Livingstone v. Dole

184 Iowa 1340
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedMay 17, 1918
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 184 Iowa 1340 (Livingstone v. Dole) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Livingstone v. Dole, 184 Iowa 1340 (iowa 1918).

Opinion

Ladd, J.

Shortly after 8 o’clock, in the morning of September 8, 1914, plaintiff started to cross Walnut Street in Des Moines, from the north side, near the alley between Sixth Avenue and Seventh Street. She testified to having looked up and down the street, before leaving the sidewalk, and that, seeing no vehicle approaching, she took two or three steps out in the street to the south, and was struck by defendant’s automobile, and seriously injured.

The negligence charged is that defendant (1) was operating his automobile at a dangerous speed, (2) was running in excess of the rate fixed by ordinance, and (3) did not bring his car to a stop, before colliding with plaintiff. - , The evidence was not such as to warrant the submission of the last ground, and the court did not submit the first. One witness estimated that the automobile was moving at a speed of 25 miles an hour, while two others were of opinion that its speed was less than 10 miles an hour. The witness riding with defendant testified that, as the car neared where plaintiff was standing, she took a quick step off the curb; that he shouted at her, but that she continued, until she was struck by the car: and defendant swore that he heard the shout, and saw her as she struck the car. An ordinance of the city, limiting the speed of cars in this section of the city, to 12 miles an hour, was introduced in evidence; and much testimony bearing on plaintiff’s condition was received. Twenty errors are assigned, but only those on which brief points are made, need be considered.

[1343]*13431. Appeal and error: harmless error: question excluded and answer retained. 2. Evidence: opinion evidence: speed. [1342]*1342I. One Jones testified that he was polishing the brass of the store front east of the alley spoken of, “heard the [1343]*1343automobile whizzing by me, and looked and saw the car going west. * * * looked back at my work, * * *' and in a very short time 1 beard a scream, and saw the plaintiff ' A whirling in the air. * * Q. Was it going fast or slow ? A. Going pretty fast.” An objection was then interposed and sustained, but there was no motion to strike the answer. As the answer remained in the record, appellant was not harmed by the ruling, and it is not subject to review at her instance. Later on, the witness was asked to give his “best judgment as to how fast the car was moving.” An objection that he had not shown himself competent to estimate the speed of the car was rightly sustained. For all that appears in the record, he may have been utterly unable to estimate its speed.

Again, he was asked, “Was the car going as fast as a man running?” An objection as immaterial, irrelevant, and incompetent, was sustained. There is no standard of running speed for a man. One may denominate “running” as little, if any, faster than a person ordinarily walks; while others may refer thereby to the high speed of the trained athlete. The gait contemplated by the question was not disclosed, and an answer thereto such as called for, would have thrown no light on the issue as to the speed of the automobile. There was no error.

3. Evidence: relevancy, competency, and materiality: insurance as bearing on negligence. II.The plaintiff related that defendant called, after she was carried to her office, and left his card, and urged her to go to the hospital, and said he “had insurance on his auto that would pay all the expenses.” This was stricken on motion, as immaterial. Manifestly, it had no bearing on the issues, and the ruling was correct.

[1344]*13444. Evidence: opinion evidence: examination of experts. [1343]*1343III.The defendant had operated an automobile two years, and, in answer to in[1344]*1344quiries, said, in substance, that he did not. believe anyone could tell the speed of a car without looking at the speedometer; but, over an objection to his competency, expressed tne opinion that the car was going less than 12 miles an hour. Following this, he explained that he had observed the speedometer, to see if the car was moving within 12 miles an hour, and in that district, watched rather closely, and could, in operating it, say whether the speed exceeded that limit. He was then asked if his car was moving at a greater speed than 12 miles an hour, and, over a like objection, answered, “I would say that my car was traveling at less than 10 miles an hour.” Conceding that the witness was not qualified when the first answer was given, after qualifying he made like answer, and there was no prejudice in the first ruling. The last objection was rightly overruled.

5. Evidence: opinion evidence: weather conditions. After the witness had testified to four pictures showing him in his car near the scene of the collision, he was asked whether the weather conditions existing at the time these were taken were identical with those at the time of the collision; and, over objection as incompetent and immaterial, and not the subject of expert testimony, responded, “As I remember it, they were very similar.” The question called for a fact, not expert evidence; and, if he knew, there was no occasion for the examination of weather reports. There was no error.

6. Evidence: opinion evidence: competency of experts. IV. One Wood, who was riding with defendant, disclaimed ability to estimate how fast an automobile is moving ; but, in answer to a question as to whether it was moving faster immediately preceding the collision than at the intersection of Walnut Street and Sixth Avenue, said, “No, sir, it had been coming along slowly.” In overruling a motion to strike this answer as in[1345]*1345consistent with a former ruling, the court- allowed it to stand, on the theory that “it may be connected up on the question of speed;” and the witness went on:

“When we were crossing the intersection of Sixth and Walnut Streets, the car was going between 6 and 7 miles per hour, by observing the speedometer. I don’t know how the car slowed up. I didn’t notice whether he applied the brakes or not, as we approached the intersection of Sixth Street. I looked down to the speedometer, when he slowed up there, and it was running between 6 and 7 miles an hour; — that was when he slowed up. * * * I didn’t observe the driver apply the brakes, or reduce the speed of the machine.”

This sufficiently defined what the witness meant by “slowly,” and that he spoke from observing the speedometer, rather than from his own judgment in the matter. The ruling ought not to be denounced as erroneous.

Y. The court instructed the jury, in the eighth paragraph of its charge, that:

7. Negligence: instructions: crossing street at points between public crossings. “A person has the right to cross a public street or highway at a point other than the one provided for pedestrians; but such person, in attempting to cross a public street or highway at a point other than the one provided for pedestrians, is required to use greater care than when such person crosses at a point provided for pedestrians. This constitutes, and is, ordinary care, as herein defined; but you are instructed that ordinary care is a 'relative term, and always has reference to the circumstances of the case.”

This was followed by an accurate definition of ordinary care.

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184 Iowa 1340, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/livingstone-v-dole-iowa-1918.