Southwestern Greyhound Lines, Inc. v. Dickson

228 S.W.2d 232, 1950 Tex. App. LEXIS 1939
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 1, 1950
DocketNo. 9853
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 228 S.W.2d 232 (Southwestern Greyhound Lines, Inc. v. Dickson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Southwestern Greyhound Lines, Inc. v. Dickson, 228 S.W.2d 232, 1950 Tex. App. LEXIS 1939 (Tex. Ct. App. 1950).

Opinion

ARCHER, Chief Justice.

This suit was brought by Gladys L. Dickson, appellee, against Southwestern Greyhound Lines, Inc., appellant, in the 53rd District Court, Travis County, Texas, for damages for personal injuries allegedly resulting from her fall across appellant’s water hose in the driveway at the rear of the bus station in the City of Austin, Tex[234]*234as, on an occasion when appellee was going inside the station for the purpose of becoming a passenger on appellant’s bus. This case was originally before this court as No. 9771 and was reversed and remanded on March 23, 1949, for certain errors, including improper issue, submission and prejudicial argument. Tex.Civ.App., 219 S.W.2d 592. Appellant prosecutes this appeal from a jury trial which resulted in a verdict and judgment for plaintiff for $28,-246.

This appeal is predicated on six points assigned as error by the trial court in not granting a new trial, but may be grouped into three questions:

(1) That counsel for plaintiff was guilty of improper and prejudicial closing argument to the jury.

(2) That the jury was guilty of misconduct, and

(3) That the verdict and judgment are excessive.

The argument complained of was:

Counsel for Plaintiff: “Who is this woman? — Is she a liar? Is she a cheat? Is she a fraud? They would have you believe that she is an impostor; that she comes from a distant land.”

Counsel for Defendant: “We have not charged she was a liar, cheat, fraud, or imposter; and I think counsel’s argument is out of the record, and prejudicial and inflammatory, and the court should exclude it.”

Counsel for Plaintiff: “They have said in their arguments — ‘What is her motive? Why did she testify to that; that you should carefully weigh her motives.’ If that is not challenging her honesty and integrity, I don’t know how they could express it in stronger words. Counsel in his closing argument said, ‘No, she doesn’t want to get well; she wants to wait until this lawsuit is over, and then she is going back to school.’ If they said that about your wife or daughter, or if they said it about my wife, who had been injured as I believe this woman is, I think I would take it as a challenge to her honesty. * * *

“I think it is very material in this case to trace the history of this woman — She came back to Waco, Texas, where she had attended the public schools there, where she finished high school, where she lived most of her adult life, and the trustees there thought she was all right. They did-n’t think she was a cheat; they didn’t think she was an impostor. They recognized her ability; they would not have hired her if they hadn’t thought her reputation for honesty and integrity was all right.

⅝ ⅝ ⅜ ⅜ ⅝ ⅝

“Then she had the opportunity to go to McClosky Hospital. Don’t think for a moment that before she was employed there that they didn’t make an investigation to determine her character, her ability, her intelligence, her honesty and fairness. Certainly they did. She came there as a civilian assistant. I am telling you these things because they have accused this woman of being a liar, of being a malingerer, or being a faker.”

Counsel for Defendant: “We object to counsel’s argument as inflammatory, and out of the record. We did not say that she was a malingerer or a faker.”

Counsel for Plaintiff: “I am telling the jury you don’t believe what she said. If that is not calling one a liar, I don’t know what you would call it. * * * ”

Counsel for Plaintiff: “She went over there with the expectation of having pictures made, and if the doctor had been on time she could have. Was she trying to hide anything? Wasn’t she willing to submit to an examination for the third time by the same doctor? But now they come up here and say, ‘Well, they wouldn’t submit to it again.’ No, not after hearing the doctor testify, as far as I am concerned she will never, never be examined by him again, nor any other client of mine. When a man will testify as that doctor did, try to deny that the woman did not complain to him, saying something had happened to her, but when I pulled the record on him he shelled down the coin and said ‘Yes.’ ”

“Do you think up to that time she bad been fair? Do you think she has been [235]*235wrong? Do you think she waited to find out what was wrong with her? I will say she did. Nobody can question that at all. You will recall the last question I asked the doctor. I said, ‘Doctor’ and I had to ask it four times, and finally I got him to hush his mouth long enough until I could ask the question. I said, ‘If a person was free of pain and could do his work before the accident, but since that time has had constant pain, wouldn’t you say there was something wrong with her ' besides her knee?’ Three times I asked.him that, and he interrupted. Finally he let me ask the question, and finally his answer was, T don’t know.’ If a ten year old kid in answer to that question wouldn’t say ‘Yes,’ there would be something wrong with this kid. It doesn’t take a doctor to know that, yet he refused to answer it.

* * * * * *

“You recall that when on the witness-stand I said, ‘Doctor you have seen some of the correspondence between counsel for defendant and me regarding the re-examination, haven’t you?’ Well, he didn’t answer the question and went on with his speech. I said, ‘Isn’t it a fact that you saw some of this correspondence between counsel and me ? ’

“Now, this doctor, I am sure, is a skilled surgeon. He said he devotes practically all of this time to it. I agree with them that he is a good cutting doctor; but if I have something wrong with me, and I don’t know what it is, I don’t want to go into his office and have him hit me with a hammer on my knees and elbows, and take my temperature and blood pressure and say, ‘Oh, ■ you are doing all right.’ I don’t want a fifteen minute examination if I am suffering as this woman has.described her condition to be; yet the doctor in his report — and I offered the balance of it, and counsel said, ‘We don’t want the copy of the doctor’s report — .’

“That June 5, 1947, examination was another one of those IS to 20 minute examinations. The woman was suffering untold pain and he took that much time. ’He didn’t want to waste time doing those things, because he was looking for whittling flesh; that is what he wants. He is not interested in giving a diagnosis; he was a cutting doctor.”

Counsel for Defendant: “We object to the unwarranted attack on the doctor— that he was looking for whittling flesh. I think it is highly improper, and inflammatory.”

Counsel for Plaintiff: “He devotes practically all of his- time to surgery. You recall he was very nice here, — he said Miss Dickson was very co-operative, and they got along fine. Oh yes, she had a little fracture of her knee. It was not bad, —a little fracture; but he ‘ socked1 her $350 for it. Yet he says it was nothing. He took 17 stitches on her knee and charged her $350; but now that is nothing, — just a little thing.

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Related

Southwestern Greyhound Lines, Inc. v. Dickson
236 S.W.2d 115 (Texas Supreme Court, 1951)
J. D. Wright & Son Truck Line v. Chandler
231 S.W.2d 786 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1950)

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228 S.W.2d 232, 1950 Tex. App. LEXIS 1939, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/southwestern-greyhound-lines-inc-v-dickson-texapp-1950.