Pacific Employers Ins. Co. v. Brasher

234 S.W.2d 698, 1950 Tex. App. LEXIS 1736
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedNovember 22, 1950
Docket9916
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 234 S.W.2d 698 (Pacific Employers Ins. Co. v. Brasher) 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
Pacific Employers Ins. Co. v. Brasher, 234 S.W.2d 698, 1950 Tex. App. LEXIS 1736 (Tex. Ct. App. 1950).

Opinion

HUGHES, Justice.

This is a workmen’s compensation case, in which appellee, John T. Brasher, recovered judgment against appellant, Pacific Employers Insurance Company, based on certain stipulations and a jury verdict for $8,324.31, for total and permanent incapacity, such amount to be paid in a lump sum.

Ten points are made by appellant and we will discuss and dispose of each.

Point No. 1 complains of the refusal of the court to submit appellant’s requested issue No. 3, “Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that such total incapacity to work, if any you have found, is not temporary?” for the asserted reason that appellant, the pleadings and evidence being sufficient, is entitled to an affirmative and unconditional submission of the issue of whether the total incapacity was temporary.

Issue No. 5, as submitted by the court, inquired as to whether there was any total incapacity, and Issue No. 6 was submitted in this manner:

“If you have answered the foregoing Special Issue 'Yes/ and in that event only, then answer the following special issue:

“6. Is such total incapacity, as herein defined, if any you have found, permanent or temporary?”

Issue No. S was answered “Yes” and Issue No. 6 was answered “Permanent.”

Appellant did not object to the conditional submission of Issue No. 6, and the right to complain of this form of submission was, therefore, waived. Edwards v. Strong, 147 Tex. 155, 213 S.W.2d 979; Rules 272 and 274, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.

It is not contended that but for the conditional submission of Issue No. 6 appellant would have been entitled to have its requested Issue No. 3 submitted, this for the reason that the court is not required to submit the same issue twice. Little Rock Furniture Mfg. Co. v. Dunn, Tex.Sup., 222 S.W.2d 985.

The court having affirmatively submitted the issue of the incapacity being temporary or permanent in Issue No. 6, with the burden on appellee, it was not prejudicial to appellant for the court to refuse to submit again the same issue in negative form, with the burden again upon the claimant. Texas Employers Ins. Ass’n v. Drayton, Tex.Civ.App., 173 S.W.2d 782 (Amarillo CCA. Writ Ref. WOM).

In Uptmor v. Janes, Tex.Civ.App., 210 S.W.2d 235, 240 (Waco CCA. Writ Ref. NRE), the court said: “Where the court has already submitted an issue, even though it is submitted conditionally upon the way a preceding issue is to be answered, if it is given at the request of a party or without his objection, he cannot require,the court to submit the identical issue again, although such issue does not contain such condition.”

*701 Appellant’s second point is that the court erred in refusing to give its requested issue reading: “Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that John T. Brasher during his life, after this time, will not be able to pursue an occupation or employment which by ability, experience, skill and training he will be qualified to perform for wage or profit?”—for the asserted reason that its pleadings and the evidence raised such issue and that it was entitled to an affirmative submission of the issue.

The controlling issues in this case regarding appellant’s liability were whether appellee suffered total or partial incapacity or both, and the duration of each. These issues were fairly submitted to the jury in the court’s main charge. The issue requested by appellant was just another way of asking the jury the same questions which had already been submitted. The requested issue was couched in evidentiary language and in a negative form with the burden remaining on appellee. Under the authorities previously cited, we are of the opinion that the trial court did not err in refusing to submit the requested issue.

Appellant objected to Issue No. 9 and the charge as a whole, for the reason that inquiry is not made as to when partial incapacity commenced, and similar objections were lodged to Issue No. 11 regarding temporary partial incapacity. These objections are made the basis of appellant’s third point.

The vice in these issues and the charge as a whole is, appellant asserts, that it is not possible to tell from the jury-verdict when partial incapacity began or when temporary partial incapacity began, or whether the jury’s possible answers concerning partial incapacity and temporary partial incapacity would conflict with the possible answers of the jury concerning total, incapacity.

The jury was asked if and found that appellee sustained total incapacity. It was then asked if such total incapacity was temporary or permanent, and it answered “permanent.” Conditionally submitted was the issue of the duration of temporary total incapacity. This issue was accordingly not answered. The court then inquired if ap-pellee sustained any partial incapacity. This was answered “No.” Conditional issues were then submitted, asking if such partial incapacity was temporary or permanent, as to the per cent of such partial incapacity, and as to duration of any temporary partial incapacity, to be stated in weeks and days. None of these conditional issues was answered as the conditions requiring answers did not occur.

Appellant did not object to the conditional submission of any of the issues so submitted. This being true it not only waived the manner of such submission, but also waived “the right to have the issue answered and also necessarily waives the right to any benefits which he might receive from a favorable answer to such issue.” Little Rock Furniture Mfg. Co. v. Dunn, supra [222 S.W.2d 990],

We do not believe we are required to determine whether conjectural jury answers (not made) were sufficient to and would create a conflict in the verdict when not only the right to have the issues answered has been waived but also the benefits from favorable answers have been waived. This point is overruled.

The fourth point is that the court erred in failing to give the following issue requested by appellant: “Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that such temporary total incapacity to work, if any, was not followed by a partial incapacity.”

This defense was specially pleaded by appellant and it contends the evidence was sufficient to raise the issue. As to this we do not decide because, in our opinion, the defense alluded to was not completely presented by the one issue which was requested. No issues were presented or requested concerning the extent or duration of any partial capacity following temporary total incapacity. That these were proper defensive issues see Court of Civil Appeals opinion in Southern Underwriters v. Wheeler, 108 S.W.2d 846, and the reference thereto made by the Supreme Court in the same case, 132 Tex. 350, 123 S.W.2d *702 340.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Emmord's Inc. v. Obermiller
526 S.W.2d 562 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1975)
Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. v. Hopkins
422 S.W.2d 203 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1967)
Schwab v. Stewart
387 S.W.2d 939 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1964)
Keown v. Meriwether
371 S.W.2d 56 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1963)
Bituminous Casualty Company v. Whitaker
356 S.W.2d 835 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1962)
Mohler v. Owens
352 S.W.2d 855 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1962)
Trinity Universal Insurance Company v. Scott
342 S.W.2d 348 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1961)
Pritchett v. Highway Insurance Underwriters
304 S.W.2d 585 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1957)
Consolidated Casualty Insurance Company v. Newman
300 S.W.2d 160 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1957)
Southwestern Settlement & Development Corp. v. State
282 S.W.2d 78 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1955)
TEXAS EMPLOYERS'INSURANCE ASSOCIATION v. McMullin
279 S.W.2d 699 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1955)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
234 S.W.2d 698, 1950 Tex. App. LEXIS 1736, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pacific-employers-ins-co-v-brasher-texapp-1950.