Maloz v. New Orleans Public Service, Inc.

65 So. 2d 339, 1953 La. App. LEXIS 632
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 25, 1953
DocketNo. 19962
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 65 So. 2d 339 (Maloz v. New Orleans Public Service, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Maloz v. New Orleans Public Service, Inc., 65 So. 2d 339, 1953 La. App. LEXIS 632 (La. Ct. App. 1953).

Opinion

REGAN, Judge.

Plaintiff, Mrs. Shirley Patterson Maloz, instituted this suit against the defendants, New Orleans Public Service, Inc., and Pacific Indemnity Company, insurer of Wilson L. Maloz, in whose car plaintiff was a guest passenger, endeavoring to recover the sum of $13,967 for personal injuries and medical expenses incurred by her as a result of an accident on February 25th, 1951, at 6:00 P. M. in the intersection of Freret and Marengo Streets, between the automobile in which she was riding and an omnibus owned by the New Orleans Public Service, Inc., and operated by one of its employees, Thay Maddox.

The defendant, New Orleans Public Service, Inc., answered and denied the existence of any negligence on the part of its employee and averred that the accident was caused solely through the negligence of Wilson L. Maloz, the owner and operator of the car in which plaintiff was a passenger and also the direct negligence of the plaintiff and, in the alternative, pleaded the contributory negligence of both plaintiff and her husband, Maloz.

The defendant, Pacific Indemnity Company answered denying any negligence on the part of its insured and asserting that [341]*341the operator of the omnibus was entirely responsible for the collision.

This case was consolidated with a similar suit arising out of the same accident ■in order to facilitate and expedite the trial thereof. The suit referred to is entitled Fontana, v. New Orleans Public Service, Inc., and Pacific Indemnity Company, La. App., 65 So.2d 343.

There was judgment in the court, a qua, in favor of the plaintiff in the sum of $4500 against the defendant, Pacific Indemnity Company and dismissing her suit as to the other defendant, New Orleans Public Service, Inc. From this judgment both the Pacific Indemnity Company and the plaintiff have appealed.

The record reveals that the situs of the accident, Freret and Marengo are both paved and two way streets; on February 25th, 1951, the plaintiff and Mrs. Pátterson were guest passengers in an automobile, owned and operated by plaintiff’s husband. The front seat was occupied by Maloz, the driver, one of his children and plaintiff, who was seated on the extreme right thereof. Mrs. Patterson was seated on the right ■ of the rear seat opposite plaintiff’s second child. The car was proceeding in Marengo Street in the direction of the lake and the omnibus was being operated in Freret Street in the direction of Napoleon Avenue. The accident occurred when the omnibus of the New Orleans Public Service, Inc., collided with the Maloz vehicle in the intersection.

On the trial of the case counsel for plaintiffs called as witnesses four doctors, a photographer, Mrs. Maloz and Mrs. Patterson and then called the respective operators of the vehicles involved in the collision, Maloz and Thay Maddox, under cross-examination. Upon the termination of this testimony plaintiffs rested their case. At this point counsel for the defendant, Pacific Indemnity Company was of the opinion that the testimony of its insured, Maloz, conclusively established his freedom from negligence and, therefore, did not introduce any evidence on behalf of its insured, but chose instead to dictate into the record an exception of no right or cause of action, which was overruled. At the conclusion of the trial in the court, a qua, counsel for the Pacific Indemnity Company insisted and, on appeal so argues, that the- testimony of witnesses offered by the co-defendant, New Orleans Public Service, Inc., could not be evaluated by either court for the purpose of establishing negligence on the part of its insured, Maloz, however, the opinion in Driefus v. Levy, La.App., 140 So. 259, 261, is to the contrary. In that case the court said:

“The ruling of the lower court was correct. In Overstreet v. Ober et al, supra [14 La.App. 633, 130 So. 648], this court held that a plaintiff, suing defendants in solido for personal injuries, may introduce testimony fixing responsibility on both or either ([LSA] Civ.Code, arts. 2091, 2324), and defendants may introduce testimony to negative allegations of fault charged against them, and testimony introduced by either of the defendants sued in solido, if admissible, is part of the whole case and properly considered in determining the liability.”

Counsel for the defendant, Pacific Indemnity Company, insists that there was no logical foundation for’ the rationale of the Driefus case and, therefore, it should be overruled, however, in our opinion, we believe it to be based on sound adjective and substantive legal philosophy.

In any event, assuming arguendo, a view most favorable to the Pacific Indemnity Company that the testimony of witnesses offered by the co-defendant cannot be evaluated by the court for the purpose of establishing negligence on the part of its insured, Maloz, then we are of the opinion that Maloz’ testimony per se convicts him of negligence. He testified that he was traveling on Marengo Street; that he brought his car to a stop in obedience to a stop sign on the righthand side of the street, approximately ten feet removed from the intersection of Marengo and Freret Streets; the front of his car was six or seven feet past the stop sign; he looked to the left and observed nothing approaching; he then looked to his right and observed a bus in Freret Street approximately a block away; that he did not calculate its speed but assumed that he [342]*342had plenty of time “to beat it across” the intersection; he looked at the approaching bus for ten or fifteen seconds and then Started across the street in first gear, heard one of his children scream, noticed the bus almost upon him, quickly shifted to second gear, accelerated the engine endeavoring to clear the path of the bus, but he was unsuccessful, the accident occurred which ultimately resulted in this litigation.

It will, therefore, be appreciated that the testimony of Maloz is sufficient to warrant a finding of negligence against him. He occupied a position of safety and without exercising reasonable precautions which the law ordains and which common sense dictates maneuvered his automobile from its position of safety into heavily trafficked Freret Street, a preferential thoroughfare. If Maloz, who was in the less favored street, actually did stop at the corner he discharged but a part of the duty imposed upon him. He was required to go further then merely bringing his vehicle to a stop. This action must be followed by a careful appraisal of traffic on the right of way street and no entry should have been made therein unless conditions clearly warranted it. Harrell v. Goodwin, La.App., 32 So.2d 758; Porter v. deBoisblanc, La.App., 64 So.2d 864.

Since we are of the opinion that the court, a qua, was correct in overruling Pacific Indemnity’s exception of no right or cause of action, we shall resume the initial continuity of this decision, particularly with reference to the testimony of other witnesses concerning the negligence of Maloz.

The testimony of Mrs. Maloz and Mrs. Patterson was substantially the same. While they both said that Maloz brought his vehicle to a stop in Marengo Street before traversing Freret Street, they asserted that they were engaged in an animated conversation at the moment of the accident and, therefore, failed to observe any factors leading up to the collision.

Three witnesses, Clearo Carey, a passenger in the bus, L. T. Eastland, who was standing on the uptown corner of Marengo Street, and Edward J.

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Bluebook (online)
65 So. 2d 339, 1953 La. App. LEXIS 632, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/maloz-v-new-orleans-public-service-inc-lactapp-1953.