Martin v. Estate of Gurinsky

377 S.W.2d 710, 1964 Tex. App. LEXIS 2087
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedApril 1, 1964
Docket11177
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 377 S.W.2d 710 (Martin v. Estate of Gurinsky) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Martin v. Estate of Gurinsky, 377 S.W.2d 710, 1964 Tex. App. LEXIS 2087 (Tex. Ct. App. 1964).

Opinions

ARCHER, Chief Justice.

This appeal is from a judgment based on a jury verdict denying plaintiff any recovery growing out of a suit for damages for personal injuries and to property.

The accident occurred on U. S. Highway 281 in Blanco County, Texas, early in the night of December 28, 1960, when an automobile occupied by appellant collided with an upset cattle trailer owned by appellee Gurinsky Cattle Market and operated by Edward Rodriguez, its employee, which trailer had broken loose from a pickup truck.

The collision was on the down grade of a steep hill. Immediately after the upset and after the driver of the truck had alighted and picked up a flashlight, he ran toward the approaching car of the plaintiff waving the flashlight.

The jury exonerated both plaintiff and defendant of any acts of negligence and found that the accident in question was unavoidable, and did not award the plaintiff any damages fpr personal injuries but did allow property damages.

The appeal is founded on ten points-assigned as error by the trial court in submitting issue No. 14 inquiring whether or not the accident was the result of an un[711]*711avoidable accident because there was no evidence, or that there was insufficient evidence to support the submission of such issue; that the answer of the jury is against all of the evidence and the overwhelming weight and preponderance of the evidence; that the answer of the jury to issue No. 1 that Rodriguez did not fail to have the pickup and trailer under proper control, because such finding is against all of the evidence and against the overwhelming weight and preponderance of the evidence ; because Rodriguez admitted that he did not have proper control of the truck and the trailer at the time and place in question; that the finding of the jury in answer to issue No. 3 that the failure of Rodriguez to place a lighted fusee on the roadway was not a proximate cause of the collision is against all the weight and the overwhelming weight and preponderance of the evidence; that the court erred in not setting aside the answer of the jury to issue No. IS that Martin was not entitled to any damages for his injuries and in not granting a new trial.

This case was submitted to the jury by 17 special issues and by its answers to issues Nos. 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6, the defendant Rodriguez was absolved from negligence in the manner of operating the pickup and in failing to place a lighted fusee on the roadway and did not fail to take such action to warn the plaintiff of the presence of the overturned trailer as a person of ordinary care would have done and the failure to remove the trailer from the highway before the collision was not negligence. (Issues Nos. 2, 3, S and 7 were conditional and were not answered.)

The jury found that Martin did not fail to keep a proper lookout, and did not fail to have his automobile under proper control and was not operating his automobile at a negligent rate of speed.

We believe that the issue of unavoidable accident was raised and that the evidence reasonably supports the findings of the jury.

The jury saw and heard the witnesses, and observed their demeanor and resolved; the fact issues as reflected by its answers to the issues and we believe it was justified! in its findings.

As stated the collision occurred on a misty night on a steep hill and both drivers had been going down the hill at a rate of no more than 25 miles per hour by the truck and 50 to 55 miles by the automobile, both vehicles were going south on a four lane highway.

Mr. Martin testified that he was driving at about 55 miles per hour south on Highway 281 on December 28, 1960, at about 8:30 P.M. and as he proceeded over the crest of a hill he noticed headlights in the road ahead of him and assumed they belonged to a vehicle coming towards him and as he passed this vehicle and cleared the glare he noticed for the first time an object across the road and attempted to avoid striking the object by turning his car to the right but struck the object and was thrown out.

Edward Rodriguez, one of the defendants called by plaintiff as an adverse witness* testified that he was employed by Gurinsky and was operating a truck trailer on the night of the accident and had come from San Antonio, Texas, to bring some cattle and to pick up four cows at Mr. McLean’s place and had done so and was returning to San Antonio at about 8:20 P.M.

The witness testified that the highway was wet and a mist falling and he was going down hill at about 25 miles per hour and in response to a question by plaintiff’s attorney as to why he was driving so slow, stated:

“A Well, sir, so I, you know, I was afraid it might whip.
“Q All right. In other words, if you drove any faster than twenty-five, you knew that trailer was going to whip; is that right ?
“A What?
[712]*712“Q You knew that if you drove any faster than twenty-five the trailer was going to whip; is that right ?
“A When it got faster, when going down-hill, turned over, I was running about thirty when I turned over.
“Q Reason you drove twenty-five, though, was because you knew if ' you drove any faster the trailer would whip; isn’t that right ?
“A In other words, if you go to whipping, it will do it at more speed.
“Q That’s what I’m saying: If you drove any faster than twenty-five, you knew the trailer was going to go to whipping; isn’t that right?
| “A Yes, sir.
“Q All right. And you say you were going thirty at the time the trailer actually turned over?
“A That’s right.
“Q Now, is it easier or harder to control a trailer going down-hill or up-hill ? Let me rephrase that. Is it easier to control a trailer when you are driving up-hill or when you are driving down-hill ? Easier gaing up, isn’t it, as far as the whipping and other things to ?
“A Easier, yes.
. “Q Easier to control going up-hill. And you knew that before this accident happened, didn’t you?
a A Yes, sir.
“Q How long you been pulling trailers like that?
“A Oh, about forty-two years.
“Q All right. Now, as you started down the hill, you increased your speed, you say, to about thirty miles an hour ?
“A Yes, sir.
And the trailer did just what you knew it would do, it started whipping; isn’t that right? Q
‘A Started to whipping.
'Q Started to whipping. What did you do when it started to whipping?
‘A Well, I took my foot off the gas?
‘Q Took your foot off the gas?
‘A I was going about twenty-five. When it started going thirty I took my foot off the gas, when I seen it was going to whip.
‘Q All right. That was when you got up to thirty?
‘A Yes.

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Martin v. Estate of Gurinsky
377 S.W.2d 710 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1964)

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Bluebook (online)
377 S.W.2d 710, 1964 Tex. App. LEXIS 2087, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/martin-v-estate-of-gurinsky-texapp-1964.