Smith v. Vellino

156 So. 61, 1934 La. App. LEXIS 837
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 28, 1934
DocketNo. 14919.
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 156 So. 61 (Smith v. Vellino) 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
Smith v. Vellino, 156 So. 61, 1934 La. App. LEXIS 837 (La. Ct. App. 1934).

Opinion

HIGGINS, Judge.

This is a suit for damages for personal injuries by a guest against the automobile owner and -his insurance carrier, in solido, under Act No. 55 of 1930. The pertinent allegations of the petition are as follows:

“That on the 31st of July, 1932, while returning to New Orleans with the defendant, Gustave C. Vellino, from a visit to his family at Biloxi, Mississippi, your petitioner was his guest and a passenger in the Nash sedan automobile owned and driven by him. * ⅜ ⅞=

“That on leaving Biloxi at or about 1:45 P. M. with the said Gustave C. Vellino, who was driving at the rate of forty-five miles per hour and over, and the pavement being slippery by reason of rain which was then falling, your petitioner remonstrated to him at this rate of speed and asked him if he was not afraid his car would skid, whereupon he replied that his car did not skid and he did not slack his speed; that nevertheless, your petitioner being uneasy at this continued rate of speed and the slippery condition of the pavement due to the rain then falling and more especially as this slippery condition became aggravated by the slimy drippings from the trees .which lined the roadway in part — a condition well known to the said Gustave C. Vellino as he had frequently traveled said road— again remonstrated with the said Gustave C. Vellino for the speed at which they' were traveling, to which remonstration he made no reply but continued to drive at the same high rate of speed with occasional spurts to pass cars ahead of him, on one of which spurts and while he was getting ahead of a string of cars, the accident above described happened through the negligence and fault of the said Gustave 0. Vellino in so driving at an excessive rate of speed, at that time in the neighborhood of fifty miles an hour or over, on the slippery and unsafe pavement; said rate being greatly in excess of the rate fixed by the Laws of the State of Mississippi gov *62 erning the speed of motor vehicles on the highway of the state; and in excess of the legal speed limits of the City of Pass Christian, Mississippi, provided by its ordinances and regulations on that subject, and more especially by its traffic ordinance No. 87 effective from February 1, 1918.”

The defendants filed an exception of no right or cause of action on the ground that, as the petition failed to allege that the plaintiff requested that the automobile be stopped in order to permit her to get out, she acquiesced in the reckless manner in which the car was being driven, and was therefore guilty of contributory negligence which bars her recovery. The exception was sustained, and plaintiff has appealed.

In Blashfield’s Cyclopedia of Automobile Law, vol. 2, p. 1098, we find:

“ * * * Where the road becomes dangerous, or the speed of the machine in which one is riding as a passenger or guest is unlawful, or the driver is otherwise careless or reckless in his conduct, and this is known to the passenger it is his duty, in the exercise of ordinary care, to protect himself from injury, to caution the driver of the danger, protest against it, and, unless delivered from it, to quit the car if that may be done with safety, or to direct that the vehicle be stopped, and when stopped, get out of the car.
“ * * * and one riding as a guest and not in control of an automobile, who, after remonstrating against the excessive speed at which it was being driven, remains in the vehicle without doing anything more should not therefore be considered negligent unless the danger is obviously very great and the time elapsing after the remonstrances is long enough to show that the passenger has acquiesced in such speed.”

In Huddy on Automobiles (9th Ed.) § 145, it is stated:

“Remaining in Machine arfter Protest. Generally. “The circumstances may be such as to charge the occupant with negligence as a matter of law, where he unreasonably remains in the machine after adequate opportunity is offered for alighting, or, at least, where he fails to insist on leaving the car. But this duty is not absolute, the question whether a failure to leave the vehicle is a want of ordinary care being dependent on the circumstances of the particular case.

In Lorance v Smith, 173 La. 883, 138 So. 871, 877, the court said:

“The theory underlying the rule or doctrine that an invited guest in an automobile cannot recover damages arising from injuries due to the negligence of his host, where such guest is aware of the danger and makes no protest, is that of assent to and acquiescence in such' negligence. Whether the guest assents to or acquiesces in the negligence of his host is a question of fact which must be determined by the court or a jury from the circumstances surrounding the case. Each case must be decided according to the facis found.
“Under this rule, the opportunity of the guest for discovering the negligence, his position in the car, his age, his mental development and physical condition, and his knowledge of what might constitute negligence or a dangerous situation or condition must all be taken into consideration in determining the question of assent or acquiescence.”

See, also, Pipes v. Gallman, 173 La. 158, 136 So. 302; Hutchens v. Morgan, 12 La. App. 545, 125 So. 309; Provosty v. Christy (La. App.) 152 So. 784; Lockhart v. Missouri-Pac. Ry. Co. (La. App.) 153 So. 577; Leiser v. Thomas (La. App.) 150 So. 81.

In the case of McAdd v. Shea, 10 La. App. 733, 122 So. 879, the plaintiff was the guest in an automobile which was being driven at the rate of 55 miles an hour and, while crossing a bridge, struck a cow, and he was injured. The court said:

“In other words, it is argued that the plaintiff in this case should have protested against the dangerous speed at which the car was running, and, in the event his protest was unheeded, to cause the automobile to be stopped, and get out of the car. Huddy on Automobiles (8th Ed.) § 830; Blashfield, Cyclopedia of Automobile Law, p. 1087 ; Sharp et ux. v. Sproat, 111 Kan. 735, 208 P. 613, 26 A. L. R. 1421; Hill v. Philadelphia Rapid Transit Co., 271 Pa. 232, 114 A. 634.
“Without discussing the force in Louisiana of the rule which seems to have been recognized in a number of other jurisdictions, we observe that in this'case the plaintiff, a negro chauffeur, had at least on two occasions, during the trip, commented upon the excessive speed to the effect that it was ‘pretty fast for a new car.’ It is true that he made no effort to stop the car by forcefully taking possession of the driving wheel and that he did not cry out or. cause the automobile to be stopped on the road, nor did he get out of the automobile. However, we are of the opinion that, whatever may be the situation under different circumstances, and assuming that plaintiff should have objected to the speed of the car, he made sufficient protest, *63 mild as Ms language was, to relieve Mm of the charge of contributory negligence. In fact, any comment at all upon Mrs. Shea’s driving by the negro chauffeur, who was an invitee, .was, in our opinion, quite remarkable. To expect more forceful protest would be absurd.”

In the case of Gibbs v. I. C. R. R. Co., 169 La. 450, 125 So.

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156 So. 61, 1934 La. App. LEXIS 837, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/smith-v-vellino-lactapp-1934.