Olsen v. Warwood

255 P.2d 725, 123 Utah 111, 1953 Utah LEXIS 157
CourtUtah Supreme Court
DecidedApril 15, 1953
DocketNo. 7789
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 255 P.2d 725 (Olsen v. Warwood) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Utah Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Olsen v. Warwood, 255 P.2d 725, 123 Utah 111, 1953 Utah LEXIS 157 (Utah 1953).

Opinion

McDONOUGH, Justice.

Appeal from a judgment on a verdict in favor of the defendant, Warwood, and against plaintiff, no cause of action.

Plaintiff, a 6-year old school child, was run over by the right rear wheels of a school bus from which he had just alighted. His father, as guardian ad litem, brought this action against the driver of the bus, Sheldon T. Warwood, and against the Board of Education of the Alpine School District who, at the time of the accident, owned and operated the vehicle. The action was dismissed by the court below, on motion of the defendant’s counsel, as to the Board of Education and the individual members of such board. No question is here raised as to the correctness of this ruling. The case was submitted to the jury on the issue of the negligence of the driver, defendant Warwood. Plaintiff’s assignments of error are directed to the failure of the court to give a requested instruction and upon claimed errors in certain instructions given.

[114]*114Plaintiff by the complaint as finally amended, after alleging1 that he was a passenger on the school bus being driven by the defendant, set forth the alleged negligence of the driver in the following paragraph:

“That while plaintiff was such passenger and at said time and place aforesaid, when in the act of getting out of and off from the said school bus, and being still thereon, to wit: on the steps thereof, the said school bus was, through the carelessness and negligence of the said defendant suddenly started and put in motion wihout giving plaintiff sufficient time to safely get off, and in consequence of the negligence and carelessness of the defendant in the running and the operating of said school bus the plaintiff was thrown from the bus, underneath the same, and the defendant then and there negligently drove said school bus upon and over the plaintiff Eonald Ealph Olsen.”

Plaintiff’s testimony supported the foregoing allegation. He testified that while one foot was on the lower step of the bus and the other foot on the ground the bus was put in motion by the driver and he was thrown under the bus and run over by the right rear wheel. He was corroborated by the testimony of a little girl who was at that time sitting in the bus. On the other hand, the defendant driver testified that after stopping the bus at the accustomed place he opened the door by means of a lever provided for such purpose, whereupon Ronald and two other children alighted. They were, according to his testimony, some 5 feet away from the side of the bus when he closed the door and then put the bus in motion. This was all of the evidence as to how the accident happened. We discuss the assignments of error in light of the recited allegation and the stated evidence.

Appellant’s first assignment of error raises the issue as to the degree of care required of a school bus driver. The lower court refused an instruction requested by appellant to the effect that defendant Warwood was required to exercise a high degree of care to enable the plaintiff to alight and move from the bus in safety; that the degree of care required was such as a very prudent, [115]*115careful and competent person would exercise under similar circumstances. In lieu thereof the trial court instructed:

“In determining whether or not, at the time and place alleged, the defendant used reasonable care, you may take into consideration the type of vehicle he was operating, its purposes, the number and ages of its passengers, * * * and any and all other facts and circumstances shown by the evidence affecting the care which a reasonable and prudent person under like conditions and circumstances would use.”

We shall assume, without here deciding, since it is not necessary to a decision on the point, that the requested instruction was substantially correct. However, the failure of the court to give such request could in no way prejudice the defendant in view of a specific instruction directed to the very fact put in issue as to the conduct of the defendant. By instruction No. 8 the court directed the jury as follows:

“If you find from a preponderance of the evidence that the bus driven by the defendant did not stop long enough for the plaintiff to have alighted therefrom and get away from the bus in safety, and if while the plaintiff was endeavoring to get off and away from said bus, it was started, and if by reason thereof plaintiff was caused to fall and was run over and was injured, then you will find for the plaintiff.”

Thus the jury was instructed that if they found the conduct of the driver of the bus to be such as was. alleged in plaintiff’s complaint and testified to by him and his witness they should find a verdict for him. Confronted by this specific direction, the jury would be little aided by any definition as to the degree of care imposed upon the driver of a school bus. They could not be misled by an instruction which failed to define the full measure of his duty abstractly, when the court instructed that if he did as alleged by the plaintiff he violated that duty.

Appellant’s second contention is that the court erred in instructing the jury that they could not return a verdict in favor of the plaintiff and against the defendant unless [116]*116the number of jurors required to reach a verdict agree as to the defendant’s negligence, upon the same act or acts, or upon the same failure to act. It must be conceded, even assuming such an instruction to be proper where distinct fact situations involving negligent conduct are submitted to a jury, it was not called for in this case. Either the bus was started before Ronald was safely away from it as testified to by him, or it was not started until he was in a place of safety, as testified to by the defendant. Hence, it was error to so charge the jury. However, the very sharp conflict in the evidence on this one vital matter, taken in connection with Instruction No. 8 quoted hereinabove, leads us to conclude that the jury could not possibly be misled thereby to the prejudice of the plaintiff.

Appellant also contends there is no evidence in the record showing that plaintiff ran or moved towards the bus and hence it was prejudicial error to instruct that:

“If therefore you find from the evidence that after the plaintiff * * * had been discharged from said vehicle and that thereafter when said vehicle started in motion Ronald Olsen ran. toward the side of the bus near the right wheels at a time and in a place where defendant could not see him then your verdict must be in favor of the-defendant and against the plaintiff.”

It is well settled in this jurisdiction that an instruction must be based on evidence, and that it is prejudicial error to-submit a charged act of negligence to a jury for its consideration in the absence of evidence tending to support a finding that the act occurred. Smith v. Clark, 37 Utah 116, 106 P. 653, 26 L. R. A., N. S., 953, and see Griffin v. Prudential Ins. Co.. 102 Utah 563, 133 P. 2d 333, 144 A. L. R. 1402; Kendall v. Fordham, 79 Utah 256, 9 P. 2d 183. Likewise it is well settled that the court may not permit the jury to- speculate upon the evidence and that a finding of fact cannot be based upon surmise, conjecture, guess, or speculation. Jackson v. Colston, 116 Utah 295, 209 P. 2d 566; Dern Inv. Co. v. Carbon [117]*117County Land Co., 94 Utah 76, 75 P. 2d 660.

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Bluebook (online)
255 P.2d 725, 123 Utah 111, 1953 Utah LEXIS 157, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/olsen-v-warwood-utah-1953.