the same speed he (Hays) was traveling and with the Mc-Grane car’s left side parallel with and adjacent to the center line of Mimika. Hays knew or in the exercise of the highest degree of care should have known that it would take each automobile, proceeding toward the intersection at 20 miles per hour and slowing sufficiently to enter the intersection at the same time at 15 miles per hour, more than 35 feet in which to stop. As noted, Hays testified that it would take him 35 feet to stop at 15 miles per hour and the jury reasonably could have found that he was chargeable with knowledge that Mc-Grane would require no shorter stopping distance at 15 miles per hour. There was no testimony as to the stopping distance required for either car at 20 miles per hour or at any speed between 15 and 20 miles per hour. Consequently, we have said above that Hays in the exercise of the highest degree of care should have known that it would take each automobile more than 35 feet in which to stop, but there was no evidence of how much more.

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Lay v. McGrane
331 S.W.2d 592 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1960)

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Bluebook (online)
331 S.W.2d 592, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lay-v-mcgrane-mo-1960.