Schaumburg v. Nash-Mississippi Valley Motor Co.

129 So. 390, 14 La. App. 77, 1930 La. App. LEXIS 449
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJuly 1, 1930
DocketNo. 11,981
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 129 So. 390 (Schaumburg v. Nash-Mississippi Valley Motor Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Schaumburg v. Nash-Mississippi Valley Motor Co., 129 So. 390, 14 La. App. 77, 1930 La. App. LEXIS 449 (La. Ct. App. 1930).

Opinion

HIGGINS, J.

This is a suit for damages for personal injuries and loss of wages alleged to have been sustained as a result of a Nash automobile striking' the plaintiff at the intersection of Dumaine, North [78]*78Peters and Decatur streets in this city on April 12, 1926, about 10:15 p. m. The action is brought against the Nash-Mississippi Valley Motor Company, Inc., on the ground that one of its agents and employees was negligently operating its automobile for its use and benefit within the scope of his duties, and against Charles L. Poche, the driver of the car, on the ground that he was operating the Nash .car at an excessive rate of speed at a dangerous street intersection and failed to keep a proper lookout. „

The defendant Nash Company interposed the following defenses:

First, that the defendant Poche at the time of the accident was not acting as the agent or employee of the Nash Company for its use and benefit and was not upon the company’s business, but upon a venture of his own; second, that Poche was not guilty of negligence, and, in the alternative, third, that the plaintiff was guilty of negligence directly contributing to the accident.

The defendant Poche resisted the plaintiff’s claim upon the second and third defenses above stated.

There was judgment in favor of the defendants dismissing plaintiff’s suit, and the plaintiff has appealed.

We shall take up the issues presented in the above order.

The record shows that Poche was employed by the Nash Company in the capacity of a trimmer and upholsterer. It was not a part of his duty to demonstrate automobiles or to use them in any way for the company’s account. Mr. E. R. Spiller, who was the superintendent of agencies of the Nash Company, bought a Nash car at Lafayette, La., with his own funds, and the Nash Company had no interest in the ownership of the car. Spiller, desiring to sell the car, left it at the Nash Company’s place of business and authorized the sales agents to sell it for his account, agreeing to ¡pay commission to the particular agent who sold it, but the Nash Company was to receive no part of the commission. On the day of the accident, Poche had completed his work about eight o’clock p. m., and, while still in overalls which had the name of the Nash Company sewed on them, borrowed Mr. Spiller’.s car from a salesman by the name of Greenblatt, who had the key to the car. The dealers’ license tag was attached to the automobile and Poche drove it from the company’s place of business on St. Charles street down to Canal street, and thence downtown on North Peters street to the vicinity of the French Market, where he went to get something to eat. Before leaving the company’s place of business Poche had punched his time card, ceasing his labors for the day.

After completing his meal he proceeded up North Peters street towards Canal street for the purpose of returning to the place of business of the Nash Company in order to change from his overalls to his street clothes, so that he might go home in the street car. While Poche claims that the automobile was parked in the triangular space customarily used for parking automobiles, the great preponderance of the evidence shows that he came from the direction of St. Philip street, one block below the French Market, just before the accident.

The accident happened where Dumaine street crosses Decatur and North Peters streets. A triangular section of the French Market extends from St. Philip street to[79]*79ward Dumaine street, bounded on one side by North Peters street and on the other side by Decatur street. The market proper, however, stops short of Dumaine street, but lines drawn parallel to the market’s sides would meet at a point approximately at Dumaine street. There is, thus, an imaginary triangular piece of ground where the market would be if extended, and which merges into Decatur street and North Peters street, these two streets coming together at Dumaine street. There do not seem to be any curbs or other indications of boundary of this triangular piece of ground, which, in fact, might appear to be a part of either Decatur or North Peters street. There seems to be a general recognition of the fact that such constitutes a sort of neutral ground, and in fact, it is used as a parking place for automobiles. On North Peters street there are two street car tracks, the one nearest the river being used by cars going downtown, the other by cars going uptown.

At the time of the accident there was a red light in the center of this intersection as an indication that it was a dangerous street crossing. On the night in question the plaintiff, who was a night yardmaster for the Southern Pacific Railroad, went to a restaurant on Dumaine street to get something to eat and was returning to work on the downtown sidewalk .of Dumaine street, going in the direction of the- river, near which the railroad yards are' located.

The great preponderance of the evidence shows that the plaintiff crossed Decatur street within the paved triangular portion and was proceeding across North Peters street and was just past the center of the street towards the river side of North Peters street when the Nash car driven by Poche, who was alone, at a rate of speed estimated at thirty, or thirty-five miles an hour, came from the direction of St. Philip street proceeding on North Peters street in the direction of Canal street. The automobile was on ’ the left-hand side 'of the street in the direction in which it was going and then pulled over towards the right-hand, or woods side of the street and plaintiff attempted to get out of the way of the on-coming automobile when he was struck by the right front fender of *the machine. The blow knocked him to the ground unconscious and injured his left leg. The machine then stopped some distance away, estimated about one hundred feet from where it struck the plaintiff, and Poche backed the machine to the scene of the accident, placed the plaintiff in the car and took him to the Charity Hospital, where his injuries were treated. He returned home that night, and the next day was placed in Touro Infirmary, where he remained fourteen days and was treated by Dr. Denegre Martin.

There were four witnesses to the accident, including the plaintiff, who testified in his behalf. The only witness to the accident for the defendants was Poche.

The evidence of the officers of the Nash Company that Poche was without authority to use the automobile and that he used it for his own purposes, that the company did not own the automobile, but that it was owned by Spiller, who likewise testified to the same fact, is uncontradicted.

The fact that Poche was wearing overalls with the Nash Company’s name on them at the time of the accident and was using the Nash Company’s dealer’s license tag does not, in our opinion, overcome the clear preponderance of the evidence that Poche was- acting without the scope [80]*80of his employment on a venture of his own and was not authorized by the company to use its license tag or the automobile which had been left with it to be sold. It is shown that Greenblatt, a mere .salesman who had the car in charge for demonstration purposes, was without au thority to loan it to Poche for his personal use. Where a servant has abandoned and turned aside entirely from the master’s business and engages in some purpose wholly his own, the master» ceases to be liable for .his acts. Cusimano vs. Spiess Sales Co., 153 La. 551, 96 So. 11S.

We have, therefore, reached the conclusion that the Nash Company is not liable.

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Bluebook (online)
129 So. 390, 14 La. App. 77, 1930 La. App. LEXIS 449, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/schaumburg-v-nash-mississippi-valley-motor-co-lactapp-1930.