Sapp v. Atlas Building Products Company

308 P.2d 213, 62 N.M. 239
New Mexico Supreme Court·Decided February 27, 1957·No. 6162·Published·Cited by 7 cases

Opinion

COMPTON, Justice.

This is: an action for damages for personal; injuries' -and for property, damage sustained in. a collision between an automobile operated; by;a-ppe,lie,e, Rayburn F:_Sapp, and a truck-trailer owned by appellant, Atlas Building Products Company, and operated by appellant, William L. Greer, its agent. The issues of appellants’ negligence and the contributory negligence of appellee, Rayburn F. Sapp, the driver of the automobile, were tried to the jury, which returned a verdict in favor of appellees. Judgment was entered accordingly, and appellants appeal.

The primary negligence of appellants is not an issue. As will be seen later, they were negligent per se in making a right turn at the intersection of Tortugas Road and U. S. Highway 80-85 near Mesilla Park. The approach for a right turn, and the right turn, must be made as near as practicable to the right hand curb or edge of the highway. Section 64-18-21, 1953 Compilation.

The substantive facts are not in dispute. The highway runs north and south and Tortugas Road enters the highway from the southeast at an acute angle. At the-intersection, it is 85 feet wide and gradually narrows down to 22 feet in width. Thé overall length of appellants’ vehicle» is .58 feet. The accident occurred August 3, 1954, .at about 7:30 A.M. Both vehicles were traveling north, appellants’ in front. Mrs. Sapp was riding with her husband in the front seat and the two children in the rear. For some time.the Sapp automobile had- been traveling between 50 and 60 ..miles per- hour -in the easterly lane. The highway is four lane and overtaking and passing on the right is permissible. Section 64 — 18411, 1953 Compilation. When Sapp was some 300 to 400 feet south of the intersection, he noticed ahead of him the truck-trailer traveling in the westerly-lane at an estimated speed of 40 to 50 miles per hour. He also observed Tortugas Road to the east. The automobile continued to gain on the truck and when Sapp was about 100 to 125 feet south of the intersection, he drew alongside the trailer. And when the vehicles were some 40 to 60 feet south of the intersection,' the driver of the truck turned still farther to the left, as if to make a left turn, and flashed on a “S-T-O-P” signal. Instead of making a left turn, however, the driver, without signaling, turned sharply to the right to enter Tortugas Road. Appellee instantly sounded his horn and applied his brakes, which caused him to skid a considerable distance. Seeing his precarious condition, Sapp, • in an effort to avoid the accident and still thinking he might pass on the right, drove off the pavement. But the truck continued to make the right turn. The front bumper of the truck hit the Sapp automobile about the left center and with such impact that the automobile was knocked off the highway. It turned over at least once and came to rest in a field to the northeast of the intersection, thus injuring the appellees as alleged.

At the conclusion of the hearing, appellants moved for a directed verdict on the ground that appellee, Rayburn F. Sapp, was guilty of contributory negligence as a matter of law, which barred recovery. The motion was denied and the refusal of the court is urged here as fundamental error. While fundamental error has its place in this jurisdiction, State v. Garcia, 19 N.M. 414, 143 P. 1012, we say frankly there is no fundamental error in the record before us. State v. Heisler, 58 N.M. 447, 272 P.2d 660; State v. Garcia, 46 N.M. 302, 128 P.2d 459. Nor did appellee’s conduct in operating his automobile constitute contributory negligence as a matter of law; the test being where minds of reasonable men may differ as to the sufficiency of the evidence to establish a plaintiff’s negligence as a proximate cause of the accident and injuries, he cannot be held guilty of contributory negligence as a matter of law. McDonald v. Linick, 58 N.M. 65, 265 P.2d 676; Zanolini v. Ferguson-Steere Motor Co., 58 N.M. 96, 265 P.2d 983; Moss v. Acuff, 57 N.M. 572, 260 P.2d 1108.

A further point urged for a reversal is in the following language: “The instructions of the court, to which proper exceptions were taken by appellants, for the reason therein set forth, were prejudicial to defendants and erroneous.” We have considered the instructions given and find no error. The instructions' weré essential to. a proper presentation of the law of the case to the jury. Le Doux v. Martinez, 57 N.M. 86, 254 P.2d 685; Larsen v. Bliss, 43 N.M. 265, 91 P.2d 811; Turrietta v. Wyche, 54 N.M. 5, 212 P.2d 1041, 15 A.L.R.2d 407; Chandler v. Battenfield, 55 N.M. 361, 233 P.2d 1047. The challenged instructions 7, 8, 9, 12 and 13, of course, would have been objectionable had we held that the driver of the automobile was negligent as a matter of law.

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Sapp v. Atlas Building Products Company, 308 P.2d 213, 62 N.M. 239 (N.M. 1957).

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