Louisville & Southern Indiana Traction Co. v. Lloyd

105 N.E. 519, 58 Ind. App. 39, 1914 Ind. App. LEXIS 176
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 4, 1914
DocketNo. 8,354
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 105 N.E. 519 (Louisville & Southern Indiana Traction Co. v. Lloyd) 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
Louisville & Southern Indiana Traction Co. v. Lloyd, 105 N.E. 519, 58 Ind. App. 39, 1914 Ind. App. LEXIS 176 (Ind. Ct. App. 1914).

Opinion

Felt, C. J.

Appellee recovered a judgment against appellant for $6,000, damages for personal injuries received by her through the alleged negligence of appellant while she was alighting from one of its cars. The undisputed facts are in brief as follows: Appellant operates a street car system in the city of New Albany, Indiana. Among other lines it has two lines on "West Spring Street in said city, one known as the Spring Street line and the other the Silver [41]*41Hills line, and both are operated over the same single track. On September 3, 1910, appellee took passage on the Silver Hills line to be carried westward on Spring Street to the intersection of West Fifth Street where said car stopped on signal. As the car approached said crossing appellee rang the bell, and in obedience to her signal, the motorman stopped the car at said crossing, at the usual place for receiving and discharging passengers. After the car stopped appellee got up from her seat and proceeded to the rear platform of the car. Just as she reached it and was in the act of going upon the step to .alight, the servants of appellant operating one of its Spring Street cars, which was following immediately in the rear of said Silver Hills car, ran said car with great force against said Silver Hills ear and knocked appellee to the street and injured her. The collision occurred in daylight and on a straight track.

1. 2. Appellant’s assignment of errors relied on for reversal, contains nineteen specifications of error. All of said specifications except 1, 12, 13 and 19 are waived by failure to consider them in the briefs. Of the errors not waived, specifications 1, 12 and 13 relate to appellant’s motion, filed May 4, 1911, to require appellee to make her amended complaint more specific. Said motion contains fifteen separately numbered paragraphs, calling for more specific allegations on almost an equal number of points. The record shows that this motion was overruled by the court and an exception reserved by appellant. The complaint is specific in its allegations constituting the charges of negligence and fully advised appellant as to the case it was called upon to meet. Many of the specifications of the motion called for details of evidence not necessary or proper in a pleading. Other specifications called for information on points v^hieh were fully and clearly covered by the averments of the complaint, and the others called for information on points which, from their nature and character, were matters of. detail more fully in the [42]*42knowledge of appellant tlian of appellee and in no sense necessary to a full and complete statement of the cause of action. There was no error in overruling said motion.

3. 4. Appellant’s nineteenth specification of error is the overruling of its motion for a new trial. Under this motion appellant relies on the court’s action in the giving of instructions Nos. 6, 12, 14 and 15, at the request of appellee, and the refusal to give instruction No. 25 tendered by appellant, and on the admission of certain evidence over its objection. All other grounds are waived by failure to present them in the briefs. Instruction No. 12, of which complaint is made, relates to the duty of the jury in determining the credibility of witnesses and the weight of their testimony, and concludes as follows: “In case there is any apparent contradiction in the testimony of the different witnesses who have testified in the case, it is your duty to harmonize such contradictions so as to give full weight and credit to all the witnesses; but if you can not so reconcile such apparent contradictions, if any, so as to believe all the witnesses, then you must determine for yourself what witness you will believe and what you will not.”- (Our italics.) Appellant contends .that this required the jury in case of contradiction of witnesses, to harmonize such contradiction so as to give full weight and credit to all the witnesses; that it ignores the real duty of the jury to weigh the evidence and give such credit to the witnesses as it may deem them entitled to receive. By instruction No. 11 the jurors were told that they were exclusive judges of the evidence and had the right to determine for themselves what facts had been proven- and what facts had not been proven; that if there was any conflict in the testimony they must reconcile it if they could, so as to believe all the witnesses; that if they could not do so, they might believe or disbelieve any witness or witnesses as they might or might not determine them entitled to credit. When instruction No. 12 is considered in its [43]*43entirety and in connection with, the preceding one we do not think it was misleading or that it invaded the province of the jury as to the credibility of the witnesses or the weight to be given to their testimony. It was substantially correct and did not harm appellant. Lynch v. Bates (1894), 139 Ind. 206, 209, 38 N. E. 806.

5. Instruction No. 6, of which complaint is made reads as follows: “Where a collision between two passenger ears on the railroad of a common carrier is caused by the negligence of such carrier’s servants in charge of said cars, while operating the same, it will not be permitted to say in defense to an action for damages brought by one of its passengers who may have been injured in such collision, that it could not anticipate that its servants would be negligent. Under such circumstances the negligence of the carrier’s servants is the negligence of the carrier itself, and it must respond in damages to any of its passengers who without fault, are injured thereby. ” It is urged against this instruction that it fails to state that before appellant would be liable for the acts of its servants such servants must be acting in the line of their duties and further that it is argumentative. The instruction as a whole is not argumentative and correctly states the law applicable, to the circumstances therein enumerated. Louisville, etc., R. Co. v. Wood (1888), 113 Ind. 544, 14 N. E. 572, 16 N. E. 197; Evansville Furn. Co. v. Freeman (1915), 57 Ind. App. 576, 105 N. E. 258, 107 N. E. 27.

Appellant objects to appellee’s instructions Nos. 14 and 15 on the question of damages. Instruction No. 15 enumerates the different items of recovery including nursing and medical bills The objection made to these instructions is the same as that made to the admission of evidence as to the value of the nursing performed by the sister of appellee, viz., that the allegations of the complaint are not broad enough to authorize such proof. We first consider the admissibility of the evidence.

[44]*446. It is claimed' that the court erred in admitting evidence of the value of the services of appellee’s sister who was shown to have nursed her while suffering from her alleged injuries. The objections were on the.ground that there was no evidence tending to prove a contract express or implied by which appellee agreed to pay her sister for such services; that they lived together as a common family; that the allegations of the complaint do not warrant the admission of such evidence. Appellant concedes in its briefs that under proper averments in an action for damages for personal injuries, there may be a recovery for the value of the services of a nurse, even though such services are rendered gratuitously and Avithout compensation, but insists that there can be.no such recovery where the allegations of the complaint are that money Avas expended for nurse hire.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Ferdinand Railroad v. Bretz
108 N.E. 967 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1915)
Laramore v. Blumenthal
108 N.E. 602 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1915)
Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville Railway Co. v. Gorman
106 N.E. 897 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1914)
Louisville & Southern Indiana Traction Co. v. Lottich
106 N.E. 903 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1914)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
105 N.E. 519, 58 Ind. App. 39, 1914 Ind. App. LEXIS 176, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/louisville-southern-indiana-traction-co-v-lloyd-indctapp-1914.