Sykes v. Wright

1949 OK 6, 205 P.2d 1156, 201 Okla. 346, 1949 Okla. LEXIS 298
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedMay 3, 1949
DocketNo. 33199
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 1949 OK 6 (Sykes v. Wright) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sykes v. Wright, 1949 OK 6, 205 P.2d 1156, 201 Okla. 346, 1949 Okla. LEXIS 298 (Okla. 1949).

Opinions

ARNOLD, V. C. J.

Action for wrongful death by Mrs. Irene Ormand Sykes against J. G. Wright and Commercial Standard Insurance Company. Motion of defendants for judgment on the pleadings sustained and plaintiff appeals.

On March 15, 1946, the plaintiff filed a petition in the district court of Gar-vin county against the defendant, J. G. Wright, a motor carrier, and the Commercial Standard Insurance Company, Wright’s insurance carrier, seeking damages for the wrongful death of her husband. To this petition the defendant filed general denials and pleas of contributory negligence. Thereafter, on the 1st day of February, 1947, the defendants filed amended answers, in which they pleaded as a bar to the instant action a judgment rendered by the district court of Tarrant county, Tex., in an action brought by plaintiff here against the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway Company, and attached to said answers, as exhibits, a transcript of the pleadings and judgment in said cause.

This transcript reflected that the plaintiff had, in March, 1945, instituted in the district court of Tarrant county, Tex., an action, alleging therein the wrongful death of her husband as a result of the accident alleged in the instant case, and seeking judgment therefor against the defendant railway company in the sum of $40,000. To this petition, the railway company responded with an answer and amended answer in which various pleas of contributory negligence and denial of liability, not relevant here, were asserted as a defense.

To the amended answers of the defendants, the plaintiff filed her reply denying generally the allegations of said answers, except as to the fact that she instituted the action against the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway Company as shown by the exhibits attached to the amended answers.

[347]*347Plaintiff presents her assignments of error under one proposition, to wit:

“The entry of the judgment approving a settlement in the form of a covenant not to sue and ordering the distribution of the fund created by the settlement in an action for wrongful death is not a bar to a subsequent action against another joint tort-feasor.”

Plaintiffs intestate was an engineer on one of the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway Company passenger trains on the day of the accident which resulted in his death from a collision of said train with a motor truck at a grade crossing some two miles north of Pauls Valley in Garvin county. The truck was owned by defendant, J. G. Wright, and was being operated by his servant and employee John C. Kerr. This motor truck was hauling gasoline and the impact of the collision burst the tank containing the gasoline and caused the same to be sprayed over the locomotive and to be ignited by the fires of the locomotive enveloping the cab of the engine in flames and forcing both the engineer and fireman to jump therefrom in an effort to avoid death or serious injury. The engineer, Sykes, was killed instantly when he leaped from the cab.

Thereafter, plaintiff commenced an action in the district court of Tarrant county, Tex., being No. 49685-A on the docket of that court, wherein Irene Or-mand Sykes, administratrix of the estate of W. T. Sykes, deceased, was plaintiff, and Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway Company was defendant, to recover damages for the wrongful death of her husband. After issues were joined in that action, plaintiff and defendant entered into a written agreement by the terms of which plaintiff’s claim in that action was compromised and settled for the sum of $8,500 upon the conditions thus expressed:

“This agreement being conditioned, however, upon (1) its being approved by the judge of the aforesaid court and given the force and effect of judgment in the cause above referred to and the sum of Eight Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($8,500.00) apportioned among such persons as may be found by the Court entitled thereto or to participate therein; and (2) the payment and satisfaction of said judgment by Gulf Colorado and Santa Fe Railway Company, but upon the performance of which conditions this agreement shall become absolute and stand performed as between the undersigned, in her dual capacity, and Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway Company.
“But the undersigned does now, and will' in the event this agreement becomes absolute and performed, expressly reserve and keep alive any and ali rights which she or any other person may have, to present claim against, make demand upon, and prosecute suit against J. G. Wright, the owner of the aforesaid colliding truck, and his insurance carrier, Commercial Standard Insurance Company, or any other person, it being the intention of this instrument to create and effect a covenant not to further claim against or to sue Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway Company upon such causes of action; but it is not the intention hereof to release such claims, demands and causes of action as to others as may now exist for injuries to and death of •W. T. Sykes, and this instrument shall be so construed.”

Thereafter, and on the 3rd day of January, 1946, judgment was rendered in that action, the journal entry reciting that “came and appeared plaintiff, in person and by her attorney of record, and came and appeared defendant, by its attorney of record, and a jury having been expressly waived by both parties, the cause proceeded to trial before the court upon both the law and the facts.” The instrument evidencing the compromise and settlement is then referred to and made a part of the journal entry and attached thereto as Exhibit A. The court then made the following express findings:

“(1) This action arises under the Federal Employer’s Liability Act, by virtue of defendant and deceased having ' been engaged in interstate commerce; (2) plaintiff has instituted this suit and has made claim and demand [348]*348for damages against said railway company, and has entered into the aforesaid agreement as the personal representative of deceased, for the benefit of the beneficiaries of deceased under the aforesaid Act; (3) that W. T. Sykes left surviving him three adult children, to wit: Earl Sykes, a son; Grace Lake, a married daughter; and Marie Sykes, an adult single daughter, none of whom was dependent upon deceased for support, and none of whom is entitled to recover damages for his injuries and death under the Federal Employer’s Liability Act; and he also left surviving him his widow, Mrs. Irene Ormand Sykes, who was dependent upon him for support and is the sole person entitled to recover for his injuries and death.”

Based upon these express findings, the court then rendered judgment- as follows:

“It is accordingly ordered, adjudged and decreed that plaintiff do have and recover of and from Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway Company the sum of Eight Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($8,500.00) and all costs in this behalf expended, which sum is apportioned wholly to Mrs. Irene Ormand Sykes, the surviving widow, in her individual capacity; and Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway Company is directed to pay said sum direct to her and to her attorney of record, and take receipt therefor, in complete relinquishment and bar of all right in plaintiff or any other person, either individually or as personal representative, to assert further claim or file or prosecute suit against Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway Company or its employees, for injuries to or death of W. T. Sykes.”

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Bluebook (online)
1949 OK 6, 205 P.2d 1156, 201 Okla. 346, 1949 Okla. LEXIS 298, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sykes-v-wright-okla-1949.