Trask v. Gibbs

200 N.W.2d 565, 1972 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 874
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedSeptember 19, 1972
Docket54960
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 200 N.W.2d 565 (Trask v. Gibbs) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Trask v. Gibbs, 200 N.W.2d 565, 1972 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 874 (iowa 1972).

Opinions

MOORE, Chief Justice.

This appeal grows out of a collision of motor vehicles which occurred on December 20, 1967 at the intersection of U. S. Highway 20 with John F. Kennedy Road at the westerly edge of the city of Dubuque. Involved in the collision'were a semi-trailer truck owned by plaintiff Doden Trucking Company, Inc., (hereinafter Doden) driven by plaintiff James E. Trask, and a Chevrolet stationwagon owned by Glen and Rosemary Gibbs, and driven by the latter. Rosemary A. Gibbs was killed instantly in the accident. Plaintiff Trask sustained serious personal injuries. Both vehicles were damaged extensively.

Doden and Trask filed separate actions asking judgment for property damage by Doden and for personal injury by Trask, both actions having been instituted against Glen Gibbs as owner of the Chevrolet sta-tionwagon. Subsequently, administration was taken out in the estate of Rosemary A. Gibbs. Gibbs, in his personal capacity and as administrator of his wife’s estate, answered in the separate actions instituted by Trask and Doden, and counterclaimed in each instance against plaintiffs for damages because of the death of Rosemary Gibbs and for property damage to the Chevrolet stationwagon. The cases were consolidated for trial and the jury returned a verdict in favor of Trask for $37,000. A verdict was also returned in favor of Do-den for $6156.

Prior to the accident, Trask (driving the Doden truck) was proceeding westerly on Highway 20, and the Gibbs automobile was proceeding in a southerly direction on John F. Kennedy Road as it approaches the intersection with the U. S. highway. The collision occurred in the intersection. The point of impact was established by one witness as being two and one-half feet south of the north line of the traveled portion of Highway 20, and by a second witness as being eight feet south of the north line of the traveled portion of the highway.

At the close of the evidence, and after all parties had rested, defendants requested the court’s permission to amend their counterclaims in both actions to assert an additional ground of negligence, to-wit, “in failing to sound a horn or other warning device in violation of section 321.432 of the 1966 Code of Iowa.” They further requested permission to amend their answers alleging contributory negligence on the part of plaintiff Trask on the same additional ground. They represented to the court the requests for permission to file the amendments were to conform the pleadings to the proof. The requests for permission to amend both the answers and the counterclaims were overruled.

Defendants assign three errors upon which they rely for reversal:

(1) The court erred in overruling defendants’ motion to amend their pleadings to conform to the proof by alleging plaintiff’s failure to sound his horn as a ground of negligence and contributory negligence.

[567]*567(2) The court erred in failing to properly instruct the jury on the combined duty to stop and to yield at a stop sign (under section 321.321, Code, 1966); further asserting that in its instructions the court improperly separated such duties.

(3) The court erred in failing to instruct the jury the driver of a vehicle having the right of way at a through intersection must nevertheless exercise ordinary care for the safety of other drivers using said intersection.

The intersection accident giving rise to this litigation occurred December 20, 1967. The accident investigator, highway patrolman Lyle Peters, arrived at the scene a few minutes after the collision. He was well acquainted with defendant Glen Gibbs, a town marshal. Fred Hermsen, Gibbs’ neighbor, came upon the accident immediately thereafter. The two Gibbs girls, occupants of the Chevrolet stationwagon, survived and were at all times available to defendants for investigation of accident facts.

On March 12, 1969 plaintiff, James E. Trask, filed his petition claiming personal injury damages. He alleged ultimate facts and four specifications of negligence. Later defendants filed their amended and substituted answer and counterclaim. Their allegations by way of affirmative defense and counterclaim included three specifications of negligence charged against Trask. They alleged he was negligent in failing to have his vehicle under control, he failed to keep a proper lookout and drove at an excessive rate of speed under the circumstances.

On June 19, 1969 plaintiff, Doden Trucking Company, Inc., filed its petition for property damages. It too alleged ultimate facts and the same four specifications of negligence. Defendants’ answer and counterclaim included the three same specifications of negligence against Doden’s driver, Trask.

Defendants took the deposition of Trask and also submitted many interrogatories to which written answers were filed by Trask.

The record does not include the slightest indication defendants sought before the close of the evidence to claim Trask was negligent for failure to sound a horn.

Trial commenced August 17, 1970. The jury returned its verdict August 21, 1970.

Plaintiffs during trial made no inquiry of any witness either on direct or cross-examination as to whether Trask had sounded a horn. Only one of plaintiffs’ witnesses, David W7 Lock, was asked on cross-examination if he had heard “any signal sound” from the truck. He answered in the negative. He had witnessed the accident and ‘ immediately before the above question and answer testified on cross-examination, “To the best of my knowledge, at the point where the individual pulled onto the highway and the driver of the vehicle, the truck, would have had no chance to brake.”

Jane Gibbs, age 13, a passenger in the stationwagon, as defendants’ witness, testified on direct, “I don’t remember my mother proceeding up to Highway 20. I don’t remember seeing any stop signs before she approached Highway 20. * * * I don’t remember seeing a truck. I do not remember hearing an impact. I don’t remember anything about the impact or the collision.” She was then asked, “Jane, did you at the time of the impact or right before impact ever hear the sound of a horn?” She answered, “No.”

Julie Gibbs, age 14, also a passenger in the stationwagon, testified, “I didn’t see a truck. All I remember is that she stopped for that, and I don’t remember — I mean like what happened. I don’t remember whether the car was moving or stopped when something happened.” She further testified she did not hear anything like a truck horn.

The only reference to no truck horn sound is that set out above. It was all by defendants’ counsel. Plaintiff offered no evidence regarding a truck horn.

[568]*568I. The trial court has broad discretion in permitting or denying amendments to conform to the proof at the close of all evidence and unless this discretion is abused we will not interfere. Plummer v. Loonan, Iowa, 189 N.W.2d 617, 618; W. & W. Livestock Enterprises, Inc. v. Dennler, Iowa, 179 N.W.2d 484, 488, and citations.

In Brown v. Guiter, 256 Iowa 671, 675, 128 N.W.2d 896, 899, an intersection case, where we approve the trial court’s refusal to permit defendant to amend his pleading on the first trial day, we say:

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Trask v. Gibbs
200 N.W.2d 565 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1972)

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Bluebook (online)
200 N.W.2d 565, 1972 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 874, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/trask-v-gibbs-iowa-1972.