Prickett v. Little

252 So. 2d 93, 47 Ala. App. 166, 1971 Ala. Civ. App. LEXIS 447
CourtCourt of Civil Appeals of Alabama
DecidedAugust 25, 1971
Docket4 Div. 31
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 252 So. 2d 93 (Prickett v. Little) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Prickett v. Little, 252 So. 2d 93, 47 Ala. App. 166, 1971 Ala. Civ. App. LEXIS 447 (Ala. Ct. App. 1971).

Opinion

bradley; judge.

Action was' commenced iii the Circuit Court of Pike' County by" appellee Little, seeking damages from appellant Prickett, Holley, who'was stricken as .. party defendant prior to jury deliberation, and Gibson and Durden, who were also named as defendants. The complaint contained two counts alleging that the defendants’ concurrent negligence was the proximate cause of his damages,

Priclcett’s demurrer to the amended complaint was overruled, as was the demurrer of Gibson and Durden. Thereafter, Pri'ckett filed a plea of not guilty, and Durden and Gibson pled in short, etc.

Prior to the case going to the jury-' the trial court announced that defendant Holley was being stricken as a defendant because service had not been had on him.

The jury returned a verdict in favor of plaintiff Little 'and against defendants Prickett, Gibson and Durden for $2,500.00. Prickett appealed from the verdict and judgment, and the judgment denying his motion for new trial.

The evidence tended to show - that appellant Prickett, who was a transfer -agent for the Alabama Board of Correctidns, was, on March 3, 1967, riding in a prison van with about thirteen convicts. The van was being driven by a convict by the name [168]*168■ of Holley. The van was used to transport ■prisoners from the various jails in the .State to the prisons, operated by the State Board of Corrections.

.On this day, while traveling through Troy, Alabama, on U.S. Highway 231, the van came upon a trailer truck loaded with logs, headed north on U.S. 231 toward Mofitgomery, the same direction in which the van was traveling.

The van followed .the log truck for some distance until it was in a position to pass.

. The testimony from the appellant tended to show that the van passed the log truck and a “shiny” panel truck before getting back in its northbound traffic lane.

The appellant stated that his attention to what was happening back of the van was obtained by a statement from Holley to the effect that, “he isn’t going to make it.”

Upon this statement being made, Prickett stated that he looked in the rearview mirror on the driver’s side of the van and saw the log truck going off the road and crashing into a truck which had just pulled into a Shell Service Station adjacent to the roadway.

The appellant stated the van was about 1Ó0. yards in front of the log truck when the log truck went off the road, and since the van was not involved in the collision and was loaded with prisoners, he did not have it stop.

Gibson, who was driving the log truck at the time of the collision, testified that he observed the prison van behind him, and that it attempted to pass him several times, but could not due to oncoming traffic. Then, when he got to the place in question, the van did start around him, cutting sharply in front of him because of oncoming-traffic, forcing his truck off the roadway, and because of the load and speed, he could not bring the truck back on the highway before it collided with Little’s truck in front of the Shell Service Station.

' The operator of Little’s truck stated that just before he turned into the Shell Station he observed a “shiny body panel truck” passing the log truck. Shortly thereafter, his truck was struck by the log truck.

Both Prickett and Gibson testified that the prison van was dark green.

Appellant makes five assignments of error.

Assignment of Error One is premised on the trial court’s action in overruling the appellant’s demurrer.

Although there were eight grounds of demurrer, only the eighth ground was argued in brief.

Ground Eight of the demurrer avers that Little’s complaint alleges an impossible situation; i. e., “that the defendants L. H. Prickett and Clarence E. Holley, were driving the same motor truck at one and the same time.” The questionable part of the complaint is as follows:

“ * * * a motor truck was being driven by the defendants L. H. Prickett and Clarence E. Holley, * *

Appellant argues that the complaint alleges that Prickett and Holley were' both driving the van at the time of the collision, which, he contends, is an impossibility. Yet the authority cited by appellant does not support the argument made that an impossible situation was alleged.

Appellee Little replies by saying that the allegation is not bad because it comes within the authority of Title 7, Section 217(1), Code of Alabama 1940, as Recompiled 1958, which provides:

“Proof that act was committed by agent; etc., sustains allegation that acc was committed by party.—In any civil action it shall be permissible to allege in any pleading that any party or parties committed an act, and proof that any such party or parties committed such act by or through an agent, servant or employee acting within the line and scope of his employment shall be sufficient proof of such allegation, subject, however, to the [169]*169right of the party or parties against whom such testimony is offered to thereupon plead the statute of limitations which might have been applicable to the case made by the evidence offered.”

The Supreme Court said in Aggregate Limestone Co. v. Robison, 276 Ala. 338, 161 So.2d 820:

“ * * * The plain meaning of this is that where proof that an agent committed an intentional, wanton, or negligent act while in the line and scope of his employment, liability for such act would be imputed to the principal, regardless of the actual participation of the principal in the intentional, wanton or negl'gent act or omission under the doctrine of respondeat superior. * * * ” (276 Ala. at page 342, 161 So.2d at page 824)

Appellee Little seems to say that even though the complaint avers that the prison van was being “driven by” Prickett and Holley at the time of the collision, the proof showed that Holley was the actual driver and Prickett was in control of the driver at the time of the collision, which does satisfy the requirements of Section 217(1), supra.

Before getting into appellee Little’s argument, we would say that we disagree with appellant’s argument on the impossibility contention for the reason that we do not believe that the complaint alleged an impossible situation; i. e., that the two named defendants could not drive the prison van at the same time. It goes without saying that such conduct is unlikely, but not impossible. It would be an evidentiary problem rather than an allegatory one.

As it developed in the instant case, the proof showed, if the jury wished to believe it, that Holley was in actual physical control of the prison van at the time in question, and Prickett was in overall charge and control of Holley.

Had Holley not been named in the complaint as a defendant, we would have had a classical Section 217(1) situation; for we . think that Section 217(1) would have permitted Prickett to have been named in the complaint as the actor in the particular situation alleged and for the proof to show that Holley, the agent, was in fact the actor. This would have permitted a judgment to have been rendered against the principal—Prickett—on the strength of the-acts of the agent, Plolley.

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Bluebook (online)
252 So. 2d 93, 47 Ala. App. 166, 1971 Ala. Civ. App. LEXIS 447, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/prickett-v-little-alacivapp-1971.