Peppers Gasoline Co. v. Weber

1940 OK 12, 98 P.2d 1087, 186 Okla. 471, 1940 Okla. LEXIS 20
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedJanuary 16, 1940
DocketNo. 29319.
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 1940 OK 12 (Peppers Gasoline Co. v. Weber) 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
Peppers Gasoline Co. v. Weber, 1940 OK 12, 98 P.2d 1087, 186 Okla. 471, 1940 Okla. LEXIS 20 (Okla. 1940).

Opinion

DAVISON, J.

This is an action for damages for personal injuries alleged to have been sustained by Louis Weber, Jr., on June 22, 1938, as a result of a collision between two trucks. Both trucks were traveling in an easterly direction along Highway 66 at a point on the highway east of the town of Yukon in Canadian county.

The truck in which the plaintiff was riding was being driven by one Tom Taylor. It was, immediately preceding the accident, traveling in front of the other truck, which belonged to the Peppers Gasoline Company and was being driven by A. L. Carter, as its employee.

The company truck started to pass the truck in which the plaintiff was riding at a point where the highway was intersected by a county road. At the same time the last-mentioned truck started to make a left-hand turn into the intersecting road. The collision resulted, in which Louis Weber, Jr., sustained severe injuries to his right shoulder.

This action was instituted in the district court of Canadian county by Louis Weber, Jr., as plaintiff, against the Peppers Gasoline Company, a corporation, as defendant, on October 12, 1938. Recovery of damages for personal injury in the sum of $5,000 was sought on the theory that the driver of defendant’s truck in attempting to pass the other vehicle at the point of the collision had negligently failed to observe an arm signal, indicating an intention to turn, previously given by the driver of the truck in which plaintiff was riding, and that the driver of defendant’s truck was also negligently operating the same in such a manner that it could not be brought to a complete stop in the assured clear distance ahead.

The defendant denied liability on the theory that the collision was due to the negligence of the driver of the truck in which the plaintiff was riding, and on the further theory that no injury had in fact been sustained by the plaintiff.

The cause was tried to a jury on December 9, 1938, resulting in a verdict and judgment for the plaintiff in the sum of $2,500, from which the defendant appeals. The parties thus appear in this court in the reverse order of their appearance before the court below. For the sake of convenience we shall continue to refer to them by their trial court designation.

The defendant presents its case on appeal under four propositions, the first of which is:

“The attorney for the plaintiff was guilty of misconduct in the following respects: (a) That on voir dire examination of the jurors, after counsel for defendant had called attention to the ruling of this court in the case of Safeway Cab v. Minor, 70 P. 76, 180 Okla. 448, plaintiff’s counsel inquired of each juror whether or not such juror was a stockholder in any corporation; that three jurors answered in the affirmative, whereupon counsel for plaintiff inquired of two jurors separately as to the character of corporation in which such jurors were stockholders, and in answer to which the two jurors stated that they were stockholders in certain corporations, which corporations were not insurance companies; however, thereafter counsel inquired of the juror Schwader or Schroder if he was a stockholder in any corporation, to which the juror answered in the affirmative, whereupon Mr. Rinehart asked of the juror the following question: ‘Is that an insurance corporation of any kind?’
“(b) That during the course of the trial counsel insistently asked, after an adverse court ruling in the presence of the jury, whether or not the defendant was a common carrier operating under a permit from the Corporation Commission.
“(c) That in his concluding argu *473 ment to the jury the counsel for plaintiff said, ‘You are not going to hurt the defendant any by a judgment for $5,000. I want you to bear this in mind. He is not even interested enough to be here.’ To which argument the defendant excepted and exceptions were noted.”

The foregoing proposition presents three matters for consideration, all involving the conduct of counsel. These matters will be separately treated in the order stated.

The first paragraph of the first proposition alludes to an alleged improper question on voir dire examination of prospective jurors.

It is contended that the use of the term “insurance company” in questioning prospective jurors was improper under our holding in Safeway Cab Co. v. Minor, supra.

In answer to this contention counsel for plaintiff say in their brief that:

“In the present case the word ‘insurance’ or ‘insurance company’ was never uttered and is not contained in the record from one end to the other.”

An examination of the record as certified to this court discloses that no record of the allegedly improper question was made at the time it was asked. Counsel for the plaintiff incorporated in their motion for a new trial a recitation that the question was promulgated on voir dire examination of a prospective juror. Otherwise, the record fails to indicate that such a question was asked, and even counsel’s version of the matter as recited in the motion for a new trial does not indicate that the question was objected to at the time it was made.

It is the general theory of the law relating to presentation of error, alleged to have occurred during a trial, for the purpose of review on appeal that the objectionable conduct or ruling must be challenged at the time of its occurrence. This in order that corrective measures may be adopted. It is also thought by many authorities that an erroneous ruling of the court, or improper conduct of opposing counsel, cannot be impregnated with the prejudicial effect necessary to constitute reversible error if its adverse import is not sufficiently apparent to challenge the attention of counsel at the time of the occurrence.

While this general rule is not without its qualifications and exceptions, it is not made to appear that the subject matter of this discussion falls within any recognized exception. Our attention is not directed to any case from this jurisdiction on the precise point. However, we considered a somewhat analogous situation in the case of Westgate Oil Co. et al. v. McAbee, Adm’x, 181 Okla. 487, 74 P. 2d 1151. We therein said in paragraph three of the syllabus:

“Prejudicial remarks of counsel in his argument to the jury are not available as a ground for reversal unless objected to and exception taken at the time such remarks were made, and the remarks, as well as the objection and exception thereto, must be shown in the record of the proceedings of the trial. The objection is too late if made for the first time in the motion for new trial and by affidavit of opposing counsel.”

More precisely in point is the decision of the Supreme Court of Washington in Webber et ux. v. Park Auto Transportation Co. (Wash.) 224 P. 718, 47 A. L. R. 590, where that court in disposing of a similar situation said:

“The record, as it is presented here, does not disclose that objection was made in the court below to the examinations. They were not of such gross impropriety as to require the trial court to interfere on its own initiative, and, without invoking its ruling, the appellants cannot complain in this court.”

In Safeway Cab Service Co. v.

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Bluebook (online)
1940 OK 12, 98 P.2d 1087, 186 Okla. 471, 1940 Okla. LEXIS 20, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/peppers-gasoline-co-v-weber-okla-1940.