McIntire v. Sellers

311 S.W.2d 886, 1958 Tex. App. LEXIS 1894
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 19, 1958
Docket10558
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 311 S.W.2d 886 (McIntire v. Sellers) 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
McIntire v. Sellers, 311 S.W.2d 886, 1958 Tex. App. LEXIS 1894 (Tex. Ct. App. 1958).

Opinions

ARCHER, Chief Justice.

This suit was filed by appellee for damages for permanent personal injuries sustained when a pickup truck, in which he was riding, was hit from the rear by an automobile owned by appellant and being driven by Jimmy Wilson. The car had been loaned by appellant to Wilson to make a personal trip and the suit is founded on the theory of “Negligent Entrustment.”

The petition alleged, and plaintiff secured jury findings, that appellant was guilty of negligence in lending his automobile to Wilson without first ascertaining whether Wilson had a driver’s license, or knew, or by the exercise of ordinary care should have known, that Wilson was a reckless and incompetent driver.

The case was tried with the aid of a jury which found that the injuries and damages were proximately caused by Wilson’s negligent driving and that appellant was negligent in permitting Wilson to drive the car.

The defendant, appellant herein, filed his special exceptions, which were overruled and requested the submission of his special issue No. 1 which was refused.

Based on the jury’s verdict, judgment was rendered in favor of appellee and against both Wilson and appellant for $36,293.45. Wilson has not appealed.

Appellant filed his motions for instructed verdict, and for judgment notwithstanding the verdict which were overruled.

The appeal is founded on 25 assignments of error and are to the effect that the Court erred in overruling the motion for instructed verdict, the motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, in overruling special exception No. 1, in refusing to submit defendant’s requested issues Nos. 1 and 2, in failing to give special instruction No. 1 so as to include element of foreseeability, in holding that the evidence was sufficient to support the jury’s finding in response to special issues Nos. 9, 11 and 12, in overruling special exception No. 2, in refusing to define “reckless and incompetent” as used in the charge, in permitting proof of Wilson’s incompetence and recklessness by specific acts instead of by general reputation, in permitting proof that Wilson had pleaded guilty to being drunk on the public streets, in permitting proof that Wilson’ had pleaded guilty on several occasions to being drunk in a public place, and disturbing the peace, to running stop signs and lights, and driving without a driver’s license, and driving while intoxicated, and that he was unable to pass driver’s license [888]*888test, that he had been convicted of driving without a driver’s license, and finally in including as a recoverable item of damage future nursing expense.

Appellant and a partner operate a “One Stop Fishing Center” under the name of “Sam, the Minnow Man” on the Fredericks-burg Road outside of Austin.

Three or four days before the date of injury, and while appellant was out of town, Sam Davidson, the partner, employed Wilson as porter and general handyman for the business. Wilson had been recommended by a man named Hilliard who worked at a Barbecue Stand about 2 miles from the place of business. Appellant did not know what other investigation Mr. Davidson made but he respected Davidson’s judgment.

Appellant on Thursday before Saturday, the day the accident occurred, told Wilson to take his personal car and go a short distance for some eggs and observed Wilson’s manner in operating the car, and that Wilson was gone about 10 minutes. On the next day appellant requested Wilson to take the car and go get some sandwiches at a Barbecue Stand about 2 miles out the highway, and Wilson returned in about 30 minutes. Appellant further testified that he saw nothing wrong with Wilson’s driving, who appeared to be a competent driver.

On Saturday Wilson asked appellant to lend him his car to go to a fraternity house in Austin to' get a check, and gave the address. Appellant testified that he asked Wilson if he had a driver’s license and that Wilson said that he did.

The car was loaned to Wilson at 9 o’clock Saturday morning and instead of returning as he had promised, Wilson found some friends and began to drink beer at various places, and started to Manor, Texas, in appellant’s car to get some money which one of the friends had, and en route the collision occurred.

Special Issues Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4 are directed to the rate of speed Wilson was driving and proximate cause arising, and' Issues Nos. 5 and 6 concerning the question of driving while intoxicated. Special Issues Nos. 7 and 8 are directed to the question of proper lookout, and these issues and the answers thereto are not under attack.

The Court defined “Negligence”, “Ordinary Care”, and “Proximate Cause” as follows :

“ ‘Negligence’, as that term is used in this charge, means the doing of that which a person of ordinary prudence in the exercise of ordinary care would not have done under the same or similar circumstances, or the failure to do that which a person of ordinary prudence in the exercise of ordinary care would have done under the same or similar circumstances.
‘Ordinary care’, as that term is used in this charge, means that degree of care which a person of ordinary prudence would exercise under the same or similar circumstances.
“ ‘Proximate cause’, as that term is used in this charge, means a cause without which the result complained of would not have occurred, and from which cause, such result, or some similar result, might reasonably be anticipated as a natural and probable consequence by a person of ordinary care and prudence, in the light of attending circumstances. There may be more than one proximate cause of an event.”
Among issues submitted were:
“Special Issue No. 9:
“Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that McCord Mclntire was negligent, as that term is herein defined, by lending Jimmy Wilson his automobile without first ascertaining whether the said Jimmy Wilson had a driver's license?
“Answer this special issue ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’
[889]*889“Answer: Yes.
“In connection with the foregoing special issue, you are instructed that the word ‘ascertain’ means to find out or learn for a certainty.
“Special Issue No. 10:
“Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that at the time he borrowed McCord Mclntire’s automobile, Jimmy Wilson was a reckless and incompetent driver?
“Answer this special issue ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’
“Answer: Yes.
“If you have answered the foregoing special issue ‘Yes’, and only if you have so answered, you will answer the following special issue.
“Special Issue No. 11:
“Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that at said time, Mc-Cord Mclntire, by the exercise of ordinary care, should have known that Jimmy Wilson was a reckless and incompetent driver, if you have so found ?
“Answer this special issue ‘Yes’ or ■‘No.’
“Answer: Yes.

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McIntire v. Sellers
311 S.W.2d 886 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1958)

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Bluebook (online)
311 S.W.2d 886, 1958 Tex. App. LEXIS 1894, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcintire-v-sellers-texapp-1958.