Port Terminal Railroad Association v. Noland

288 S.W.2d 276, 1956 Tex. App. LEXIS 2123
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedFebruary 16, 1956
Docket12857
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 288 S.W.2d 276 (Port Terminal Railroad Association v. Noland) 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
Port Terminal Railroad Association v. Noland, 288 S.W.2d 276, 1956 Tex. App. LEXIS 2123 (Tex. Ct. App. 1956).

Opinions

HAMBLEN, Chief Justice.

This suit was instituted in the District Court of Harris County by the appellee, seeking to recover damages for personal injuries in a collision between the automobile which she was driving and a locomotive owned and operated by appellants. Plaintiff alleged specific acts of primary negligence on the part of appellants’ operatives, and further alleged liability under the doctrine of discovered peril. The defense consisted of allegations of contributory negligence, including in particular the allegation that the appellee had violated the provisions of Section 86(d) of the Texas Uniform Traffic Code. Trial was had before a court with a jury which, at the conclusion of the evidence and in response to special issues submitted by the court, found the appellant railroad company through its operatives negligent in several respects, including the failure to sound the whistle on the locomotive, failure to ring the bell on the locomotive, failure to apply the brakes on the locomotive, and failure to keep a proper lookout, all of which were found to be a proximate cause of appellee’s injuries. The jury likewise found that the crossing was an extra hazardous crossing as defined in the court’s charge. Appellant was exonerated from liability under the doctrine of discovered peril and appellee was found not guilty of all allegations of contributory negligence leveled against her. Damages were assessed by the jury at $79,400 and a judgment in favor of appellee was rendered by the court upon such verdict.

Three points of error are asserted by the appellants. Their first and second points relate solely to appellee’s alleged violation of Section 86(d) of the Texas Uniform Traffic Code. These points are to a certain [278]*278extent related and will be to that extent treated together. Appellants’ third point is directed to the asserted excessiveness of the jury verdict and will be treated separately.

Appellee, driving an automobile, was proceeding in a northerly direction on 75th Street in the City of Houston. Appellant’s locomotive, pulling a string of freight cars, was proceeding east along its track which crossed 75th Street at right angles. Buildings along the west side of 75th Street were constructed to a point within 54 feet of the nearest rail of the crossing railroad track. Between such buildings and the railroad track was a tree with low-hanging branches. The railroad crossing was not protected by any automatic signalling device nor by a flag man, but only by stationary cross-arms. Appellee was proceeding at a speed of between 20 and 30 miles per hour as she approached the railroad crossing. She testified that she had driven along that street on previous occasions and was well aware of the existence of the railroad. She looked first to her left, then to her right and saw nothing, and proceeded on to cross the track when she was struck from her left by appellant’s locomotive. She testified that she did not hear either a whistle or a bell and that she did not see the approaching train until the very instant of the impact. Her testimony relative to the whistle and bell was corroborated by two City of Houston policemen who were in front of one of the buildings above mentioned and who testified that the whistle and bell were not sounded on the locomotive. These witnesses estimated the speed of the train as between 20 and 25 miles per hour.'

The operatives of appellant’s locomotive, including the erlgineer and fireman, testified that the bell and the whistle were sounded and that the train was proceeding at 10 to 12 miles per hour. None of the train crew offered as witnesses saw appel-lee’s automobile until the instant of the collision. These witnesses testified that the crossing was a “blind” crossing and that unless the whistle and bell of an approaching train were sounded, a collision was likely tc result. We feel that in view of this state of the record every finding of the jury of primary negligence, as well as its finding that the crossing was extra hazardous, is amply supported.

Appellants’ point 1, however, is to the effect that under the undisputed evidence appellant’s train was “plainly visible” within the meaning of Section 86(d) of the Texas Uniform Traffic Code and that the trial-court erred in not holding that appel-lee’s failure to. stop was a violation of such statute, convicting her of contributory negligence as a matter of law. We overrule such point.

The pertinent portions of Section 86 of the Uniform Traffic Code, art. 6701d, Texas Revised Civil Statutes, the construction and applicability of which are so material to this appeal, provide as follows:

“Sec. 86. Whenever any person driving a vehicle approaches a railroad grade crossing, the driver of such vehicle shall stop within fifty (50) feet but not less than fifteen (15) feet from the nearest rail of such railroad and shall riot proceed until he can do so safely when:
* . * * * * *
“(d) An approaching train is plainly visible and is in hazardous proximity to such crossing.”

The evidence upon which appellants rely in support of their first point of error consists of photographs and maps which they contend demonstrate conclusively that at any assumed speed at which the locomotive and the automobile, respectively, were traveling consistent with the evidence relating to speed, the locomotive was bound to have been visible to the driver of the approaching automobile before the automobile reached a point 50 feet from the nearest rail of appellant’s railroad track. The effect of their contention is to say that “plainly visible” means simply and arbitrarily that an object is plainly visible from any given point when there exists no physical obstruction to the line of vision of a person located at such point. As a part of their argument, they state “If the train [279]*279is ‘plainly visible’ when the motorist enters this prescribed zone (50 feet to 15 feet from the nearest rail), he is under an absolute duty to stop short of the crossing.” They further say “Since appellee’s violation óf the statute makes issues of primary negligence immaterial, the question of whistle and bell will determine nothing on this appeal.” In other words, it is their contention that the words “plainly visible” as used by the Legislature mean visibility provable conclusively by the application of the law of the science of physics. Without reference to any attendant circumstances and without reference to negligence on the part of the railroad, their argument under their stated proposition presents an abstract proposition which they state must be accepted whenever an approaching train is “plainly visible”, as they have construed the meaning of that term. We are unable to accept appellants’ construction of the pertinent statute either abstractly or in so far as it is applicable to. the facts of this case.

We have examined numerous cases decided by the courts of this State wherein similar contentions -have been advanced. In Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad Co. of Texas v. McFerrin, Tex.Civ.App., 279 S.W. 2d 410, 416, the court makes the following statement: “Ft. Worth & Denver R. Co. v. Barlow, Tex.Civ.App., 263 S.W.2d 278, Fort Worth, writ ref., N.R.E., involved a nighttime collision between a train and car, the jury finding, as here, that the car driver did not fail to stop as required by the statute and that while he failed to see the approaching train this was not negligence. Judgment for plaintiff was reyersed and remanded because of error in the charge.

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Port Terminal Railroad Association v. Noland
288 S.W.2d 276 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1956)

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Bluebook (online)
288 S.W.2d 276, 1956 Tex. App. LEXIS 2123, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/port-terminal-railroad-association-v-noland-texapp-1956.