Mercado v. Nelson

235 P. 123, 118 Kan. 302, 1925 Kan. LEXIS 173
CourtSupreme Court of Kansas
DecidedApril 11, 1925
DocketNo. 25,843
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 235 P. 123 (Mercado v. Nelson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mercado v. Nelson, 235 P. 123, 118 Kan. 302, 1925 Kan. LEXIS 173 (kan 1925).

Opinion

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Marshall, J.:

The plaintiff recovered judgment for damages caused by injuries sustained in being run down by an automobile driven by the defendant in Kansas City, Mo. Judgment was rendered in favor of the plaintiff for $1,500. Both parties appeal.

The first complaint of the defendant is that “the court erred in permitting incompetent, irrelevant, immaterial and prejudicial evidence, and in permitting hearsay and secondary evidence to be introduced by plaintiff, and in permitting plaintiff to ask leading and suggestive questions, all over defendant’s objections.” Briefly stated, one of the several matters here complained of is that a physician and surgeon who treated the plaintiff testified concerning an X-ray picture of the plaintiff’s injuries. The picture had been taken by another person, who was not produced as a witness, but it had been taken on the order of the witness who was testifying. The objection was that no foundation had been laid for the introduction of the picture. Another matter complained of is that this physician was permitted to testify that the plaintiff had a cough, pneumonia and chronic bronchitis, which had resulted from the injuries sustained by him. The petition alleged that pneumonia had resulted from the injury, but said nothing about bronchitis. [304]*304On the application of the plaintiff, the petition was amended to include bronchitis. The other matters concerning hearsay evidence and leading and suggestive questions have been examined, and the court is unable to see wherein there was any reversible error in the manner in which the plaintiff was permitted to question his witnesses.

The defendant insists that “the court erred in permitting plaintiff to amend his petition, over defendant’s objection.” The occasion for permitting one amendment has been detailed. The petition alleged that the defendant at the time of the accident was driving his car in violation of ordinance No. 28,759 of Kansas City, Mo. On the trial it appeared that the ordinance named had been repealed, and another one, No. 44,580, had taken its place. Upon that fact appearing, the plaintiff asked and was given leave to amend his petition by setting out the number of the new ordinance, but that ordinance was not admitted in evidence. The defendant complains of those amendments, but it does not appear that either of them in any way prejudiced the defendant.

The defendant urges that “the court erred in his refusal to discharge the jury, following misconduct and prejudicial remarks of plaintiff’s counsel.” Matters of which complaint is made concerned the examination of the plaintiff about insurance covering the accident. Counsel for the defendant first cross-examined the plaintiff concerning the amount of insurance he had received. Counsel for the plaintiff then questioned him concerning the insurance be carried. A colloquy between counsel occurred. After that colloquy and the examination, the defendant requested that the jury be discharged. After the defendant went into the matter of insurance on cross-examination of the plaintiff, it was not error for him to explain the matter fully. There is no occasion for the reversal of the judgment on this ground.

Another complaint is that “the court erred in overruling defendant’s motion to strike out any and all evidence pertaining to any speed of the car, and in overruling defendant’s demurrer to the evidence at the close of plaintiff’s case.” To support his complaint the defendant in his brief says:

“Plaintiff’s petition fails to set out the common law, the statutory law or the ordinances in effect in the state of Missouri or the city of Kansas City, and plaintiff erroneously assumes that the laws of Missouri are similar to the laws of Kansas.”

[305]*305It appears that an ordinance of Kansas City, Mo., governing the driving of automobiles was offered in evidence, but was not admitted. The plaintiff’s right to recover then stood on the allegation of the petition that the defendant “was driving said automobile without due regard for the safety and convenience of pedestrians, was driving said automobile at a speed in excess of twelve miles per hour, and was driving said automobile at a greater rate of speed than ten miles per hour while plaintiff was upon said intersection and while there was .danger of collision with plaintiff, and was so driving said automobile that he did not or could not stop the same when he saw, or by the exercise of reasonable care and skill should have seen, plaintiff in a position of danger, and drove said automobile without having same under proper control and in such a careless and negligent manner as to collide with plaintiff.” Plaintiff had been struck by the automobile driven by the defendant while the former was standing at or near a platform waiting for a street car on which he wished to ride. The defendant urges that the plaintiff cannot recover until he has shown what the law of the state of Missouri or Kansas City, Mo., was, and has shown that that law permitted him to recover under the circumstances disclosed by the evidence. We quote from a note to Brown v. Wright, 21 L. R. A. 467, as follows:

“As a general rule the law of another state will, in the absence of evidence, be presumed to be the same as that of the state where the court is sitting.”

From the same note on page 472 we quote as follows:'

“On common-law questions the presumption is that the laws of other states are the same as those of the forum.”

See, also, 10 R. C. L. 890; 22 C. J. 154; Furrow v. Chapin, 13 Kan. 107; Rogers v. Coates, 38 Kan. 232, 16 Pac. 463; Woolacott v. Case, 63 Kan. 35, 64 Pac. 965; Poll v. Hicks, 67 Kan. 191, 72 Pac. 847; Savings Assn. v. Worz, 67 Kan. 506, 73 Pac. 116; Bank v. Nordstrom, 70 Kan. 485, 78 Pac. 804; Sykes v. Bank, 78 Kan. 688, 98 Pac. 206; Bershears v. Nelson, 80 Kan. 194, 101 Pac. 1011; Nichols v. Bryden, 86 Kan. 941, 122 Pac. 1119; Newton v. Insurance Co., 95 Kan. 427, 148 Pac. 619; Werner v. Winzer, 109 Kan. 647, 202 Pac. 80.

The defendant admits that this is the law concerning all matters arising out of contract, but urges that it is not the law governing matters arising in tort. The court is unable to see why this rule should prevail in actions arising out of contracts and not in action for torts. If the petition had alleged that what the defendant did [306]*306had been done in this state, a cause of action would have been stated. The plaintiff alleged that the accident occurred in Missouri. In the absence of pleadings or evidence to the contrary, the courts of this state must presume that the law in Kansas City, Mo., is the same as the law of this state. For that reason it must be held that the evidence was sufficient to prove, and the petition stated, a cause of action.

Defendant urges that “the court erred in giving, on its own motion, illegal and improper instructions in the case . . . being numbered 1 to 16, inclusive.” Complaint is made of part of one instruction. That part reads as follows:

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
235 P. 123, 118 Kan. 302, 1925 Kan. LEXIS 173, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mercado-v-nelson-kan-1925.