Petroleum Casualty Co. v. Bristow

35 S.W.2d 246
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedFebruary 26, 1931
DocketNo. 2499.
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 35 S.W.2d 246 (Petroleum Casualty Co. v. Bristow) 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
Petroleum Casualty Co. v. Bristow, 35 S.W.2d 246 (Tex. Ct. App. 1931).

Opinion

WALTHALL, J.

This is a second appeal of this case. A full statement of the case on the first appeal is found in 21 S.W.(2d) 9, to which we refer, and need not be repeated here.. This trial was had with the same issues as'in the first trial, and submitted to a jury on special issues, with the result that appellee was awarded judgment for compensation for total permanent incapacity, and in a lump sum, with interest from date of judgment.

The jury found:

1. That Bristow on July 14,1928, sustained a personal injury in the course of his employment with the Humble Pipe Line Company.

. 2. That Bristow, as a result of his injury, sustained a total disability.

3: That the total disability to Bristow by said injury is permanent.

Questions 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, referring to partial disability, were not answered.

9. A manifest hardship and injustice will result to Bristow in the event compensation due him is not paid in a lump sum.

10. The rate of discount that the Petroleum •Casualty Company is entitled to receive on future payments of compensation, if paid in a lump sum now, is 6 per cent.

11. “What per cent, of disability, if any you have found, do you find was caused to J. T. Bristow, if any, by the accident and injury which he received on the 29th day of September, 15Í09, when falling from a locomotive tender in New Mexico? Answer with the per cent., if any. Answer, ‘None.’ ”

12. The average wages- earned by Bristow per day during the days when so employed during the year immediately preceding his injuries on July 14, 1928, was $6.50.

Issúes requested by appellant and submitted:

“1. What per cent, of disability, if any, suffered by J. T. Bristow, do you find from a preponderance of the evidence would have resulted from the injury of July 14, 1928, had there been no prior injury of September 29th, 1909? Answer by giving the per cent. Answer: 100%.”

2. The disability suffered by Bristow was not the result of pyorrhea or toxic poison.

3. (Conditional and not answered.)

4. No portion of the disability suffered by Bristow is due to arthritis.

5. (Conditional and not answered.)

6. The disability or incapacity sustained by-Bristow is not due to lumbago.

The trial court 'made the calculations necessary to be made -on the findings of the jury and so entered judgment for appellee and ap-pellee’s attorneys in the proportions they were to receive same.

*248 This appeal is duly prosecuted from the judgment rendered.

Opinion.

Appellant’s first four propositions are based upon assigned error in sending the jury back to their jury room for further deliberation after the jury had answered the special issues. We cox>y appellant’s bill of exceptions as to what occurred in sending the jury back, arid the court’s qualification to the bill. Omitting the formal parts, it reads:

“After the argument had closed and the jury had retired to consider their verdict with the Court’s main charge and main issues, together with the special issues requested by cross-defendant and after the jury had been out for approximately two hours or more; they returned into open court and reported that they had arrived at a verdict and presented the Court with the charge and special issues together with their answers signed by the Foreman, and Special Issue No. 6 requested by cross-defendant, which special requested issue and the answer of the jury thereto as well as Special Issue No. 7, requested by cross-de-defendant, was as follows, to-wit:
“ ‘Special Issue No. 6 requested by cross-defendant:
“ ‘Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that the disability or incapacity sustained by J. T. Bristow, if any, is due to lumbago? Answer “Tes” or “Nq.”
“ ‘Answer: “Yes.”
“ ‘Special Issue No. 7, requested by cross-defendant was as follows:
“ ‘If you have answered Special Issue No. 6, requested by cross defendant “Yes,” then answer the following:
“ ‘But if you answer it “No” you need not answer the following: What percent of disability, if any, suffered by J. T. Bristow is due to lumbago? Answer by giving the percent.
“ ‘Answer: -.’
“And after the jury had presented the Court with the special issues, including cross-defendant’s requested issues and their answers thereto the Court proceeded in the presence of the jury to read the special issues together with the answer to each special- issue and proceeded in numerical order until the answer to the cross-defendant’s requested Special Issue No. 6 was read aloud in the presence of the jury and the attorneys -and when the court had finished reading cross-defendant’s requested Special Issue No. 6, and the answer thereto, he then stated that no answer was made to Special Issue No. 7, requested by cross-defendant and hesitated, and then in an undertone stated to Mr. H. J. Yarborough, one of the attorneys for cross-plaintiff, substantially as follows:
“ ‘Yarborough, I am afraid that this answer will not support a judgment.’
“Whereupon Mr. Yarborough stated that in his opinion it would as the jury had answered ■the main issues in his favor, and K. W. Gil-, more, one of the attorneys for cross-defendant, asked Mr. Yarborough not to talk so loud in the presence of the jury, whereupon the Court in an undertone, again stated that he was doubtful about the matter and that he did not know exactly what to do, that he did not know whether it would be error to send the jury back or whether he should accept the verdict as it was and decide what kind of judgment to render up on the answers of the issues, and again Mr. Yarborough stated that he would be willing to accept the verdict of ’ the jury as it stood and that he thought that as they had answered the other issues in his favor that their verdict would support a judgment in his favor, whereupon K. W. Gilmore again admonished Mr. Yarborough not to talk so loud in the presence of the jury and the Foreman of the jury was standing between the railing and the Judge’s bench and in hearing distance of the conversation, thereupon asked the Court if there was something he-did not understand or if they had made a mistake or words to that effect, and the Court advised the Foreman that “We are just discussing one or two matters and will let you know shortly.’ Or words to that effect and after some hesitation the court stated that he would not accept the verdict and K. W. Gilmore, one of the attorneys for cross-defendant, stated to the court in a low undertone, that if the jury were retired for further consideration, it would be over his protest and he objected to such further consideration, that the jury had not asked for any further instructions either written or oral and had heard the questions and answers read and made no comment or advised the Court of any error or mistake, and as -Special Issue No.

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35 S.W.2d 246, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/petroleum-casualty-co-v-bristow-texapp-1931.