Loehr v. Meuser

93 N.E.2d 363, 120 Ind. App. 630, 1950 Ind. App. LEXIS 196
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 29, 1950
Docket18,007
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 93 N.E.2d 363 (Loehr v. Meuser) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Loehr v. Meuser, 93 N.E.2d 363, 120 Ind. App. 630, 1950 Ind. App. LEXIS 196 (Ind. Ct. App. 1950).

Opinion

Crumpacker, J.

— The appellee wás a guest of the appellant in an automobile owned and driven by him when it. skidded on ice covering the payement and went into a ditch whereby the appellee suffered personal injuries for which he sued and recovered' judgment in the sum of $5,000.

This appeal presents several questions which we will discuss in the order of their. presentation. First, the appellant contends that the evidence is insufficient to warrant the jury in finding that his conduct in the operation of his car was wanton or willful and therefore the so-called “guest statute,” pertaining to the operation of motor vehicles in Indiana,' prohibits a recovery. Burns’ 1940 Replacement, § 47-1021.

The' facts most favorable to the appellee are substantially these. On the night of Décember 3Í, 1947, shortly before 11 o’clock p. m. the appellee, his wife Vera and one Betty Lloyd were seated in a - restaurant in the city of Gary when they were approached by the appellant and invited to accompany him, in his automobile, to the Turkey Creek Country Club. The proposition. was agreeable and they set forth with the appellant driving the automobile, Betty Lloyd seated at , his right, and the appellee and wife in the rear seat. As *633 ’they proceeded south on Broadway the' appellant gradually increased the speed of ' said' 'automobile to such ;ah extent that at 11th Avenue the appellee saw fit to caution him. He paid no heed and! at 17th Avenue he ran through a red traffic light at’ ever increasing : speed and was again cautioned and'asked to slow down. There was- a cold mist in the air which froze on contact with'the pavement and when they- reached 25th Avenue ánd Broadway the streets were a sheet of ice. The ’ appellant was then driving at 58 to 60 miles pér hour, as indicated by the speedometer, and when the car ran'onto the icé hé almost lost control of it. Tlie appellee thereupon said, “Yóú can either slow dowwor let us out.” The appellant replied, “Oh, I ám doing alright,” and proceéded without slackening his speed ' notwithstanding, as one witness expressed' it, “back end of the car was just dancing around on that ice.” Just after they crossed the Little Calumet River bridge "on Broadway the appellee saw three or four cars ' approximately 100 yards' ahead of them that had been ’ “piled up” in an accident and which completely blocked the west side of the street. At that time the appellant ’was not looking ahead but was engaged in conversation With Betty Lloyd. When his attention was called to ’ the situation he “slammed on the brakes,” the car went "into' a skid and slid 60 or 70 feet sidewise along the street into a car involved in the aforesaid accident and then shot across the street, over the curb on-the east 'side thereof, across the sidewalk and down a nine foot embankment Where it came to rest right side up.

To constitute 1 “wanton or willful misconduct,” as used in our' automobile guest statute, it must appear that the driver of the automobile is conscious of his conduct, and with an appreciation of existing conditions knows that his conduct,' if persisted in, will probably result in injury to his guest *634 and yet, with reckless indifference to consequences, he consciously or intentionally persists in such conduct and as the result thereof his guest is injured. Lee Brothers v. Jones (1944), 114 Ind. App. 688, 54 N. E. 2d 108; Bedwell v. DeBolt (1943), 221 Ind. 600, 50 N. E. 2d 875. It is difficult to imagine a set of facts that more precisely meet the requirements of the above definition than do those of the present case. The appellant seems to feel that because he did everything in his power to avert the accident after he discovered its imminence, his conduct cannot be characterized as willful or wanton. That, however, is not the test. The question should be determined by a consideration of his whole course of conduct leading up to the accident and the inquiry will not be confined to occurrences at the immediate time and place thereof. Pierce v. Clemens (1943), 113 Ind. App. 65, 46 N. E. 2d 836.

It is next urged that damages in the sum of $5,000 are excessive and were prompted largely through prejudice against the appellant because he was a married man and was out on New Year’s Eve with a woman who was not his wife. If such facts prejudiced the jury we are unable to say that such prejudice is reflected in the verdict. When the appellant’s car pitched over the embankment above mentioned the appellee’s head came in contact with the back portion of the front seat with such violence that his nose was torn from his face to the extent that it could be lifted up and one could see into his throat through the nasal pharynx. By reason of the proximity of the injury to his brain his nose was repaired without a general anesthetic. He was strapped to an operating table while this was done and suffered intense pain during the process. He was hospitalized six days and since the accident has developed a tic in the muscles of his eyelids which causes a constant *635 blinking of the eyes accompanied by a dilation of the nostrils. His eyes water excessively and he suffers frequent severe headaches which have grown steadily worse since the accident. By reason of his physical condition he lost 66 days work in the first 18 months after the accident and the jury might reasonably have inferred, from the gradual worsening of his condition with the passage of time, that his periodic incapacity for work would occur indefinitely. His doctor bill was $300. We can find no prejudice in the verdict nor can we say, in these days of high prices and cheap money, that the $5,000 awarded the appellee represents anything more than monetary compensation for the injuries suffered.

During the course of the trial the appellant offered in evidence a written and signed statement executed by the appellee and alleged to contain admissions against his interests. Upon the appellee’s objection the court rejected the document. The appellant insists that this was error but an examination of the record discloses that the objections to the exhibit are not set out in his motion for a new trial. Both this and the Supreme Court have repeatedly held that under these circumstances no question as to such assigned error is presented to us. Rageas v. Hohman-Clinton Realty Co. (1949), 119 Ind. App. 426, 88 N. E. 2d 255; Shank Fireproof Warehouse Co. v. Harlan (1940), 108 Ind. App. 592, 29 N. E. 2d 1003; Bennett v. Wampler (1937), 104 Ind. App. 173, 8 N. E. 2d 117; Brown v. State (1939), 216 Ind. 106, 23 N. E. 2d 267; The First National Bank of Cambridge City v. Colter (1878), 61 Ind. 153; Greer v. State (1929), 201 Ind. 386, 168 N. E. 581; Eva v. State (1932), 203 Ind. 340, 180 N. E. 183; Vaughn Building Company v. State of Indiana (1933), 97 Ind. App. 556, 185 N. E. 656.

*636 ' After the above exhibit had been rejected the appellant sought to prove its contents by parol evidence which the court refused' to permit.

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Bluebook (online)
93 N.E.2d 363, 120 Ind. App. 630, 1950 Ind. App. LEXIS 196, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/loehr-v-meuser-indctapp-1950.