Sierra Pacific Power Company v. Day

391 P.2d 501, 80 Nev. 224, 1964 Nev. LEXIS 147
CourtNevada Supreme Court
DecidedApril 24, 1964
Docket4692
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 391 P.2d 501 (Sierra Pacific Power Company v. Day) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Nevada Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sierra Pacific Power Company v. Day, 391 P.2d 501, 80 Nev. 224, 1964 Nev. LEXIS 147 (Neb. 1964).

Opinions

OPINION

By the Court,

McNamee, J.:

■ This is an action to recover damages for the alleged wrongful death of the husband and father of the plaintiffs. The verdict of the jury was for the defendant. [226]*226Appeal is from the order granting plaintiffs’ motion for a new trial.

On October 27, 1961, at about 6:00 P.M., employees of defendant were making repairs to some electrical equipment near defendant’s power substation on Colony Road in Smith Valley. The equipment had been damaged by strong winds earlier in the day. As it was dusk or almost dark, the employees parked two company trucks near the substation. One of these trucks, denominated a line truck, was parked facing south with a slight angle to the east on the east lane of the road, which was the lane for northbound traffic. Its headlights were on as was also a spotlight on the top of the truck which was directed on the power poles where the repairs were being made. The other truck was a pickup which was parked 50 to 75 feet south and east of the line truck on the dirt shoulder of the road. Its headlights were on and faced the substation in a southeasterly direction. Its rear wheels were just off the east border of the road. There was a small reflective or fluorescent insignia toward the front of the south side of the pickup. At the time of the accident decedent was proceeding north in the east lane when the right side of his vehicle struck the right rear of the pickup then collided with the left front of the line truck. Prior to the first impact there were no skid marks. Thereafter decedent’s car left tire tread marks on the dirt shoulder of the east side of the road between the pickup and the line truck. Colony Road makes a curve about % of a mile south of the substation, and about 1,-500 feet therefrom it has a slight dip.

Barry Graton testified that prior to the accident he was going about 50 miles per hour when decedent passed him going in the same direction. When he rounded the turn in the Colony Road one or two minutes after the accident he could see lights ahead of him and after the dip he saw the headlights of the line truck. He slowed down and when he was 300 feet from the scene of the accident someone in the road signaled him to stop. He then saw the three vehicles in the road and stopped.

Hussman, a deputy sheriff, called to the scene after the accident testified that as he came around the bend [227]*227in Colony Road, he could see automobile headlights and also the spotlight.

Norman Dixon was driving south on Colony Road just before the accident. As he approached the substation he saw the two trucks, with their headlights burning, and also the spotlight. One-half mile south of the substation decedent who was approaching from the south passed him going north at about 60 miles per hour. He noticed nothing irregular in decedent’s driving.

Louie Giovacchini was also driving south on Colony Road just before the accident. He saw the headlights of the trucks and the spotlight prior to passing the line truck. After passing the substation he saw decedent’s car approach from the south with his lights on low beam. He did not appear to be driving in an irregular or abnormal fashion.

The collision forced the line truck backward about 20 to 40 feet with its rear end across the center line of the road. The decedent’s vehicle came to rest about five feet south of the line truck.

After the case was submitted to the jury, they returned to the courtroom. The testimony of Hussman concerning the tire marks then was read back to them at their request. The jury deliberated approximately seven hours before returning their verdict for the defendant.

The motion for a new trial was granted upon the ground that there was manifest disregard by the jury of the instructions of the court, and upon the further ground that the evidence upon which the verdict was reached was insufficient to support the same.

At the time the motion for new trial was granted two of the grounds for the granting of such motion under NRCP 59(a) were “manifest disregard by the jury of the instructions of the court” and “insufficiency of the evidence to justify the verdict.”

In granting the motion, the trial court did not specify which of its instructions the jury disregarded. The record shows that the jury was properly instructed on all phases of negligence, including contributory negligence, proximate cause, and burden of proof. If we [228]*228should determine that the court abused its discretion in granting a new trial upon the ground that the evidence was insufficient to support the verdict it necessarily would follow that the jury did not disregard the court’s instructions. City of Reno v. Van Ermen, 79 Nev. 369, 385 P.2d 345.

Pursuant to the rule-making power vested in the Supreme Court by the legislature, this court, deeming it proper, ordered the deletion from NRCP 59(a) of “insufficiency of the evidence to justify the verdict or other decision, or that it is against law.” This deletion resulted from the concurring opinion of Thompson, J., in City of Reno v. Van Ermen, supra.

First, we wish to note that although the rule authorized the granting of a new trial upon the ground of insufficiency of the evidence to “justify” the verdict, the trial court in its order granting a new trial stated that the evidence upon which the verdict was reached was insufficient to “support” the same. Inasmuch as respondent’s motion for new trial used the word “justify,” the paraphrasing of the rule by the district judge has, in our opinion, no1 significance.

A perusal of the entire record reveals no irregularity or error whatever prejudicial to the respondents. In fact, respondents were given a fair and errorless trial and one ably presented by their counsel. The jury was properly instructed with respect to contributory negligence. No objection was made to any of the instructions given or refused. There is no serious contention that the appellant was not negligent nor can it seriously be contended as a matter of law that the decedent was not guilty of contributory negligence.

In Nevada Rock and Sand Co. v. Grich, 59 Nev. 345, 93 P.2d 513, we stated approval of the following rules :

1. A verdict cannot be set aside by a trial court where no irregularity of error is shown and the verdict or decision is in accordance with and justified by the evidence.

2. Whenever a question of contributory negligence [229]*229arises upon a state of facts in regard to which reasonable men might differ, it ought to be submitted to the jury.

3. The district court ought always to use great caution in the exercise of the power to set aside verdicts of juries on the ground of insufficiency of the evidence to justify such verdicts.

We there stated that these rules are not in conflict with the rule that “trial courts should set aside verdicts where in their opinion there is a clear preponderance of evidence against them; where the scale of evidence which leans against the verdict very strongly preponderates ; where they are clearly satisfied in their judgment that the evidence is unsufficient to sustain the verdicts; or where, after weighing the evidence, they think injustice has been done.

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Related

Fox v. Cusick
533 P.2d 466 (Nevada Supreme Court, 1975)
Price v. Sinnott
460 P.2d 837 (Nevada Supreme Court, 1969)
Sierra Pacific Power Company v. Day
391 P.2d 501 (Nevada Supreme Court, 1964)

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Bluebook (online)
391 P.2d 501, 80 Nev. 224, 1964 Nev. LEXIS 147, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sierra-pacific-power-company-v-day-nev-1964.