Rosales v. Lara

519 S.W.2d 245, 1975 Tex. App. LEXIS 2364
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJanuary 30, 1975
Docket930
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 519 S.W.2d 245 (Rosales v. Lara) 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
Rosales v. Lara, 519 S.W.2d 245, 1975 Tex. App. LEXIS 2364 (Tex. Ct. App. 1975).

Opinion

OPINION

NYE, Chief Justice.

This is a personal injury case. Marcello Lara, individually and for his then minor *246 son, Johnny Lara, and Johnny Lara (now as an adult) brought suit against Adan Rangel Rosales for personal injuries, medical expenses and other damages as a result of an automobile-pedestrian accident. The case was tried before a jury which found that Rosales had committed several acts of negligence which were the proximate cause of Lara’s damages. However, the jury also found that Johnny Lara was con-tributorily negligent in failing to keep a proper lookout which was a proximate cause of his injuries. The trial court upon proper motion disregarded the findings of the jury on the latter lookout and proximate cause issues and rendered judgment non obstante veredicto against Rosales and in favor of Lara. Rosales has perfected his appeal to this Court.

The evidence is virtually undisputed. Johnny Lara and his younger brother, Bernardo, were walking westerly on the paved shoulder of the Port Lavaca Highway in the City of Victoria. They were walking lawfully on the left or south side of the highway facing the on-coming traffic because there were no sidewalks along the highway. 1 Bernardo, the youngest of the two brothers, was walking the farthest from the main traveled portion of the roadway. Rosales was traveling in an easterly direction approaching the Lara boys. As he approached the area where Johnny and Bernardo were walking, Rosales turned off the roadway and onto the shoulder approaching the pedestrians head-on. Bernardo jumped to his left and managed to get out of the path of the on-coming car. However, Johnny was struck and suffered numerous injuries to his body, including a concussion to his head to the extent that it was impossible for him to remember what had happened in the accident.

The appellee Rosales presents three points of error. All of the parties agree that the only question before this Court is whether there is any evidence to support the jury findings to the special issues of lookout and proximate cause which were disregarded, by the trial court in entering its judgment in favor of Lara.

When the trial court enters a judgment notwithstanding the verdict of the jury, the point of error on appeal is a no evidence point of law. In deciding this question, the appellate court must consider only the evidence and the inferences tending to support the finding and disregard all evidence and inferences to the contrary. Garza v. Alviar, 395 S.W.2d 821 (Tex.Sup.1965).

The undisputed evidence shows that appellant Rosales was driving his car on the Port Lavaca Highway immediately prior to the collision. The accident happened on Sunday, September 3, 1972, at a time in the evening when it was dark. Rosales had the lights on his car displayed. He pulled his car off the main portion of the highway onto the shoulder intending to enter a business establishment (either a drive-in. or a lounge), which was located along the Port Lavaca Highway.

The appellant and appellees quote extensively from the evidence in the statement of facts. Generally, both parties recite the same testimony in support of their opposing views that there was “some evidence” or there was “no evidence” of a failure to keep a proper lookout.

Taking only the pertinent quoted testimony from the appellant’s brief in an effort to set out the undisputed evidence and that which would be most favorable to the jury verdict, we begin with the questioning of Bernardo Lara, Johnny's youngest brother.

“Q (by Mr. Seerden) So you and Johnny were going over to see your daddy?
*247 A (by Bernardo Lara) Yes, sir.
Q What were you and Johnny doing as you walked along there just before this accident happened?
A We were talking and singing.
Q You were talking and singing?
A Yes.
Q Were you watching where you were going?
A Yes.
Q What was the traffic like?
A It was kind of busy, but not that busy.
Q Was it dark?
A Yes, sir.
Q When you got there in front of the Texas Drive Inn and Lee’s Lounge did anything particularly unusual happen ?
A An accident.
Q Did you see the car that hit Johnny ?
A Yes, sir.
Q Tell the members of the jury, if you will, just what happened as you were walking along there where this happened.
A Well, we were walking because we were going over to my father’s house and this car pulled out on the road, it was coming fast, and it hit my brother.
Q Did you see the car pull off of the road?
A Yes, sir.
Q How far from you was the car when it pulled off the road?
A I wouldn’t know.
Q Was he far away from you or was he pretty close to you?
A He was pretty far away, far, but pretty far. Not that
Q When he pulled off the road did he travel down the shoulder of the road for some distance before he hit you?
A Yes, sir.
Q When you first saw the car did you know it was going to hit you ?
A No, sir.
Q What did you do when you first saw the car?
A I kept on looking at it and then I took my eyes off the car. I thought it was going to. the Texas, (drive-in establishment) There are two ways you can get in from the side and from the front, and I thought it was going to go through the back.
Q If you were driving you can go into the Texas Drive Inn by either coming in the front and parking in the front —
A Uh huh.
Q —or you can come and park on the side, is that correct?
A Yes. sir.
Q And you thought he was going to cut across the parking area from Lee’s Lounge, is that right?
A Yes, sir.
Q Into the Texas Drive Inn?
A Yes.
Q When did you first realize the car was likely to hit somebody?
A By the sound of it.
Q What did you do then?
A I jumped and tried to grab my brother but I missed him.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Woodard v. Marathon Letourneau Co.
570 S.W.2d 552 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1978)
Gonzales v. Southwestern Bell Telephone Co.
555 S.W.2d 219 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1977)
Newitt v. Camden Drilling Co.
552 S.W.2d 928 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1977)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
519 S.W.2d 245, 1975 Tex. App. LEXIS 2364, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rosales-v-lara-texapp-1975.