Texas Employers' Ins. Ass'n v. Phillips

62 S.W.2d 313, 1933 Tex. App. LEXIS 965
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 21, 1933
DocketNo. 2393
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 62 S.W.2d 313 (Texas Employers' Ins. Ass'n v. Phillips) 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
Texas Employers' Ins. Ass'n v. Phillips, 62 S.W.2d 313, 1933 Tex. App. LEXIS 965 (Tex. Ct. App. 1933).

Opinion

WALKER, Chief Justice.

The appeal is by writ of error, but the parties will be referred to as appellant and ap-pellee. The case was a suit in district court, for compensation. Appellee, Jim Phillips, was the employee; Garrison Brick & Tile Company, the employer; and appellant, Texas Employers’ Insurance Association, the compensation insurance carrier, under the provisions of the Workmen’s Compensation Act, articles 8306-8309, R. S. 1925 (as amended). Appellee’s claim for compensation was duly submitted to the Industrial Accident Board, but not being satisfied with the award, partly-in his favor, entered on the 19th day of May, 1931, he duly prosecuted his appeal to the district court of Nacogdoches county. No point is made against the sufficiency of ap-pellee’s petition to state a cause of action for the relief prayed for nor of appellant’s answer to present its defenses. So, as the nature of appellee’s injuries is not involved in the appeal, it is not necessary to give a summary of the pleadings. Eleven issues were submitted to the jury but answers were given only to questions 1, 2, 3, 4, and 11, which were as follows, answered as indicated:

“Special Issue No. 1: Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that Jim Phillips sustained personal injuries while in the course of his employment with the Garrison Brick & Tile Company on Oct. 10, 1930?”

Answer: “Yes.”

“Special Issue No. 2: Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that such injuries, if any, resulted in his total incapacity to perform labor?”
“Special Issue No. 3: Do you find from a [314]*314preponderance of the evidence that such total incapacity, if any, of Jim Phillips is permanent?”
“Special Issne No. 4: Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that manifest hardship and injustice will result to the plaintiff, Jim Phillips, if his compensation, if any, is not pai'd to him in a lump sum?”
“Special Issue No. 11: Do you find and believe from a preponderance of the evidence that the condition of Jim Phillips is not contributed to in any degree by any disease or condition existing prior to October 10, 1930?”

Upon the verdict and additional fact conclusions deduced by the court from the undisputed evidence, judgment was entered in appellee’s favor for -the lump sum of $3,-379.16.

Opinion.

The following bill of exceptions was brought up by certiorari, and constitutes reversible error:

“Be it remembered; that upon the trial of the above entitled and numbered cause, the following proceeding were had, to-wit: That during the closing argument of R. A. McAlis-ter, one of the Attorney for Plaintiff in this cause, he made the following statement to the Jury, to-wit:
“ T ask you to go out and render this verdict for Jim Phillips; I ask you to go out and answer Special Issues 1, 2, 3 and 4 “yes” and then skip to Special Issue No. 11 and answer it “yes”.’
“That to evidence such matter, the Defendant tenders this, its Bill of Exception No. 1, and asks the Court to examine, approve and order the same filed as a part of the record in this cause.
“Wm. M. Cramer,
“Attorney for Defendant.
“The foregoing Bill of Exception having been examined is by the Plaintiff approved.
“Adams & McAlister,
“Attorneys for Plaintiff.
“The foregoing Bill of Exception having been examined and found correct is approved and ordered filed as a part of the record in this cause.
“C. E. Brazil,
“Dist. Judge Presiding.”

This argument was not only a direct appeal to the jury to return a verdict in favor of ap-pellee, Jim Phillips, which was improper [Gulf, C. & S. F. Ry. Co. v. Harvey (Tex. Com. App.) 276 S. W. 895; McFaddin v. Hebert, 118 Tex. 314, 15 S.W.(2d) 213], but also instructed the jury the proper answers to make to the questions in order to return a verdict in his favor and then to “skip” the remaining questions. The jury followed literally the instructions given by the argument complained of. Under BIcFaddin v. Hebert, supra, this argument constituted reversible error. -

Texas Indemnity Ins. Co. v. McCurry (Tex. Com. App.) 41 S.W.(2d) 215, 218, 78 A. D. R. 760, answers appellee’s criticism of appellant’s bill that no exception was reserved' to the argument at the time it was made and no request was made to instruct the jury not to consider it, and that the bill fails to state that the argument was not in reply to argument of counsel for appellant, and that it was not provoked by argument of counsel for appellant. These very criticisms were before the court in the case cited and affirmatively denied. There is no merit in the additional suggestion that the argument complained of was not made consecutively, as shown by the bill. If appellee is correct in this proposition, the facts should have been reflected ’by a proper qualification by the trial judge to the bill.

We recognize that it is not always reversible error to instruct a jury as to the effect of their answers; for instance, when a man of ordinary intelligence would readily understand the legal effect of his answers to the questions submitted to him, such argument does not constitute reversible error. If it could be said that a layman of ordinary intelligence, with no legal experience, would have known the effect of the requested answers to questions 1, 2, 3, 4, and 11, without the introductory statement that counsel wanted the jury to render a verdict for Jim Phillips, it cannot be said that he would have understood the effect of his answers to the questions which counsel asked the jury to skip. The questions thus referred to by counsel were as follows:

“Special Issue No. 5: Do you find from the preponderance of the evidence that such total incapacity, if any; of Jim Phillips has terminated?”
“Special Issue No. 6: When do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that Jim Phillips’ total incapacity,- if any, terminated?”
“Special Issue No. 7: When do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that Jim Phillips’ total incapacity, if any, will terminate?”
“Special Issue No. 8: Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that Jim Phillips will be partially incapacitated for the performance of labor after his total incapacity, if any, has terminated ?”
“Special Issue No. 9: I-Iow many weeks, if any, do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that Jim Phillips will be partially incapacitated for the performance of labor?”
“Special Issue No. 10: What percentage of [315]*315incapacity, if any, for the performance labor do you find, from a preponderance of the evidence that Jim Phillips has suffered or will suffer after the termination of his total incapacity, if any?” of

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62 S.W.2d 313, 1933 Tex. App. LEXIS 965, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/texas-employers-ins-assn-v-phillips-texapp-1933.