Lynch v. Des Moines Railway Co.

245 N.W. 219, 215 Iowa 1119
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedNovember 15, 1932
DocketNo. 41243.
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 245 N.W. 219 (Lynch v. Des Moines Railway Co.) 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
Lynch v. Des Moines Railway Co., 245 N.W. 219, 215 Iowa 1119 (iowa 1932).

Opinion

Wagner, J.

— In this action, the plaintiffs seek to recover damages for the death of John C. Lynch, alleged to have been caused by reason of negligence of the defendant’s motorman. Among other grounds of negligence contained in the petition, the plaintiffs aver that the motorman was guilty of negligence in the following particular: “In negligently failing to sound a warning of his approach and/or in failing to reduce the speed of his street car by application of the brakes and/or failing to stop said street car after he had discovered the decedent in a position of danger.” This quoted allegation raises the question of defendant’s liability under the doctrine familiarly known as “last clear chance”.

At the close of plaintiffs’ evidence, the defendant moved for a directed verdict in its favor, and, at the close of all of the evidence, its motion for a directed verdict was renewed. This motion was. overruled by the court and the case was submitted to the jury upon the sole question as to whether plaintiffs were entitled to recover under the “last clear chance” doctrine. The appellant contends that the court erred in overruling said motion. The appellees, in their argument allege: “Decedent was admittedly guilty of contributory negligence.” Therefore, the question for our determination at this point is whether, under the record, the jury could properly find for the plaintiffs and against the defendant under the “last clear chance” doctrine. The legal principles involved in this doctrine are well established. In Wilson v. Illinois Central Railroad Co., 150 Iowa 83, at page 41, 129 N. W. 340, 344, 34 L. R. A. (N. S.) 687, this court declared:

“The doctrine of last fair chance presupposes negligence on the part of the party injured and proceeds upon the theory that notwithstanding this negligence, if the other party, being cognizant of that negligence and of the peril in which the party had placed himself, failed to take the necessary precautions to avoid injuring him, he is liable on the theory that he had a fair chance to avoid the catastrophe by the use of ordinary care and his failure to exercise it is in such cases the proximate cause of the injury.”

The doctrine of “last clear chance” is applicable only if the defendant, or the motorman in the instant case, had actual knowl *1121 edge of the perilous position of the other party and failed to use due care to avoid the injury which, by the exercise of due care, after acquiring the knowledge, could have been avoided. See Graves v. Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway Company, 207 Iowa 30, 222 N. W. 344; Carr v. Inter-Urban Railway Company, 185 Iowa 872, 171 N. W. 167; Waters v. Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company, 189 Iowa 1097, 178 N. W. 534; Williams v. Mason City & Fort Dodge Railway Company, 205 Iowa 446, 214 N. W. 692; Stanoshek v. Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad Company, 198 Iowa 62, 199 N. W. 310; Radenhausen v. Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway Company, 205 Iowa 547, 218 N. W. 316. Many other cases could be cited on this proposition. The knowledge by the defendant of the perilous position of the other party may be proven by circumstantial, as well as by direct, evidence. See Williams v. Mason City & Fort Dodge Railway Company, 205 Iowa 446, 214 N. W. 692; Carr v. Inter-Urban Railway Company, 185 Iowa 872, 171 N. W. 167; Wilflin v. Des Moines City Railway Company, 176 Iowa 642, 156 N. W. 842. In Carr v. Inter-Urban Railway Company, 185 Iowa 872, 171 N. W. 167,169, we. said:

“and if it appears from the evidence that he [the motorman] had a clear unobstructed view of the track, the jury may infer from his duty to keep a lookout ahead that he in fact saw the injured person in a position of peril. This inference may, of course, be rebutted by evidence to the contrary.”

In Wilflin v. Des Moines City Railway Company, 176 Iowa 642, 156 N. W. 842, 844, we declared:

“Of course, the motorman must have seen the person in peril on the track ahead in time to have avoided a collision, according to the majority in Bourrett v. Chicago & N. W. Ry. Co., 152 Iowa 579, 132 N. W. 973, 36 L. R. A. (N. S.) 957, but on the duty to keep a lookout and a clear field of vision may be based a finding that he did see in a suit against a street railway.”

In Williams v. Mason City & Fort Dodge Railway Company, 205 Iowa 446, 214 N. W. 692, 695, we said:

“The legal rule is that the train operator in charge must know the ‘peril’ of appellee in order to fix liability upon appellants under the doctrine of ‘last clear chance;’ yet such knowledge and the time *1122 the same is acquired may be proved by circumstantial, as well as direct, evidence.”

It is a familiar rule that the party to the litigation against whom a verdict is asked to be directed is entitled to have the evidence considered in the light most favorable to him. This rule is so well established as to require no citation of authorities, but see Albright v. Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway Company, 200 Iowa 678, 205 N. W. 462; Middleton v. Omaha & Council Bluffs Street Railway Company, 209 Iowa 1278, 227 N. W. 915; Harvey v. Knowles Storage & Moving Company, 215 Iowa 35, 244 N. W, 660; Hamilton v. Wilson (Iowa), 240 N. W. 685 (not officially reported) ; Robertson v. Carlgren, 211 Iowa 963, 234 N. W. 824,

With the foregoing well-established rules of law before us, we now turn to the evidence upon this decisive question. The decedent was killed on October 24, 1930, in a collision which occurred about 4:30 a. m. of that day, between a milk wagon drawn by a single horse, driven by the decedent, and a street car upon the appellant’s track. There was no one in the street car at the time in question, except the motorman and one passenger. The collision occurred at the intersection of East 9th street, which runs north and south, and Morton avenue, which crosses East 9th street at a right angle. When the horse was hitched to the wagon the distance from the nose of the horse to the extreme rear of the wagon was approximately 18 feet. The street car track is upon East 9th street, and. at the time in question, the street car was going south and the decedent was going east. The distance between the curbs on Morton avenue at the intersection is 26 feet and 2 inches; the distance between the curbs on East 9th street at the intersection is 34 feet-and 6 inches. There are two street car tracks upon East 9th street at the place of collision, and the car was running southward on the west track. The distance from the west curb on East 9th street and the west rail of the west track is 9 feet and 9 inches, and the distance from the west curb line of said street to the east rail of the west track is 14 feet and 8 inches. The collision occurred about five or six steps, 15 to 18 feet, south of the north curb of Morton avenue, the street car striking the hub of the left hind wheel. The next street north of Morton avenue is known in the record as Grand View avenue. In approaching from the north there is a single track until Grand View avenue is reached, at which point there is a switch and from *1123 there on southward, past Morton avenue, there are two tracks. There was no obstruction to prevent the motorman from seeing the milk wagon as it approached the intersection from the west.

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245 N.W. 219, 215 Iowa 1119, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lynch-v-des-moines-railway-co-iowa-1932.