Smith v. Hill

1963 OK 69, 381 P.2d 868, 1963 Okla. LEXIS 377
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedMarch 19, 1963
DocketNo. 39569
StatusPublished

This text of 1963 OK 69 (Smith v. Hill) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Smith v. Hill, 1963 OK 69, 381 P.2d 868, 1963 Okla. LEXIS 377 (Okla. 1963).

Opinion

HALLEY, Vice Chief Justice.

Willie Minter Smith, hereafter called plaintiff, commenced this action in the District Court of Cleveland County against Raymond B. Hill, hereafter called defendant, for personal injuries and property damage. Defendant answered and cross-petitioned for personal injuries and property damage. The facts giving rise to the action were as follows. Plaintiff was driving his pickup truck north on U. S. Highway 77 approximately a half mile north of Noble, Cleveland County, Oklahoma. The weather was clear and it was daylight. The defendant was driving south in a station wagon. The plaintiff planned to turn to his left off the highway into his private driveway. He stopped on the highway until an approaching car which was ahead of defendant’s station wagon met and passed him. He then turned to the west across the highway and into his driveway. The defendant turned to the right onto the shoulder of the highway and applied his brakes. After skidding the front of defendant’s station wagon struck the right side of plaintiff’s pickup at a point in plaintiff’s driveway about six feet west of the west edge of the pavement.

[870]*870Trial was had to a jury. At the close of plaintiff’s case in chief, defendant demurred to plaintiff’s evidence. The demurrer was taken under advisement and defendant presented his evidence. Plaintiff presented rebuttal evidence and both sides rested. Defendant renewed his demurrer to the evidence and moved for a directed verdict. The demurrer was overruled but the motion for directed verdict was granted. One of the jury was instructed by the trial court to sign the verdict finding the issues in favor of the defendant on his cross-petition and against the plaintiff and fixing the amount of defendant’s recovery at $1,593.75. The defendant then moved to dismiss his cross-petition without prejudice which was sustained. Judgment was entered on the verdict in favor of defendant and against plaintiff. Plaintiff filed a motion for new trial which was overruled and he appeals.

Plaintiff submits two propositions for reversal :

1. That the trial court committed reversible error in directing a' verdict for defendant.
2. That the trial court erred in excluding layman’s opinion evidence as to speed of the station wagon.

We will discuss the two propositions in reverse order.

The plaintiff called two witnesses, Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Nemecek, whose house is located just north of plaintiff’s and on the same side of the highway as plaintiff’s .house. Their driveways were less than 200 feet apart. They were working in the back yard of their home just prior to the collision. Their attention was drawn to the defendant’s station wagon by the sound of ■ brakes being applied. They each testified that they observed the defendant’s vehicle for “seconds” before it went out of sight because of their house blocking their view of the highway. They then heard the collision and ran to the scene of the accident.

Mr. Nemecek testified that he had driven cars for 25 years. He had had an opportunity .to observe other cars driving on the highwáy in front of his home numerous times. He stated that he had an opinion as to the' speed of defendant’s station wagon at the time he saw it immediately before the accident. In answer to a qualifying question by the trial court he stated he observed the progress of the station wagon for 15 feet. When asked to state his opinion, the trial court sustained defendant’s objection on the ground that a proper predicate had not been laid for such testimony. The plaintiff then made an offer of proof that, if allowed to testify, the witness would state that in his opinion defendant’s vehicle was traveling 85 miles per hour.

Mrs. Nemecek testified that she had had occasion to observe vehicles going by her home. She has driven cars and was familiar with the speeds of vehicles. She had driven up and down that particular highway and had observed other vehicles traveling at certain known speeds. In answer to a qualifying question by defense counsel she stated that she observed the defendant’s vehicle traveling along the highway for “at least 15 feet.” The trial court sustained an objection to her further testimony. Plaintiff offered to prove that she would testify that defendant’s vehicle, was traveling at least 85 miles per hour.

Defendant cites only one case to support the trial court’s ruling that opinion testimony by these two witnesses was inadmissible. Defendant cites Chicago, R. I. & P. Ry. Co. v. Barton, 59 Okl. 109, 159 P. 250. In that case we held that a witness who did not observe a train and did not know the speed of such train was not qualified to testify with regard thereto. Such witness’s testimony that the train was traveling 15 miles per hour should have been excluded.

That case is not in point. In the instant case the two witnesses each testified that they did observe defendant’s station wagon and that they did have an opinion concerning its speed.

In Enghlin v. Pittsburg County Ry. Co., 169 Okl. 106, 36 P.2d 32, 94 A.L.R. 1180, we said:

“In A., T. & S. F. Ry. Co. v. Miles, 69 Okl. 138, 170 P. 896, it is held: ‘Per[871]*871sons of intelligence and observation may testify as to the speed of a train without qualifying as experts; the lack of expert knowledge concerning speed of trains affects the weight to be given by the jury to such evidence rather than the competency of the witness.’
“Since automobiles have been in general use for a long time, any person of ordinary intelligence should be able to testify as to the approximate speed of a moving automobile without being required to qualify as an expert. The want of expert knowledge goes more to the weight and credit to be given by the jury to such evidence than the competency of the witnesses.” See also' Dowell, Inc. v. Layton, Okl., 261 P.2d 885.

In 5A Am.Jur., Automobiles and Highway Traffic § 994, it is said:

“An estimate of speed at which an automobile was moving at a given time is generally viewed as a matter of common observation rather than expert opinion, and it is accordingly well settled that any person of ordinary experience, ability, and intelligence having the means or opportunity of observation, whether an expert or nonexpert, and without proof of further qualification may express an opinion as to how fast an automobile which came under his observation was going at a particular time. The fact that the witness had not owned or operated an automobile does not preclude him from so testifying. Speed of an automobile is not a matter of exclusive knowledge or skill, but anyone with a knowledge of time and distance is a competent witness to give an estimate; the opportunity and extent of observation goes to the weight of the testimony.” See also Annotation beginning at 156 A.L.R. 382.

We are convinced that it was error for the trial court to sustain defendant’s objections to the testimony of these two witnesses concerning their opinion of defendant’s speed after he had applied his brakes’ and immediately before the collision. The testimony should have been admitted into, evidence. The shortness of time that the. witnesses observed the station wagon' affects the weight to be given to the evidence by the jury rather than the competency of the witnesses.

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Related

Griffeth v. Pound
1960 OK 133 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1960)
Garner v. Myers
1957 OK 224 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1957)
Dowell, Inc. v. Layton
1953 OK 187 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1953)
Southwestern Bell Telephone Company v. Martin
1962 OK 59 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1962)
Enghlin v. Pittsburg County Ry. Co.
1934 OK 466 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1934)
Atchison, T. & S. F. Ry. Co. v. Miles
1918 OK 63 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1918)
Chicago, R. I. & P. Ry. Co. v. Barton
1916 OK 623 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1916)

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Bluebook (online)
1963 OK 69, 381 P.2d 868, 1963 Okla. LEXIS 377, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/smith-v-hill-okla-1963.