Perrin v. Union Pac. R.

201 P. 405, 59 Utah 1, 201 Utah 405, 1921 Utah LEXIS 93
CourtUtah Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 18, 1921
DocketNo. 3480
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 201 P. 405 (Perrin v. Union Pac. R.) 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
Perrin v. Union Pac. R., 201 P. 405, 59 Utah 1, 201 Utah 405, 1921 Utah LEXIS 93 (Utah 1921).

Opinions

GIDEON, J.

The respondent, as administratrix of the estate of Arthur 0. Perrin, deceased, brought this action to recover damages for his death. The damages are sought for the benefit of herself as the widow, and one minor child, Florence W. Perrin.

At the time of the accident, appellant was engaged in interstate commerce, and deceased was in its'employ as a rear brakeman. Recovery is therefore sought under the federal Employers’ Liability Act (35 U. S. St. L. 65, c. 149; U. S. Comp. St. §§ 8657-8665). Two trials were had. The first resulted in a verdict in favor of appellant. Thereafter the district court granted a new trial. That ruling is assigned as error on this appeal. The record of the first trial is preserved in the bill of exceptions, and is therefore before 1 this court for review. Hirabelli v. Daniels, 44 Utah, 88, 138 Pac. 1172. The complaint charged negligence on the part of the appellant: (1) That' appellant, in violation of its duty, negligently and carelessly backed its train and the cars between which the deceased had gone' for the purpose of connecting the air hose, a duty imposed upon him by his employment, without giving timely or any warning of [5]*5its intention to move the train; (2) that appellant, in violation of its duty, negligently and carelessly failed to keep the appliances of the cars, particularly the handhold of the angle cock of the air hose of the car where the deceased was working, in a state of repair, and permitting the same to become defective and insufficient. The answer denied negligence. As an affirmative defense defendant pleaded contributory negligence and assumption of risk.

The court, in its instructions upon the first trial, limited the consideration of the jury to one ground of negligence, namely, Did. appellant after deceased went between the cars, move the train without giving the deceased notice of its intention to do so, and, if so, did the same constitute negligence upon which respondent could recover? Two of the grounds claimed for a new trial were: (a) Errors in law occurring at the trial; (b) insufficiency of the evidence to justify the verdict. The district court, as indicated by an entry in the record, was of the opinion that it had erred in not submitting to the jury both grounds of negligence alleged in the complaint and in limiting the consideration of the jury to .one ground only.

Appellant contends that at the first trial no error was committed that justified the granting of a new trial. It is argued that the mere fact that the court may have committed errors of law, or that the verdict was not, in the judgment of the court, what it should have been under the evidence, .does not authorize granting a new trial; that there was testimony in the record from which the jury could reasonably conclude that the respondent had failed to establish her right to recover, and it was therefore error on the part of the district court to grant a new trial.

Reliance is had upon the opinion of this court in Hirabelli v. Daniels, supra, to support appellant’s contention. In the Hirabelli Case the district court granted a new trial for the reason that the jury had, in the judgment of the court, determined the damages in an amount less than the court thought the evidence warranted, and this court held that an [6]*6abuse of discretion. Mr. Justice Straup, speaking for the court, said:

“We are indeed slow to interfere with, a ruling granting or refusing a new trial on questions relating to damages, hut a court on the measure of general damages cannot tie a jury to only pain suffered, and when they follow and obey that instruction, then set the verdict aside, not for a misdirection, hut on the ground that they disregard or misconceived the instructions and rendered a verdict which the court thinks does not adequately compensate the plaintiff for his general damages.”

In the present case the district court granted a new trial for the reason that it had limited the consideration of the jury to one ground of negligence. The complaint charged two acts of negligence, and there was testimony, in the judgment of the court, tending to establish both. The new trial was granted, not because the jury had disregarded or misconceived the instructions and rendered a verdict which the court did not think adequately compensated respondent, but rather for a “misdirection,” or a failure to instruct upon an issue presented by the pleadings. The court was of the opinion that such issue had some support in the testimony. However, as this court is of the opinion that there was no testimony at either trial tending to prove that the condition of the angle cock was the cause of or contributed to the injury, no opifiion is expressed as to whether granting a new trial would have been an abuse of discretion if there had been no other grounds authorizing or justifying such action. There are other reasons which, in our judgment, warranted the court in granting the motion.

At the first trial the plaintiff requested the following instruction,:

“You are instructed that in the absence of evidence there is a presumption that the deceased, Arthur C. Perrin, used due care in and about the work that he was engaged in. when he was killed; and that he did all that was reasonably required of him for his protection while so engaged.”

It is contended that the foregoing request is not a correct statement of law, and the refusal to give an erroneous instruction is never ground for granting a new trial, although the litigant may have been entitled to an instruction relating [7]*7to tbe subject of the request. It is argued, that the last clause of the above instruction does not state the law, and it would have been error'to give the instruction as requested. ,Just in what way, the instruction is erroneous is not very clearly stated in counsel’s brief. The instruction is applicable only in the absence of evidence as to just how the accident happened. There was no eyewitness. It is only in such cases that litigants are entitled to this or a like instruction. There seems to be no difference between the" general instruction that the deceased “used due care in and about the work he was engaged in when he was killed,” and the additional elaúse, “and that he did all that was reasonably required 2 of Mm for his protection while so engaged.” The exercise of due care necessarily implies the doing of what is reasonably required. That clause, at most, is but a reiteration of the first part of the instruction. The court refused to give the instruction. We are of the opinion the plaintiff was entitled to this or some similar instruction. The rule of law stated is not found in any other instruction given.

Moreover, at_fche first trial the engineer testified as follows:

“Q. Now, at the time the train, stopped, the light at the rear end of the train was still visible, as I understood you a little while ago? A. Yes, sir.
“Q. The lantern light, did you afterwards see it disappear? A. yes, sir.
“Q. And when, with reference to the time you stopped the train? A. Why, the train was stopped when it disappeared.
“Q. The train was stopped when it disappeared? A. Yes, sir.
“Q. And when, with reference to that stoppage, did it disappear? A. Well, I don’t know. I didn’t pay- any attention. It disappeared right away.
“Q.

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Bluebook (online)
201 P. 405, 59 Utah 1, 201 Utah 405, 1921 Utah LEXIS 93, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/perrin-v-union-pac-r-utah-1921.