Steinman v. Strobel

589 S.W.2d 293, 1979 Mo. LEXIS 306

• Court: Supreme Court of Missouri
• Decided: November 14, 1979
• Docket: 61245
• Status: Published

Opinions

PER CURIAM:

Plaintiff Steinman sued defendants Stro-bel and Schnieders for personal injuries. Strobel was driving a pickup truck in a westerly direction ahead of Steinman’s motorcycle. Steinman was approximately thirty feet behind Strobel’s pickup truck and traveling at an estimated speed of forty-five miles per hour. Schnieders was driving a tractor-trailer in an easterly direction. The road was narrow and all vehicles were approaching a bridge at the bottom of a grade. Stroble slowed his pickup truck. Steinman’s motorcycle collided with the rear end of the pickup truck, and veered into the eastbound lane into collision with the tractor-trailer operated by Schnieders.

Plaintiff alleged that defendant Strobel slowed without adequate timely warning; that respondent Schnieders failed to slacken speed after he knew or should have known that plaintiff was in a position of immediate danger; that both defendants were thus negligent, and their combined negligence caused his injuries. Defendants alleged that plaintiff’s own negligence with respect to speed, lookout, following too closely, driving on the wrong side of the road, etc., was the cause of his injuries.

Plaintiff moved unsuccessfully to strike defendants’ allegations of contributory negligence on the ground that contributory negligence was a “harsh rule which could unfairly place the entire burden of loss” on plaintiff; and for trial of the case on a theory of comparative negligence. After plaintiff’s opening statements, both defendants moved for directed verdict. The trial court sustained the Schnieders motion and overruled Strobel’s motion. The case proceeded to trial and plaintiff’s contributory negligence was included in the submission to the jury. The jury returned a verdict in favor of Strobel and against plaintiff. Plaintiff’s motion for new trial preserved the request for trial on comparative negligence. The trial court overruled the motion for new trial, and plaintiff appealed to the Western District of the Missouri Court of Appeals.

The appeal was transferred prior to opinion to consider again whether a concept of comparative negligence should be judicially adopted in Missouri, a matter previously deemed better suited for legislative action. Epple v. Western Auto Supply Co., 557 S.W.2d 253 (Mo. banc 1977).

A change from contributory negligence to comparative negligence encompasses much more than simply allowing plaintiffs who are partially at fault to recover part of their damages. Numerous questions exist such as whether to retain Missouri’s humanitarian doctrine; and the effect of comparative negligence on other doctrines such as contribution, indemnity and joint and several liability, to name but a few. In the latter respects, see the California experience with judicial adoption of comparative negligence in Li v. Yellow Cab Co., 13 Cal.3d 804, 119 Cal.Rptr. 858, 532 P.2d 1226 (1975), and American Motorcycle Assn. v. Superior Court, 20 Cal.3d 578, 146 Cal.Rptr. 182, 578 P.2d 899 (1978), and the comment at 18 Santa Clara Law Review, pp. 780-807 (1978).

This case does not demonstrate appropriate circumstances for judicial adoption of comparative negligence; and the view expressed in Epple v. Western Auto Supply Co., supra, is reaffirmed.

Accordingly, this appeal is retransferred to the Western District of the Missouri Court of Appeals.

RENDLEN, MORGAN and HIGGINS, JJ., concur. WELLIVER, J., concurs in separate concurring opinion filed. BARDGETT, C. J., and DONNELLY, J., dissent in separate dissenting opinions filed. SEILER, J., dissents and concurs in separate dissenting opinion of DONNELLY, J.