McElwee v. Curtiss-Wright Corp.

70 F. Supp. 97, 1947 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2781
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Missouri
DecidedFebruary 18, 1947
DocketNo. 4343
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 70 F. Supp. 97 (McElwee v. Curtiss-Wright Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McElwee v. Curtiss-Wright Corp., 70 F. Supp. 97, 1947 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2781 (E.D. Mo. 1947).

Opinion

HULEN, District Judge.

Plaintiff’s action is for damages for personal injuries sustained by him on November 3, 1944, when he was struck by an automobile driven by one Fulstone. Plaintiff would fix liability on defendant as a consequence of a joint enterprise, which defendant and Fulstone are alleged to have been engaged in at the time Fulstone’s automobile struck plaintiff. Several assignments of negligence are pled. By argument and brief plaintiff urges only the humanitarian doctrine as a basis of recovery.

Findings of Fact.

Joint Enterprise.

1. On November 3, 1944, defendant was engaged in manufacturing aircraft, for the Government, in its factory in St. Louis County. One Fulstone was employed by defendant in the maintenance department inside the plant; his duties did not require him to operate an automobile.

2. Plaintiff was struck by an automobile, owned and being operated by Fulstone on a public highway, when plaintiff and Fulstone were on their ways from their homes to defendant’s factory.

3. There were in effect at the time Office of Price Administration rationing regulations governing use of gasoline and automobile tires; the basic allotment of gasoline was not sufficient for Fulstone to operate his automobile on work days between his home and defendant’s factory.

4. To secure additional gasoline, under Government regulations Fulstone (and other employees so situated) was required to offer to other employees of defendant transportation on a share-ride basis, and additional gas rations were issued on the basis of the most direct route from operators’ homes to the factory.

5. To promote the convenience of its employees in obtaining additional gas rations and to comply with Government regulations, defendant set up and operated an Employees’ Service Bureau and through it employees contacted share riders and share riders contacted operators of share-ride automobiles; provided tire inspection service that share-ride automobile operators could meet Government requirements; accepted applications for additional gas rations; certified the use of automobiles in share-ride operation on forms of and as required by Government regulations; took applications to the Government rationing office; after applications had been passed on by the Government bureau and gas ration coupons had been issued thereon by such bureau, delivered such additional gas ration coupons to share-ride car operators through its Employees’ Service Bureau.

6. Such service performed by defendant resulted in a saving to automobile oper[99]*99ators of time and inconvenience in going to the Government office.

7. The services furnished by the defendant required the time of a number of defendant’s employees. Defendant employed approximately 16,000 persons and approximately 1,400 of such employees used public transportation. To operate defendant’s plant and secure sufficient attendance of employees, transportation for employees in addition to public transportation was required and such necessity was met by the share-ride system; such system thereby being a benefit to defendant.

8. Fulstone usually rode from his home to defendant’s factory in a car operated by another share-ride automobile driver and car owner and sometimes used public conveyance, and only occasionally used his own car as he was doing at the time plaintiff was injured. By the use of the facilities of the Employees’ Service Bureau he made his own arrangements and selection of passengers he would convey between their homes and the factory. He made his own agreements with riders as to the compensation for transportation. He was not required to report such compensation or share any part of it with the defendant. He selected his own route and manner of driving and without consulting defendant changed cars and drivers to meet the convenience of the automobile operators. He and others similarly situated could have made application direct to the Government office for additional gas rations had they so elected.

10. Prior to the 3rd day of November, 1944, Fulstone learned of the share-ride regulations and requirements of the Government through other employees of defendant and through a company paper issued by defendant at the plant. He went to the Employees’ Service Bureau maintained by defendant, made application for additional gasoline to use his car for transportation to work at defendant’s factory, signed such forms as were used to set up a share ride in the use of his car for transporting employees to and from defendant’s factory. The Employees’ Service Bureau of defendant furnished Fulstone an application blank as prepared and issued by the Government rationing office and he obtained the signatures of passengers to ride in his automobile under the share-ride system. Such application was transferred through defendant’s Employees’ Service Bureau to the Government gas rationing office, there approved, additional gas rationing stamps issued and delivered to Fulstone at defendant’s factory through the Employees’ Service Bureau, and Fulstone was operating on such gasoline his share-ride automobile with share-ride passengers at the time plaintiff was struck and injured.

Negligence.

11. At the time plaintiff was injured two lanes of traffic were moving west to the entrance of defendant’s factory grounds on North Road. Plaintiff was injured on North Road somewhere between that portion of North Road approximately opposite the disposal plant (on defendant’s premises) and a distance 300 feet east of the disposal plant. North Road runs east and west and has a black topped paved surface approximately 37 feet wide. There was west bound traffic on North Road at the time plaintiff was injured. The pavement was substantially level where plaintiff was struck with a slight rise to the east.

12. Plaintiff was riding in an automobile driven by one Giles which was moving in the north lane of traffic. Giles’ automobile was driven to the north shoulder off the pavement and stopped. Plaintiff got out of the car and with Giles and one Peck, another passenger, started walking west toward the factory gates on the north shoulder of the highway. It was raining at the time and the highway was wet. After plaintiff had walked to a point approximately IS feet west of the Giles car someone in a car in the south lane of traffic called to plaintiff and offered him a ride. He was then walking approximately one step, or 30 inches, to the north on the north edge of the pavement. He immediately turned to the south and took two or three steps toward and onto the pavement. He failed, before starting toward the car from which he had received an invitation to ride, to exercise that degreé' of care which an ordinarily prudent person would under the same or similar circumstances, [100]*100by looking for and observing cars coming from the east and moving in the north lane of traffic which he was entering and about to cross. Had he exercised such care he would have seen, before moving onto the pavement, the car diven by Fulstone approaching from the east in the north traffic lane.

13. When plaintiff received the invitation to ride Peck was walking one or two steps west of plaintiff. Peck immediately turned, saw the Fulstone car approaching from the east, saw that it was then 15 or 20 feet east of plaintiff, hollered a warning to plaintiff, tried to grab plaintiff, at which time plaintiff was approximately 5 feet onto the highway.

14.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
70 F. Supp. 97, 1947 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2781, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcelwee-v-curtiss-wright-corp-moed-1947.