McWilliams v. Griffin

273 N.W. 209, 132 Neb. 753, 110 A.L.R. 1039, 1937 Neb. LEXIS 257
Nebraska Supreme Court·Decided May 14, 1937·No. No. 29931·Published·Cited by 16 cases

Opinion

Eberly, J.

Bessie McWilliams instituted this action against William Griffin and Sidney R. Lang, to recover for personal injuries received in an automobile accident occurring on May 4, 1935, in the city of Lincoln, at the bridge across Oak creek on North Tenth street. Defendants joined issue, and trial was had to a jury resulting in a judgment for plaintiff and against the defendants. From the order of the trial court overruling his motion for a new trial, Sidney R. Lang alone appeals.

The case on this appeal turns on the question whether the automobile involved in the accident in suit, let by Lang to Griffin, was defective, and whether the injuries for which plaintiff sues were received by her by reason of such defects, which the lessor might have discovered by reasonable inspection before letting. The defendant Lang-’s defense is a general denial, with which is coupled an allegation “that the injuries and damages sustained by the plaintiff, if any, were due to and the result of the carelessness, negligence and unlawful acts of the defendant William Griffin and the plaintiff herein, all of which were the proximate cause and contributed to the alleged damages to the plaintiff.”

Defendant Lang is engaged in the business of letting automobiles for hire. Under his plan of doing business, he does not furnish a chauffeur. The party obtaining the car provides his own driver. It appears that on the evening of May 4, 1935, at about 8:10 p. m., defendant Griffin appeared at Lang’s place of business and rented car No. 10, a Ford coach. On the delivery of this car to Griffin, he signed a printed certificate, of which the following is a copy:

“Arcade Rent-A-Ford Co. Phone B1647. Lincoln, Nebr. Date, May 4, ’35. This certifies that I have this day rented from the above company, Car No. (indicated below) in good condition. I am a competent driver and operator of this make of car, and hereby agree to be responsible for said car and to return same to said company [755] in as good condition as when received by me, the ordinary wear and tear excepted. I have deposited $4.00 as a guarantee of good faith in keeping the terms of this contract, and agree to pay said company for the use of said car. Failure to lock steering wheel makes me responsible in case of theft. W. E. Griffin (Signature of lessee.) Car No. 10, Insurance -, Meter in -, Time in -, Meter out, 21345, Time out 8:10, No. Miles traveled, -, Time -, Amount refunded for gas, oil, etc. $-, B15502. Net $-. Don’t Speed— Take No Chances — Safety First. Remember you are responsible for this car.”

The automobile then received by Griffin was a 1933-Y-8 Ford coach, and, as indicated above, was identified as “Car No. 10.” It had been purchased by Lang in the middle of 1933, and had been used continuously since that time in his business. The record discloses that immediately prior to this transaction in suit, on April 30, 1935, Albert York had rented and driven car No. 10 five miles; on May 1, following, witness L. S. Long had rented and driven it 18 miles; on May 2, 1935, S. Seguin had rented and driven it 122 miles; on May 3, witness M. L. Lawson had rented and driven it 11 miles; and on the same day Vern Thomas had rented car No. 10 and had driven it 23 miles. So far as disclosed by the record, none of these parties complained to defendant Lang of the working of this car. The affirmative evidence of Lawson and Long is that while they were operating this car it functioned properly. Indeed, Lawson’s testimony as to an occurrence on May 3, is: “Q. Do you remember how far you drove it? A. Well, I was almost to Malcolm to a farm out here and turned around and came back in. Q. How did the car drive? A. It drove all right for me. Q. Were the brakes working? A. They absolutely was, because I remember when I came in from Abe’s Tavern, when I came around the curve there I was going 55 to 60, and a car came out from the road there and I had to stop to keep from hitting him. Q. Did the car shimmy? A. It did not. Q. The brakes worked all right, did they? A. They sure did.”

[756] This car No. 10, prior to being turned over to Griffin on May 4, had been inspected by witness Guild, who was an employee of Lang. He testified, with reference to car No. 10: “Q. What did you do to this particular car? A. I thoroughly inspected it, changed the oil, filled it with gas, tested the brakes up and down the aisle, inflated the tires, everything that needed to be done. Q. Was the air the same in the tires all the way round, just what it should be? A. Yes. Q. Did you know at the time that Mr. Griffin had ordered the car for the evening? A. No; I didn’t know that he had ordered it. Q. Mr. Lang told you to get it ready and have it ready for the evening? A. Yes. Q. And you did that? A. Yes. Q. Was the car working all right? A. Perfect, so far as I know it was working perfect. Q. Did you take the car out and drive it around the street? A. I did, around the block.”

Further, defendant Lang testified that on May 4, before it was turned over to defendant Griffin, he personally drove car No. 10 to the gas pump and filled it; that the brakes were then in good condition, and that there was nothing wrong with the accelerator, the spindles, or the steering device.

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McWilliams v. Griffin, 273 N.W. 209, 132 Neb. 753, 110 A.L.R. 1039, 1937 Neb. LEXIS 257 (Neb. 1937).

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