Sustendal v. Weber

76 So. 2d 8, 1954 La. App. LEXIS 910
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 22, 1954
DocketNo. 20319
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 76 So. 2d 8 (Sustendal v. Weber) 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
Sustendal v. Weber, 76 So. 2d 8, 1954 La. App. LEXIS 910 (La. Ct. App. 1954).

Opinion

McBRIDE, Judge.

This suit results from an intersectional automobile collision which happened on -the afternoon of January 31, 1952. Dr. George Sustendal, plaintiff, was driving toward downtown on Magnolia Street, and Henry Weber, defendant, was driving on Clio Street in the general direction of the lake. The automobiles collided at the intersection of the two streets and were extensively damaged.. Dr. Sustendal sued for $408.57, the cost .of the repairs to his car, alleging that, the accident was caused solely as the result of the negligence of defendant in the following particulars:

(a) In operating his automobile at an excessive speed;
(b) In not maintaining a proper lookout;
(c) In not respecting the right of way plaintiff-.had acquired by virtue of having pre-empted the intersection.

The defendant joined issue by filing an answer in which he admitted the occurrence of the accident, and then after denying generally any negligence on his part, he averred; that the sole cause of the accident was the-negligence of plaintiff in not according the right of way to him in that the two vehicles reached the intersection at approximately the same time and defendant preached from plaintiff’s right. Then assuming the position of plaintiff in recon-vention, defendant averred that Dr. Susten-dal was indebted unto him for the amount of $238.27, in that the accident was occasioned by plaintiff’s negligence, which consisted of the following: .

(a) In driving at an. excessive speed; , ...
(b) In failing to maintain a proper lookout;
(c) In driving in a negligent manner;
(d) In not looking for approaching traffic;
(e) In not keeping his automobile under control.

■ The case proceeded to trial on those issues, and at the conclusion of the trial ■the judge evidently thought both parties were at fault and dismissed both the main and the reconventional demands, although there had been no plea of contributory negligence filed by defendant.

Plaintiff has perfected this appeal from .the judgment and the defendant has made .answer to the appeal in which he attempts to plead the contributory negligence of plaintiff, or, in other words, to supply the special defense which he had neglected to make in the lower'court.

The only eyewitnesses to the accident were the two drivers and each sought to exculpate himself by blaming the other for the collision. A reading of the testimony leads to the sound conviction that defendant was grossly negligent at least for the reason that he entered the intersection without, concerning himself about traffic on Magnolia Street. As he alleged [10]*10.in the answer, the corner was “blind” as the building to his left obliterated his view in that direction, and he acknowledged that he entered the intersection without looking and never saw plaintiff’s car until his own automobile was but five feet away from plaintiff’s car. It is true that defendant had a technical right of way, but that did not mean that he could emerge into the intersection with impunity and entirely oblivious of plaintiff’s car, which had reached the intersection at the same time as did defendant’s car. Had defendant under that circumstance exercised even a minimum amount of prudence, the accident could never have happened.

Since our conclusion is that defendant has been shown to have been guilty of negligence, plaintiff is entitled to recover provided he is not to be held guilty of contributory negligence, which defense was not made below, but, as we have already said, is sought to be raised before us in the answer to the appeal.

It is now well settled that contributory negligence is one of those special defenses which must be pleaded in order to be considered and the defendant carries the burden of proving the allegations relied upon by him. The leading case so holding is Althans v. Toye Bros. Yellow Cab. Co., La.App., 191 So. 717, in which case many authorities are cited.

Where a defendant is adjudged guilty of negligence, plaintiff’s negligence then becomes immaterial in the absence of a plea of contributory negligence. Plaintiff is to recover notwithstanding defendant has filed a demand in reconvention. See Lobell, for Use and Benefit of Hardware Mut. Cas. Co. v. Neal, La.App., 48 So.2d 797; Folse v. Flynn, La.App., 200 So. 160.

Defendant’s counsel do not seriously dispute that such is the law, but they insist that the plea of contributory negligence has been set forth in the answer to the appeal and that the issue it raises is properly before this court and should be considered along with each and every other issue in the case. Counsel point out that they incorporated in the answer to the appeal an exception of no right or cause of action based on the theory that as certain testimony had been received by the trial court without having been objected to by plaintiff, that testimony enlarged the pleadings to the extent of showing the contributory negligence of plaintiff which results in the extinguishment of any right or cause of action which plaintiff may have had

It is elemental in the jurisprudence of this State that any evidence touching on issues not raised by the pleadings, when such evidence is admitted without obj ection, effectively enlarges the pleadings so as to include the testimony as a new issue in the case. But, it is also settled that if such evidence was admissible under any of the issues presented by the pleadings, then it may not be said to have the effect of injecting into the case any, new issues, and this for the reason that counsel could not have successfully objected to its reception at the time it was tendered. Sistrunk v. Audubon Park Natatorium, Inc., La.App., 164 So. 667; Choppin v. Dauphin, 112 La. 103 (128), 36 So. 287.

The evidence alluded to by counsel which they say tended to enlarge the pleadings and which they also say shows that the plaintiff was guilty of contributory negligence was clearly admissible under the issue raised by the defendant’s allegations in his answer. Defendant not only denied his own negligence but went a step further and affirmatively set forth with particularity what he termed negligence on the part of plaintiff, and all that can be said of the allegations is that they amount to a charge that plaintiff was guilty of primary negligence, and the question of such negligence therefore became an issue in the case. We do not believe that the testimony can be held to enlarge the pleadings and its only purpose in being adduced was to show that the accident was occasioned not as a result of the fault of defendant, but solely because of the primary negligence of plaintiff. In Althans v. Toye Bros. Yellow Cab Co., supra [191 So. 725], we said:

[11]*11“In the case at bar, we find that the evidence, relied upon by defendant as proof of contributory negligence, was clearly admissible under the issue tendered by the defendant’s answer. As we have above stated, the defendant, in addition to denying its negligence, filed an affirmative defense in which it set forth with particularity that the accident was caused solely as the result of plaintiff’s negligence. At the trial of the case, defendant produced many witnesses in support of its contention. Surely, it cannot be said that counsel for the plaintiff could have successfully resisted' the admission of this evidence.

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76 So. 2d 8, 1954 La. App. LEXIS 910, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sustendal-v-weber-lactapp-1954.