Strahlendorf v. Walgreen Co.

114 N.W.2d 823, 16 Wis. 2d 421
CourtWisconsin Supreme Court
DecidedMay 1, 1962
StatusPublished
Cited by37 cases

This text of 114 N.W.2d 823 (Strahlendorf v. Walgreen Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wisconsin Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Strahlendorf v. Walgreen Co., 114 N.W.2d 823, 16 Wis. 2d 421 (Wis. 1962).

Opinions

Currie, J.

We are confronted with the following questions on this appeal:

(1) Was the found negligence of defendant causal as a matter of law ?

(2) Did the trial court err in failing to give a requested instruction on intervening cause ?

(3) Should any issue of defendant’s negligence have been submitted to the jury?

(4) Did the trial court err in directing a verdict with respect to the cause of action for breach of implied warranty?

(5) Were the damages determined by the jury for the injury sustained by plaintiff child so inadequate as to require a new trial ?

Causation Determination.

Plaintiffs contend that the jury’s answer of “No” to the second question of the verdict should have been changed to “Yes.” This contention is predicated on the premise that the found negligence of defendant was causal as a matter of law. [427]*427The complaint charges two grounds of negligence against defendant. The first alleged ground of negligence was the sale by defendant of an inherently dangerous instrumentality. The second was the failure of defendant to place a proper warning on the instruction card cautioning purchasers and users of the inherent danger of using the plane for the purpose intended. An examination of the trial court’s instructions to the jury, given with respect to the first question of the verdict, discloses that both of these alleged grounds of negligence were to be considered by the jury in answering this question. Therefore, it is impossible to tell from the jury’s affirmative answer to this first question whether they found defendant negligent in both respects, or only as to one of the two alleged grounds.

It is an entirely logical hypothesis that the jury could have concluded that it was not negligent for defendant to have sold the toy plane, but that it was negligent in failing to place a proper warning on the accompanying instruction card on which the plane was mounted. However, plaintiff Harry V. Strahlendorf, father of Butchie and Karen, testified that as a result of testing two of the three planes he became aware of the fact that they were dangerous and that the remaining third plane should not be intrusted to Butchie. This is why he hid the plane from Butchie. From this, the jury reasonably could have determined that the lack of a proper warning on the instruction card was not a substantial factor in causing the accident to Karen because the father had already been alerted to any danger such printed warning might have accomplished. This reasoning would justify the jury’s finding that defendant’s failure to warn was not causal.

However, even if the jury’s affirmative answer to the first question was not based on a failure to warn but upon some dangerous propensity of the toy plane, it does not follow that such found negligence was causal as a matter of law. One [428]*428of the dangerous propensities charged by plaintiffs was that the plane was so small and might be propelled at such great speed that it was practically invisible when traveling a distance of several hundred feet. If the jury had based its “Yes” answer to the first question on this dangerous propensity, it could well have concluded that this was not a substantial factor in causing Karen’s injury in a situation where the plane only traveled five feet from Butchie’s hands to Karen’s eye.

The causation issue with respect to the found negligence on the part of defendant presented an issue of fact for the jury to determine, and the trial court was correct in refusing to disturb its finding.

Failure to Instruct on Intervening Cause.

Plaintiffs maintain that the trial court committed prejudicial error in failing to give the following requested instruction to the jury:

“If you answer the first question ‘Yes’ [negligence question] , then in considering your answer to the second question, whether the negligence of the Walgreen Company in selling the toy jet plane was a cause of the injury sustained by the child, Karen Strahlendorf, you are instructed that if the conduct of the grandmother in buying the plane and the subsequent conduct of the son and grandson in regard to the use of the toy jet plane ought reasonably to have been anticipated by the Walgreen Company as not entirely improbable, then you are not to regard the conduct of the grandmother, son, and grandson as breaking any causal connection you may find to have existed between the negligence of Walgreen Company and the injury to the child, Karen Strahlendorf.” (Emphasis supplied.)

The emphasized words clearly interject the element of foreseeability into the jury’s determination on the issue of causation. This court is definitely committed to the principle that, while foreseeability is an element to be considered by [429]*429the jury in determining negligence, it has no part in the jury’s decision of whether particular negligence found by it is causal. Pfeifer v. Standard Gateway Theater (1952), 262 Wis. 229, 234, 55 N. W. (2d) 29, and Osborne v. Montgomery (1931), 203 Wis. 223, 242, 234 N. W. 372.

With respect to the causation question, the trial court instructed the jury as follows:

“The inquiry presented by this question is whether the relation of cause and effect existed between negligence, or failure to exercise ordinary care, if found by you, and the accident. There may be more than one cause of an accident. The negligence of one person alone may cause it, or the negligent acts or omissions of two or more persons may jointly cause it as the word ‘cause’ is used in this question. Before such relation of cause and effect can be found to exist, however, it must appear that the negligence, or failure to exercise ordinary care, under consideration was a substantial factor in producing the accident, that is to say, that it was a factor actually operating and which had a substantial effect in producing the accident as a natural result.”

This instruction is substantially that embodied in Wis J I — Civil, Part I, 1500. Plaintiffs contend that this instruction did not sufficiently inform the jury on the effect of intervening or concurring negligence. However, the instruction given did inform the jury that there can be more than one cause of an accident and that the negligence of two or more persons may jointly cause it, but that it must appear that the negligence under consideration was a substantial factor in producing the accident. The fallacy in plaintiffs’ contention is the implicit assumption that the question of intervening cause is for the jury. This court clarified the law on this point in Ryan v. Cameron (1955), 270 Wis. 325, 331, 71 N. W. (2d) 408, when it stated:

“Where intervening cause of another is interposed as a defense by a defendant charged with negligence who was the [430]*430first actor, the jury is first required to find whether the found negligence of such first actor was a substantial factor in causing the accident on which liability is sought to be predicated. Pfeifer v. Standard Gateway Theater (1952), 262 Wis. 229, 55 N. W. (2d) 29. If the jury does find that the negligence of the first actor was a substantial factor in causing the accident, then the defense of intervening cause is unavailing unless the court determines as a matter of law that there are policy factors which should relieve the first actor from liability. Ibid. As Professor Richard V.

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Bluebook (online)
114 N.W.2d 823, 16 Wis. 2d 421, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/strahlendorf-v-walgreen-co-wis-1962.