Oklahoma Farm Bureau Mut. Ins. Co. v. Mouse

1953 OK 212, 268 P.2d 886, 1953 Okla. LEXIS 677
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedJuly 7, 1953
Docket35607
StatusPublished
Cited by32 cases

This text of 1953 OK 212 (Oklahoma Farm Bureau Mut. Ins. Co. v. Mouse) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Oklahoma Farm Bureau Mut. Ins. Co. v. Mouse, 1953 OK 212, 268 P.2d 886, 1953 Okla. LEXIS 677 (Okla. 1953).

Opinions

DAVISON, Justice.

This is a proceeding in garnishment against the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company, as garnishee,, whereby the plaintiff, Roy Mouse, seeks payment of a judgment in his favor against Rubai Ruther and Leland A. Seba, a copartnership, as defendant. The parties will be referred to as they appeared in the trial court.

Plaintiff instituted this action against the defendant by filing his petition, which, except for formal parts, is as follows:

“Comes now the plaintiff, Roy Mouse, and for his cause of action against the de[887]*887fendants, Rubai Ruther and Leland A. Seba, a co-partnership, alleges and states:

“1. That the defendants, Rubai Ruther and Leland A. Seba, at the time this cause of action arose and for some time thereafter were partners in the business of custom combining and following the wheat harvest and that the said Rubai Ruther is now and has been for many years a resident of Custer County, Oklahoma,

“2. That on or about the 6th day of July, 1949, the said Rubai Ruther came to the home of the plaintiff and employed the said plaintiff to work for the partnership of Rubai Ruther and Leland A. Seba as a truck driver and combine operator at 'an hourly wage of $1.25; that the said plaintiff accepted said employment and went to work for said copartnership. That said plaintiff on or about the 15th day of July, 1949, and while in the employ of the defendants was riding in the cook shack with the said Leland A. Seba and were following a self-propelled combine loaded upon a truck; that near the town of Pegosha Springs, Colorado, and while attempting to go under a bridge, the breather pipe of the combine, loaded upon the truck immediately in front of the automobile driven by one of the defendants, Leland A. Se'ba, caught upon the bottom of said bridge; that the said Leland A. Seba ordered and commanded the said plaintiff to climb upon said truck and upon the top of the combine and to bend down the breather pipe so that it would clear said bridge; that the plaintiff tried to bend said pipe while holding on to the combine with one arm and was unable to do so and thereupon the defendant Leland A. Seba ordered his employee, Roy Mouse, to “grab the son of a bitch and bend it down”; that the plaintiff acting under the direct orders of the defendant grabbed the said pipe with both hands and that the bracket holding said pipe to the side of the combine was broken and threw the plaintiff to the highway and broke, crushed, and mangled his right arm and caused internal injuries to the head of said plaintiff.

“3. Plaintiff alleges .that his said injuries were caused by the negligence and want of care of the defendants in either or all of the following particulars, to-wit:

“(1) That the defendants were guilty of negligence and want of care in ordering, commanding and instructing this plaintiff into a place of danger and ordering him to perform an act that was dangerous in itself while said plaintiff was in this place of danger, to-wit: atop a self propelled combine which was loaded upon a truck and while said truck was upon a heavily traveled highway; and by ordering, commanding and instructing this plaintiff to perform a dangerous act in an improper, dangerous, and unskillful manner, all of which was known to the defendants and that this plaintiff relied upon the- defendants knowledge as to the propriety of such order, command and instruction and did so act as ordered, commanded and instructed by his master and that by so acting under said order, command and instruction of the defendants, this plaintiff was seriously and permanently injured as hereinafter set out and that such injury was the direct' and proximate result of his obedience to the order, Command and instruction of the defendants.

“4. Plaintiff alleges that he was without fault in the premises and that his injury as hereinafter set out was directly and proximately caused by the negligence and want of care of his masters, the defendants herein, as hereinbefore set out, but for which this plaintiff’s injury would not have occurred.

“5. Plaintiff further alleges that as a result of said accident that he was rendered unconscious, and remained unconscious for several hours; that his right arm was crushed, broken and mangled and that the fingers on his right hand were broken and mangled and that he suffered a severe concussion of the head and that .for several days thereafter he had a drainage of blood from his mouth and ears, and that his body was otherwise injured and bruised; that he has lost the use of — -right arm and hand and that said -loss is permanent and that his ability to earn a livelihood has been permanently and seriously impaired, and that because of said injury as aforesaid that this plaintiff has been damaged in the sum of $20,000.00; plaintiff further alleges that by reason of the physical and mental suffering resulting from his said injury and [888]*888from- the pain.and suffering-which he.has had .as a result of his injury that he is- entitled to recover an additional sum- of $15,-000.00 from said defendants.

“6. Plaintiff further-alleges that his-doctor bills incurred immediately after the-injury weré paid for by the defendants, but that he is still taking treatments from Dr. Paul B. Lingenfelter and that he has become liable to pay to him the sum of $92.00 at this date a-nd that he is taking treatments at this time and will incur more doctor bills in the future, the amount of- which is unknown.

“Wherefore, plaintiff prays judgment against the defendants in the sum of $35,092.00 and the costs of this' action.”

A trial of the case to a.jury culminated in the following judgment, to-wit:

“On this 26th day of September, 1950, came plaintiff in person and by his attorney, Ira Monroe, and also came the defendant, Rubai Ruther and Leland A. S.eba, a co-partnership, service having been had upon said defendant by serving Rubai Ruther and he appearing only and by his attorney, R. B. Strong, Sr., and this case came on for trial in its regular order before a jury of twelve good men, who being duly em-panelled and sworn well and truly to try the issué joined between plaintiff and defendant and a true verdict render according to the evidence; and having heard the evidence, the charges of the court and the arguments of counsel, upon their oath say:

“Verdict

“In the District Court of the Second

Judicial District of Oklahoma

in and for Custer County..

“Roy Mouse,

Plaintiff,

v.

-Case No. 1-0,101.

“Rubai Ruther and Leland

A. Seba, a co-partnership,

Defendant.

-■“We the Jury, empanelled arid sworn to-try the issues in the above entitled cause, do upon our oaths -find for the -plaintiff, Roy Mouse, and against the defendant, Rubai Ruther and Leland A. Seba, a co-' partnership, and fix the amount of plaintiff’s recovery against defendant as follows: For hospital and doctor bills, if any, in the sum of $284.45; for pain and suffering, if any, in the sum of $3000.00; for loss of time if any; and impairment of his earning power, if any, in the sum of $7000. The aggregate of said sum or sums being the amount of $10,284.45, with 6% per annum interest from this 26th day of September, 3.950. ,

“Gordon Finkenbinder.

“Foreman.”

“Endorsed:

Filed Sept. 26, 1950, 6:00 P..M. ■

Helen M. Gossmann, Court Clerk

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Bluebook (online)
1953 OK 212, 268 P.2d 886, 1953 Okla. LEXIS 677, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/oklahoma-farm-bureau-mut-ins-co-v-mouse-okla-1953.