Page v. Koss Construction Co.

257 N.W. 426, 219 Iowa 1017
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedNovember 20, 1934
DocketNo. 42432.
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 257 N.W. 426 (Page v. Koss Construction Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Page v. Koss Construction Co., 257 N.W. 426, 219 Iowa 1017 (iowa 1934).

Opinion

Mitchell, C. J.

This is a law action for damages for personal ,injuries sustained by S. E. Page on May 21, 1929, when the car in which he was riding was run into and wrecked by a Model A Ford truck, driven by one J. W. Kruckenberg. This is the second appeal in this case. In the first opinion, Page v. Koss Const. Co., which is reported in 215 Iowa on page 1388, the facts covering the accident are fully set out. The facts in this case are the same, and the contracts which were also set out in the first opinion are the same contracts which were introduced as exhibits in this case.

When this case was first tried in the lower court, and when the first opinion was handed down by this court, the petition allegéd the following:

“That on or about May 21, 1929, at a point about 2 miles south of Osceola, Iowa, on Federal Highway No. 65, this plaintiff was driving northward with Fred F. Curnes, in an automobile owned by the said Curnes, and as a guest of the said Curnes, when one of the employees of the said defendant, being named J. W. Kruckenberg, while hauling sand and gravel for the defendants and while in the discharge of his duties as an employee of the defendants pur *1019 posely and intentionally ran the truck he was driving into the automobile owned by the said Curnes and this plaintiff received serious, painful and permanent injuries.”

After the case was reversed by this court, to wit: on April 20, 1933, the plaintiff filed an amendment to the petition as follows:

“Comes now plaintiff and for amendment to his petition heretofore filed, states:

“1st. That he withdraws from the third line from the bottom, on page one of said petition, the following words: ‘of the employees of said defendants, being named.’

“2nd. That he withdraws from the last line on page one of said petition, the following: ‘In the discharge of his duties as an employee of the defendant,’ and that in place thereof he states and inserts the following: ‘driving their truck with their consent.’ ”

So that the petition- as amended would read as follows:

“When one J. W. Kruckenberg, while hauling sand and gravel for the defendants, and while driving their truck with their consent, purposely and intentionally ran the truck he was driving, into the automobile.”

To this amended petition the appellant C. E. White filed his separate answer, and the appellants Koss Construction Company filed their separate answer. The answers of both appellants, while filed separately, contained the same defense, and count II of each answer is the same. After denying in count I each and every material allegation contained in plaintiff’s petition, and specifically denying that the truck driven by Kruckenberg was owned by either C. E. White or the Koss Construction Company, both the appellants, White and Koss Construction Company, in count II of their answers, pleaded the following defense:

“Comes now the defendant C. E. White and for further answer to the plaintiff’s petition as amended, and in complete bar thereof, states:

“That defendant C. E. White denies each and every material allegation contained in plaintiff’s petition as amended, except such as are hereinafter expressly admitted.

*1020 “Defendant White admits that the plaintiff sustained some injuries on or about May 21, 1929, while riding in an automobile owned and driven by one Fred F. Curnes.'

“Defendant White further states, that as shown by the record herein, the plaintiff’s original petition was filed on September 17, 1929, and that the basis of recovery therein set forth and relied upon by the plaintiff was that the truck driver Kruckenberg was an employe of the defendants for whose negligence the defendants would be responsible under the common law. That the decision of the supreme court in this case [215 Iowa 1388, 245 N. W. 208] held that Kruckenberg was an independent contractor and not an employe of either of the defendants.

. “That by the amendment to his petition filed on April 20, 1933, the plaintiff has stricken therefrom the allegations relative to Kruckenberg being an employe of the defendants and thereby withdrawn and removed from this case the issue of employment, and has substituted therefor the allegation that Kruckenberg was ‘driving their truck with their consent.’ ■ " - . • .

“That plaihtiff’s petition as. amended is pleading', a new :cause of action and a new basis of recovery so that another rule- of -law obtains. That said amendment to the petition has substituted the issue of ownership for the issue of employment, and substituted a new cause of action. That instead of liability being based upon the common law as set forth and relied upon by the plaintiff under his original petition, the petition as amended is now based solely upon the Iowa statute (section 5026) .making the owner of an automobile liable for damages caused by the negligence of, a third person driving the same with his consent. That the liability now claimed by plaintiff is solely statutory. That the cause of action based upon said statute is a different and separate cause of action from the one based upon tKe common law.

“That plaintiff’s original petition shows that the alleged accident and resulting injuries occurred on May 21, 1929. That the first trial of this case was in November, 1931, more than 2X/2 years after plaintiff’s alleged cause of action arose, and the amendment to plaintifPs petition was filed on April 20, 1933, nearly four years after. That consequently plaintiff’s petition as amended shows upon its face that the alleged cause of-action thereby -set up and relied upon has long since been barred by the statute of limitations.”

*1021 The case proceeded to trial. Evidence was offered,' and at the close of the evidence the appellants moved the court to direct a verdict, alleging among other' grounds that the record herein, shows without dispute that appellee was seeking to recover for personal injuries and damages claimed to have been incurred on or about May 20 or 21, 1929. That the first trial of this caúse- occurred in November, 1931, more than two years thereafter. That the petition of the appellee, upon which said first trial was had, alleged the driver, Kruckenberg, was an employee of the appellants^ and the sole basis of any claim of liability thereunder was that the appellants and each of them were liable for the alleged negligence of their alleged employees. That the suprémé court of Iowa, in 215 Iowa 1388, 245 N. W. 208, has held the driver Kruckenberg was not an employee of the appellants, or either of thenj, but that he was an independent contractor under the identical contracts intro-duced in evidence by the appellee here, which also had been introduced in evidence and had been relied upon by the appellee in the appeal after the first trial of this case.

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257 N.W. 426, 219 Iowa 1017, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/page-v-koss-construction-co-iowa-1934.