Maryland Casualty Co. v. Wilson

108 S.W.2d 260, 1937 Tex. App. LEXIS 810
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJuly 14, 1937
DocketNo. 10165.
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 108 S.W.2d 260 (Maryland Casualty Co. v. Wilson) 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
Maryland Casualty Co. v. Wilson, 108 S.W.2d 260, 1937 Tex. App. LEXIS 810 (Tex. Ct. App. 1937).

Opinion

SLATTON, Justice.

Owen Leon Wilson filed suit in the Fifty-Seventh district court of Bexar county, Tex., against Maryland Casualty Company, to set aside an adverse award of the Industrial Accident Board. Special issues were answered by the jury favorable to ap-pellee, upon which the trial court entered judgment in favor of appellee and against appellant. The appellant presents for review several propositions raising the lack of evidence to support the verdict, the sufficiency of the evidence to support the verdict, and claims the verdict of the jury is against the great weight and preponderance of the evidence. We shall discuss these questions together.

In this situation wherein the verdict of the jury and the judgment entered thereon is under attack in an appellate court, it is well established in this state that it is the duty of an appellate court to disregard all evidence in the record which is against the verdict of the jury, and to consider only that evidence in the record which is in support of the verdict of the jury, together with every legal inference that may be logically drawn therefrom. Safety Casualty Co. v. Staggs (Tex.Civ.App.) 99 S.W.(2d) 682.

Owen Leon Wilson, appellee, was working for the Central Shoe Repair Company on December 31, 1935; his duties were to solicit repair work, make deliveries of the shoes, such work to be done in one of the company’s automobiles. He was paid $10 a week, plus a 5 per cent, commission upon all the work that he was able to solicit and bring in. The record shows that on such date he was employed and made delivery of some shoes belonging to Elmer Hibdon, who resided in the 700 block of Baylor street, at about 9:30 o’clock in the evening; that the shoes were not satisfactory to Hibdon; that Hib-don and his wife wanted to go to a dance that night; and that his wife wanted to use the shoes because she had no others suited for the occasion. Hibdon requested appel- *262 lee to go back to the Central Shoe Repair Company and get the matter straightened out. Appellee’s instructions were to either bring back the cash or else bring back the shoes. It was Hibdon’s desire, if it would be satisfactory, that his wife wear the shoes on that occasion and that the company make good on their work thereafter.

After leaving Hibdon’s place, the appellee completed some other deliveries and returned to the shoe shop and there found his employer in a state of intoxication. After checking in, that is, making delivery of his cash to tho cashier, Wilson started back to Hibdon’s home in the 700 block of Baylor street to advise him that it was all right to go ahead and permit his wife to wear the shoes, and that appellee would see that the shoes were repaired afterwards.

It was also in evidence that one Buster Wilcut, who was living on Baylor street in the 200 block, had discussed with ap-pellee‘the question of repairing some shoes owned by him, and he requested appellee that when he was in his vicinity to call on him with regard to the work he wanted done. At the time appellee returned to and arrived at the Hibdon home, the Hibdons had then already departed. Appellee went to Wilcut’s house to solicit the shoe repair work, but on account of a difference in price was unable to obtain the work from Wilcut.

Upon his return from these two errands, and while going toward the garage where the cars were kept, he had a collision and received a serious injury, the extent of which is not in question on this appeal.

While it is true that most of the evidence sustaining the verdict of the jury in the record comes from the appellee, who is interested in this case, still there is other evidence in the record which corroborates his evidence. We are of the opinion, therefore, that the verdict of the jury has support in the evidence and that the trial court was correct in submitting the controversial issues to the jury and upon such answers rendering judgment for appellee against appellant thereon. Lumberman’s Reciprocal Association v. Behnken et al., 112 Tex. 103, 246 S.W. 72, 28 A.L.R. 1402; Federal Surety Company v. Ragle (Tex.Com.App.) 40 S.W.(2d) 63, 65.

In the Ragle Case, supra, Mr. Justice Sharp, speaking for the Supreme Court, approved this language: “It was not necessary that the injury complained of by appellee should have been sustained during the hours of actual service which he was required by the terms of his employment to render to said company. The course of his employment was not • limited to the exact moment when he reported for duty at the camp that morning, nor to the moment when his labors for the day were completed. It necessarily included reasonable time thereafter to return from said camp to the highway in the usual and customary manner. * * * Neither was it necessary that appellee should have been at the time discharging some specific duty required by his employment. It was sufficient that he was at the time engaged in doing something incident to his employment. * * * ‘An accident arises in the course of and out of the employment when it occurs within the period of the employment, at a place where the employee reasonably may be in the performance of his duty and while he is fulfilling that duty or engaged in doing something incidental thereto.’ ”

It was claimed in this case that at the time the appellee cashed in at about 10 or 10:30 p. m. on the night of December 31, he was instructed to immediately thereafter place his car in the company’s garage. However, the appellee denied this and testified, and was corroborated by other witnesses, that frequently it was the custom of employees, such as appellee, to make deliveries and solicit business after having checked in. And if it is true, as testified by appellee and undoubtedly believed by the jury, that after checking in at about 10 or 10:30 p. m. he thereafter went in the company’s car to solicit business for the company and called upon the Hibdons and Mr. Wilcut, and upon his return received his injury, certainly such injury was within the course of his employment, and com-pensable, as is contemplated under our compensation statute (Vernon’s Ann. Civ. St. art. 8306 et seq.).

Therefore, all of appellant’s propositions attacking the evidence are without merit, and are overruled.

Appellant next complains of the refusal of the trial court to submit its specially requested issues, which sought a finding of the jury as to whether or not the appellee had instructions to place the car in the garage after checking in, and .if the appellee failed to obey said instructions, and if the same was a producing *263 cause of his injury. To our minds, these special issues are evidentiary.

In the case of Liberty Mutual Insurance Company v. Boggs, 66 S.W.(2d) 787, 794, the Eastland Court of Civil Appeals says: “If it were a part of Boggs’ business as employee to give flying lessons, then the fact that he disobeyed instructions to return the plane at the time he was directed to do so did not remove him from the course of his employment.”

The court further says: “He violated no part of the instruction, except that part which required that the return of he plane be ‘today.’ In no proper sense can it be said that he was killed as the result of disregarding his instructions; but, even if that were the case, the violation of instructions does not necessarily remove an employee from the course of his employment.

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

Related

Saint Paul Mercury Indemnity Company v. Tarver
272 S.W.2d 795 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1954)
Liberty Mut. Ins. Co. v. Hughes
238 S.W.2d 803 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1951)
Texas Employers' Ins. Ass'n v. Frankum
198 S.W.2d 484 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1946)
Neale v. Weaver
88 P.2d 522 (Idaho Supreme Court, 1939)
Maryland Casualty Co. v. Crosby
117 S.W.2d 524 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1938)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
108 S.W.2d 260, 1937 Tex. App. LEXIS 810, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/maryland-casualty-co-v-wilson-texapp-1937.