Louis v. Checker Taxi Co.

47 N.E.2d 351, 318 Ill. App. 71, 1943 Ill. App. LEXIS 839
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMarch 10, 1943
DocketGen. No. 42,338
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 47 N.E.2d 351 (Louis v. Checker Taxi Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Louis v. Checker Taxi Co., 47 N.E.2d 351, 318 Ill. App. 71, 1943 Ill. App. LEXIS 839 (Ill. Ct. App. 1943).

Opinion

Mr. Presiding Justice Burke

delivered the opinion of the court.

On Friday, March 29, 1940, between 1:15 and 1:30 a. m., at North avenue and Halsted street, Chicago, Regina Louis and Myrtle Witte stepped into a taxicab of the Checker Taxi Company, and directed the driver, Samuel Morici, Jr., to convey them home. In taking them home he was required to drive in a northerly direction on Halsted street. North avenue runs in an easterly and westerly direction and comes in at 1600 north, according to the Chicago numbering system. Halsted street runs in a northerly and southerly direction and on it are laid tracks for the operation of north and southbound trolley cars. Willow street is an east and west street and intersects Halsted street at 1800 north. Between North avenue and Willow street a short street named Concord street runs east but not west from Halsted street at number 1632 north. The cab proceeded in a northerly direction on Halsted street. Mrs. Louis sat on the left hand side and Mrs. Witte on the right hand side of the cab. The driver, of course, sat in the driver’s seat. At approximately the same time Everett Hoppe, with the permission of his father, was driving the latter’s 1935 Plymouth automobile in an easterly direction on Willow street toward its intersection with Halsted street. There were six people in this car. Everett Hoppe’s mother, Mrs. Frances Hoppe, was sitting on the right hand side of the front seat; Everett’s girl friend Helen Mandik was sitting between Everett and his mother; and Anthony Waldibillig, Anthony G-roh and Mary Mandus were sitting on the rear seat. While the cars were moving into and across the intersection of Halsted and Willow streets there was an impact. When the cars were brought to a stop, the Hoppe car, which had been proceeding in an easterly direction, was on the north side of Willow street between the east curb of Halsted street and the building line, facing in a northeasterly direction, and, the cab was facing east on the south side of Willow street between the east curb of Halsted street and the building line. At the time the cars stopped the front part of the cab was opposite the right front door and about four feet south of the Hoppe automobile. The occupants of the cab were injured and were taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital and from there to their homes. They were subsequently treated by physicians. In a complaint filed in the superior court of Cook county Eegina Louis and Myrtle Witte sought judgment against the Checker Taxi Company and John Hoppe. A trial before the court and a jury resulted in verdicts finding the defendants not guilty. A motion by. plaintiffs for a new trial was overruled and judgment entered against plaintiffs, to reverse which this appeal is prosecuted.

Plaintiffs argue that the judgment is manifestly against the weight of the evidence. The corporate defendant urges that points made but not argued are considered to have been waived; that the burden is on the party alleging error to show it affirmatively by the record; that a judgment not manifestly against the weight of the evidence will not be disturbed; and that the court will not search the record to find reasons for reversal. The individual defendant maintains that the judgment is correct as to it; that the plaintiffs have failed to point out any error; that errors assigned but not argued will not be considered; that plaintiffs’ contention that “one or the other or both of the defendants was responsible for the accident” furnishes no ground for reversal; that the happening of an accident raises no presumption of negligence on the part of a defendant; and that plaintiffs cannot complain of the form of the verdict. Under the heading of “Errors Belied On For Beversal,” plaintiffs set out six grounds for reversal. However, they argue only one ground, namely, that the judgment is manifestly against the weight of the, evidence. We agree with the defendants that the points not argued are considered to have been waived. We also agree that the burden is on the plaintiffs to show affirmatively by the record that the judgment is manifestly against the weight of the evidence and that this court is not required to search the record to find reasons for reversing the judgment. We are also in agreement that the happening of an accident raises no presumption of negligence on the part of a defendant. The court submitted 11 forms of verdict covering all possible findings that the jury might make by reason of the fact that there were two plaintiffs and two defendants. Plaintiffs do not argue that there was any impropriety in the manner in which the forms of verdict were submitted to the jury. .

Everett Hoppe, called as an adverse witness, testified that it had been drizzling slightly; that he did not have the windshield wiper on; that it was not raining “at the moment”; that he stopped his car before crossing Halsted street; that he looked both ways; that his car stopped not more than three seconds; that he could not state exactly, “but I paused”; that there was no automobile in front of him; that he was traveling east toward Halsted street and saw a motor vehicle to, his right, which was to the south of Willow street; that this automobile was going north, and that the distance from Willow street to North avenue is two blocks. He thought that the car going north was a little bit less than half of the distance away; that “the right front side of my car came into collision with the cab and there were also some marks on the back bumper and the right front fender. There was a slight indentation on the back, at the time of the collision the left front bumper and fender of the cab met on my car, mostly the right front door, the right front fender and there was a slight mark on the right back fender and the front radiator was not hit at all.” He had been driving for about seven years. He did not look at the cab with the idea of noting the speed. He looked at the cab “with the idea of noting the distance and the safety of getting across the street.” He did not look to watch the cab as he (witness) was crossing the street. He “did not think it was necessary.” He could not tell the speed of the cab immediately before striking his car. He could calculate the speed of the cab by the force with which it hit his car and by the distance his car was moved after the accident. After the collision his car was on the north side of Willow street between the building line and the curb on the east side of Halsted street and facing in a northeasterly direction. Witness’ car was east of Halsted street on Willow street and on the northern half of the street, the front part of the car being on the east side of the' building line. The east sidewalk of Halsted street from the curb to the building line is about 14 or 15 feet. The hood and part of the front of the car was on the east side of the building line. The cab was on the south side of Willow street. The cab was turned around the corner facing east on Willow street about half way between the east curb of Halsted street and the building line. The front of the cab was just opposite the crushed in front door of witness’ car after it came to a stop, about four feet south of witness’ car. Witness’ car was ahead of the cab. Witness did not see the cab immediately before the collision. He estimated that from North avenue to Willow street is “possibly 800 feet or something like that.” He testified that the vehicle which he later identified as the cab, was about 400 feet from Willow street when he stopped his car completely at the intersection.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
47 N.E.2d 351, 318 Ill. App. 71, 1943 Ill. App. LEXIS 839, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/louis-v-checker-taxi-co-illappct-1943.