Payton v. Bi-State Development Agency

417 S.W.2d 522, 1967 Mo. App. LEXIS 669
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 13, 1967
DocketNo. 32697
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 417 S.W.2d 522 (Payton v. Bi-State Development Agency) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Payton v. Bi-State Development Agency, 417 S.W.2d 522, 1967 Mo. App. LEXIS 669 (Mo. Ct. App. 1967).

Opinion

ANDERSON, Presiding Judge.

Plaintiff, Henry A. Payton brought this action against defendant, Bi-State Development Agency, for damages for personal injuries alleged to have been sustained by him in a collision between an automobile operated by him and a bus twned and operated by defendant, which said collision was alleged to be due to defendant’s negligence. Defendant, with its answer, filed a counterclaim for the damage to its bus which resulted from said collision. The trial below resulted in a verdict in favor of defendant on plaintiff’s cause of action and in favor of defendant for one dollar on its counterclaim. Judgment was thereafter entered from which judgment plaintiff prosecutes this appeal.

The collision occurred on September 27, 1966, at approximately 4:30 p.m. Plaintiff was employed as a taxicab driver and at the time in question, was operating his cab in a westerly direction on Pine Street in the downtown area of St. Louis. • Pine Street was a one-way street for westbound traffic having a total of four traffic lanes. Plaintiff was operating his cab in the lane next to the south curb of the street. The weather was clear and the street pavement was dry.

At said time, defendant, through its duly authorized agent and driver, was operating its bus in a northerly direction on Seventh Street. Seventh Street is one-way for northbound traffic and intersects Pine Street at right angles. It also has four traffic lanes. The intersection is controlled by traffic lights. Just prior to the collision, the bus had been stopped by its driver either to load or unload passengers at the southeast comer of the intersection. When this was accomplished, the bus moved forward to the point of collision. During this time, the driver of the bus was engaged in the process of changing the line of travel of the bus from the east curb lane into the next lane to the west. The collision occurred when the right side of the bus was two to three feet west of the east curb line. Defendant’s driver stated that the front of the bus when it collided with plaintiff’s cab had reached a point about three feet north of the south curb line of Pine Street.

Photographs of the bus which were introduced in evidence show that the front and right side of the bus do not form a right angle, but rather that the portion forward of the front door describes a curve, leading from the flat side of the bus into the front surface. The damage to the bus, as shown by the photographs, started at the right front corner slightly forward of the front door and extended approximately one-quarter of the way around the front of the bus. (Defendant’s Exhibits 3 & 4.) The damage to the cab was to the left front bumper, left front fender, left side and door.

[524]*524Plaintiff testified that when he was approximately one-half block east of the intersection the traffic light changed from green to red for westbound traffic, and that he brought his cab to a complete stop in the south curb land in obedience to said traffic light. He stated his was the first vehicle stopped in the curb lane; that he was stopped about five or six feet east of the east curb line of Seventh Street for approximately forty to sixty seconds; that while stopped waiting for the green light, he observed defendant’s bus stopped at a point approximately eight to fifteen feet south of the intersection; that persons were either entering or leaving the bus at that time; that when the traffic light changed to green for westbound traffic, there were pedestrians in front of his cab crossing the street from north to south; that after these pedestrians passed he started his cab forward intending to proceed through the intersection; that he looked to his left and saw the doors of the bus closing and the bus starting to slowly roll forward; that it was then six or eight feet from the intersection ; and the front of his cab was either at or west of the east curb of Seventh Street; that at the time he thought the bus would stop for the red light, and he kept rolling forward; that he attained a maximum speed of five miles per hour or less and observed the bus a third time just a split second before the impact at which time he applied the brakes and was almost successful in stopping his cab before it was hit by the bus.

Louis Collins who was also a cab driver testified for plaintiff. He stated that prior to the collision he was in the south curb lane of Pine Street two or three car lengths behind plaintiff when the latter started forward toward the intersection after the traffic light changed to green. He first saw the bus when it was about three feet from the intersection and plaintiff was not quite into the intersection. Thinking that plaintiff did not see the bus he blew the horn of his cab to attract plaintiff’s attention. He saw- the collision. At that time, the traffic signal was green for westbound traffic on Pine Street.

Anton Becker, another cab driver, was proceeding west on Pine Street just prior to the collision. He was in the traffic lane to plaintiff’s right. When he reached Seventh Street, the traffic light was “go” for westbound traffic. He stated that plaintiff had barely “pulled out” when the bus struck him. The traffic light was green for westbound traffic at the time.

Defendant’s bus driver, Raymond C. Bell, was called as a witness for defendant. He testified that approximately a minute before the collision the bus was in the bus loading zone about eight to ten feet south of the south curb line of Pine Street. He was at the time taking on or unloading passengers. He stated that when this was accomplished, he closed the bus door, observed the traffic light to be in his favor, and started out into traffic; that he edged the bus up to the intersection and to his left toward the second lane; that while doing this he watched the traffic to his left; that he did not see plaintiff, or any westbound vehicles on Pine Street, either stopped or moving; that the sidewalk on the east side of Seventh Street was five or six feet wide and that he.could see eastwardly on Pine Street for that distance and “maybe” one foot more; that he did not see plaintiff’s cab until the collision had taken place; that after the collision he stopped the bus; that at the time of the collision the bus was “creeping about one mile per hour;” and that under the conditions existing at the time, and with safety to the passenger, he could have stopped the bus in less than a foot.

Defendant produced two witnesses who were passengers on the bus who testified that the traffic signal was green when the bus entered the intersection. Another passenger testified that northbound cars passed the bus as it proceeded toward and into the intersection. Still another witness testified that when the collision occurred, he arose from his seat and observed westbound traffic on Pine Street stopped.

[525]*525By Instruction No. 3, plaintiff submitted his case to the jury on the theory that defendant was guilty of primary negligence in violating the traffic signal, failing to keep a careful lookout or failing to stop. He also by Instruction No. 5 submitted humanitarian negligence in failing to stop. Defendant submitted its counterclaim by Instruction No. 4 which predicated liability on a finding of negligence in violating the electric traffic signal.

Appellant’s first assignment of error relates to the action of the trial court in giving, at defendant’s request, Instruction No. 3A. Said instruction was a converse of plaintiff’s Instruction No. 3.

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Bluebook (online)
417 S.W.2d 522, 1967 Mo. App. LEXIS 669, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/payton-v-bi-state-development-agency-moctapp-1967.