Thomas v. Barnett

123 So. 2d 87, 240 La. 363, 1960 La. LEXIS 1040
CourtSupreme Court of Louisiana
DecidedJune 29, 1960
DocketNo. 45014
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 123 So. 2d 87 (Thomas v. Barnett) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Thomas v. Barnett, 123 So. 2d 87, 240 La. 363, 1960 La. LEXIS 1040 (La. 1960).

Opinions

HAMLIN, Justice.

Acting under our supervisory jurisdiction (Article VII, Sec. 11, Louisiana Constitution of 1921, LSA), we granted cer-tiorari to the Court of Appeal, Second Circuit, in order that we might review its judgment1 affirming a judgment of the trial court rejecting plaintiffs’ demands impersonal and property damages.

Plaintiffs are Ernest Thomas and his employer’s compensation insurer, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company. Defendants are Billy G. Barnett, his employer, Murphy T. Dreher (doing business as Dreher Construction Company), and Dreher’s insurer, Globe Indemnity Company.

This suit is an outgrowth of a collision between an empty gravel truck being driven by Barnett and a pick-up truck being driven by Thomas on U. S. Highway 165 2 at Gabon, Louisiana, on August 9, 1957, at about 4:00 P. M.

Barnett, who had dumped a load of gravel and was returning to the gravel pit, entered Highway 165 from a gravel road to its east, about 387 feet from the point of collision. His intention was to drive south down the highway a short distance, and then turn left off the highway and proceed across the Missouri-Pacific Railroad" tracks (running parallel with the highway) to a drag line being used to unload gravel' cars and load trucks. Travelling south on Highway 165 and. north of defendant Barnett when he entered the highway were two-pick-up trucks, the first being driven by plaintiff Thomas and the second by a fellow-employee, Edward Monson. Barnett safely negotiated the turn into the highway; Thomas and Monson (approximately-90 feet behind the Barnett truck) decreased their speed to permit Barnett safe-entrance. Thomas then increased his speed (to no more than thirty-five miles per-hour), and when he was approximately two truck lengths behind Barnett he cut to his left and attempted to pass Barnett’s, truck. At the same time, Barnett cut a short distance to the right and then turned to the left on his way to the drag line. An impact took place between the Thomas truck and the Barnett truck, after which the Thomas truck veered into a concrete, sign on the east side of the highway.

As a result of the collision, Thomas suffered severe personal injuries and damage-[89]*89to his truck. In his petition for damages, he alleged that Barnett was negligent:

“(1) In failing to keep a proper lookout;
“(2) In making a left turn without any warning whatsoever;
"(3) In making a left turn when same could not be done in safety and when the way was not clear of approaching traffic and especially that of plaintiff’s truck;
“(4) In failing to accord to plaintiff Thomas the right of way granted him by law and common prudence;
“(5) In generally failing to exercise that degree of care required by the rules of the road and common prudence ;
“(6) In making a left turn into the side or path of Thomas’ vehicle in such a manner that it was impossible for him to avoid the subsequent collision.”

Defendants denied liability, and alternatively pleaded contributory negligence.

The trial court sustained the plea of contributory negligence, finding that the direct cause of the accident was the negligence of both drivers. It stated:

“The Court feels that the driver of the gravel truck had as much right to believe that the plaintiff would not make a sudden sharp turn into the left lane from immediately behind the gravel truck, as the plaintiff had a right to believe that the defendant was not going to make a left turn with the gravel truck. The plaintiff may have acted with the best of intentions but that does not keep him from being grossly negligent. Very few drivers involved in an accident act with anything but good intentions. Regardless of their intentions they show bad judgment and an utter disregard of the rights of others when cars are operated as the gravel truck and the truck of the plaintiff were operated as disclosed by this record.”

The Court of Appeal, Second Circuit, found that plaintiffs failed to establish the negligence of Barnett as the sole and proximate cause of the collision. It found that both drivers were guilty of negligence; and, that Thomas had a mental fixation that Barnett would turn to the right or west since he cut over to the right before attempting to negotiate the left turn.

Relators contend that the rule of law with respect to contributory negligence applied by the Court of Appeal, Second Circuit, is contrary to that applied by the Court of Appeal, First Circuit, and the Court of Appeal, Parish of Orleans; that the Court of Appeal did not find Thomas guilty of any acts of omission or commission but found that his thoughts contributed to the cause of the accident; that the Court of Appeal did not apply a positive enactment of the statutory law of Louisiana, incorporated in the Revised Statutes as LSA-R.S. 32:235; and, that the Court of Appeal did not follow the law as already announced in the case of Washington Fire & Marine Ins. Co. v. Firemen’s Ins. Co., 232 La. 379; 94 So.2d 295.

We agree with our learned brothers of the Court of Appeal that the evidence adduced herein is in hopeless conflict.3

[90]*90Plaintiff Thomas’s testimony is to the effect that he blew his horn before attempting to pass the Barnett truck; and, that even though he was directly behind the Barnett truck, Barnett was in his right or west lane of traffic and gave no indication of his intention of turning left. His testimony is supported by that of his coworker, Edward Monson, whose view of the highway was undoubtedly impaired by the Thomas truck.

Defendant Barnett testified that when he approached the intersection of U. S. Highway 165, he saw the two pick-up trucks north of him. After negotiating the turn from the gravel road into the highway, he observed the Thomas truck from his mirror and presumed that he had ample space to make a left turn. He said that he signaled his intention to turn by holding his left arm out of the cab of his truck and by operating his directional blinkers. He stated that after the accident he checked his blinkers at the request of a State Trooper and they were still on. He emphatically denied seeing the Thomas truck in the passing lane; he also denied hearing the sound of the horn. He said that the first time he saw the truck was when it bounced off of his truck after they had collided.

LSA-R.S. 32.233 provides:

“A. The driver of a vehicle overtaking another vehicle proceeding in the same direction shall pass at a safe distance to the-left thereof and shall not again drive to the right side of the highway until safely clear of such overtaken vehicle.
“B. The driver of an overtaking vehicle shall give audible and sufficient warning of his intention before overtaking, passing or attempting to pass a vehicle proceeding in the same direction.
“C. The driver of a vehicle shall not drive to the left side of the center line of the highway in overtaking and passing another vehicle traveling in the same direction, unless such left side is clearly visible and free from oncoming traffic for a sufficient distance ahead to permit such overtaking and passing to be made in perfect safety.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Palmieri v. Frierson
288 So. 2d 620 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1974)
Bellard v. Texas Services, Inc.
151 So. 2d 694 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1963)
Crane v. London
152 So. 2d 631 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1963)
Mitchell v. National Surety Corp
149 So. 2d 213 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1963)
Johnson v. Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Ins. Co.
124 So. 2d 331 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1960)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
123 So. 2d 87, 240 La. 363, 1960 La. LEXIS 1040, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/thomas-v-barnett-la-1960.