Levner v. Northland-Greyhound Lines, Inc.

286 N.W. 68, 231 Wis. 554, 1939 Wisc. LEXIS 210
CourtWisconsin Supreme Court
DecidedJune 6, 1939
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 286 N.W. 68 (Levner v. Northland-Greyhound Lines, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wisconsin Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Levner v. Northland-Greyhound Lines, Inc., 286 N.W. 68, 231 Wis. 554, 1939 Wisc. LEXIS 210 (Wis. 1939).

Opinion

Wickhem, J.

On August 16, 1934, at 1:45 in the morning, plaintiff was a passenger on a bus of defendant line. The bus was on its way to Milwaukee, and at the time of the collision was proceeding west on Dempster road in the incorporated village of Morton Grove, Illinois. The accident happened at a “T” intersection in the village. This intersection is formed by Ferris avenue, which comes from the south to' join Dempster road at a right angle and terminates there. Dempster road is an arterial highway. The intersection was lighted by an overhead street lamp. Dempster road is a four-lane concrete highway with graveled shoulders on each side. Ferris avenue is of equal width. On the night of the accident the weather was clear, and while the pavement was damp it was not slippery, and it is conceded that the pavement offered no difficulties in stopping or braking vehicles. The car with which the bus collided was a Ford sedan and had four male occupants and one woman guest. The four men had met earlier in the evening at a bowling alley and had gone to a tavern and then to the Arcadia Gardens about lip. m. At the tavern they had met Miss Elsie Bowers, who went into the Gardens with two of the party and stayed there until 1 o’clock, talking and drinking. Whether the driver of the car had been drinking and, if so, to what extent is not disclosed by the record. At 1 o’clock the five young people started for an automobile ride without any particular destination. The car was ultimately driven north on Ferris avenue, ran through the arterial stop sign, made no attempt to turn at the “T” intersection, collided with the bus, and ultimately struck a telephone pole. Three of its occupants were killed. Immediately prior to the collision the car was seen speeding in a zigzag course in excess of thirty-five or forty miles an hour. The bus struck the Ford in the middle of its right side. As it approached the intersection from the east the bus was going at the rate of thirty to thirty-five miles an hour upon a highway which permitted a speed of thirty-five miles per hour. A tavern [557]*557located on the southeast corner of the intersection and a five-foot fence inclosing the yard behind the tavern interfered somewhat with the driver’s view as he approached the intersection. However, at a point about seventy-five feet east of the intersection his view was unobstructed for a distance of twenty feet south of the intersection. At a distance of twenty feet east of the intersection his view had increased to seventy-five feet and of course increased, from there on. He first observed the car as it was coming out of Ferris avenue on the right side of the road at a high rate of speed. He was at that time about to enter the intersection. He immediately applied the brakes but did not have them fully set by the time the impact occurred. The impact broke the steering apparatus of the bus and cramped the wheels to the right. The braking appáratus of the bus was damaged. The bus stopped about fifty to sixty-five feet beyond the place of impact. Plaintiff was thrown out of her seat and sustained injury.

The circuit court ordered a new trial for misdirection in two respects. (1) A failure in connection with an instruction that the defendant’s bus had the right of way to state the qualification “that one having the right of way must forego the exercise of that right when it becomes apparent that the driver of the other vehicle is so proceeding as to indicate that he has no intention to yield the right of way,” etc. (2) An erroneous instruction that,—

“In law he was not bound to anticipate that another automobile driver would intentionally or unintentionally interfere with the lawful operation of the bus along the street. You will understand, members of the jury, as I have just instructed you, that common carriers are rightfully held to a high degree of diligence but they are not held responsible for the lawless acts of other persons not under their control, which they could not reasonably anticipate.”

We conclude that the view of the circuit court was erroneous in both respects. Upon the first point we are satisfied [558]*558that the qualification was not germane to any issue of fact m the case. Right of way was not in issue under the facts. Concededly, defendant’s driver had it. The record discloses beyond reasonable controversy that defendant’s driver did not insist on exercising his right of way in the face of an apparent intention on the part of the driver of the Ford to-disregard it. If there was negligence upon the part of defendant’s driver, it consisted of the defaults which were submitted to the jury, namely, speed, lookout, and control. After defendant’s driver saw the Ford he did not seek to hold the right of way. Fie immediately put on his brakes and attempted to stop. Whether he exercised sufficient care and skill in this respect g-oes to the question of negligent management and control. Whether his car was going too fast at the moment has to do with the issue of speed. Whether he saw the situation in time to take effective action bears on the issue of lookout. Under no circumstances, however, so far as the record discloses, is the suggested qualification applicable to him, because as heretofore stated, he did not, after seeing the Ford, attempt to claim his right of way in the face of apparent danger. So1 much of the instruction on right of way as was given had a useful bearing upon what defendant’s driver should have anticipated as he approached the intersection and before he saw the Ford car. The qualification had no bearing whatever upon the controversy and was properly withheld by the trial court. See Lehner v. Berlin Publishing Co. 211 Wis. 119, 246 N. W. 579; Madison Trust Co. v. Helleckson, 216 Wis. 443, 257 N. W. 691; Catlin v. Schroeder, 214 Wis. 419, 253 N. W. 187.

The conclusion of the circuit court that an erroneous instruction was given raises more difficulty. It is literally true that defendant’s driver is not bound to anticipate unlawful interference with his course, and it is just as true that this does not excuse him from exercising proper care with respect to lookout, speed, and control, or from revising his expectations when it becomes apparent that the competing [559]*559driver does not propose to respect his rights. The instructions as a whole were accurate and beyond substantial criticism in so far as they define the defendant’s duties with respect to lookout, speed, and control. The jury was not instructed that these duties were in any way modified by defendant’s right to anticipate that others would respect his rights. The only situation in which the qualification could be important was one in which the other driver by his dangerous manner of driving gave evidence that he was not going to respect defendant’s rights of travel. Thus, we reach with respect to this point the same difficulty and the same conclusion as was reached with reference to the omitted qualification to the instruction on right of way. When defendant’s driver first saw the Ford there was no doubt that it was being driven recklessly and dangerously, and no doubt that defendant’s driver appreciated what was about to happen. There was then nothing to do but attempt to stop the bus, and this attempt was made. Whether the jury were entitled to conclude that this duty was properly discharged will be discussed later. It is evident, however, that if it was not, the default was not in drawing propér conclusions from the apparently reckless manner in which the other car was driven.

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Bluebook (online)
286 N.W. 68, 231 Wis. 554, 1939 Wisc. LEXIS 210, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/levner-v-northland-greyhound-lines-inc-wis-1939.