Warnock v. Youngstown Bag & Burlap Co.

14 Ohio Law. Abs. 85, 1932 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 1010
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 4, 1932
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 14 Ohio Law. Abs. 85 (Warnock v. Youngstown Bag & Burlap Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Warnock v. Youngstown Bag & Burlap Co., 14 Ohio Law. Abs. 85, 1932 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 1010 (Ohio Ct. App. 1932).

Opinion

POLLOCK, J.

This was in the afternoon of that day, probably about five o’clock. The streets were not wet or slippery and the accident occurred as we have stated. The first error complained of was in the admission of evidence. Carl Olson was called by the plaintiff and testified that he was commissioner of traffic of the city of Youngstown, and was familiar with the ordinances and the [87]*87streets and so forth, and had more or less charge uf them. After some questions in regard to this sign or notice that we have spoken of in Belmont Avenue, he was asked*.

Q. Why did you have the sign there placed with the word ‘stop,’ on the street?

There was objection made and sustained and then the plaintiff set out what she expected the witness would testify. The record shows:

“If the witness were permitted to answer, he would testify and say that the sign and the stop sign was placed there in pursuance with the provisions of law both as to the city ordinance and the statute, giving the traffic department of a municipality the right to regulate traffic, and in pursuance of that right and the fact that West Federal Street is a main thoroughfare, the sign on the street and the sign at the side on the post was for the purpose of regulating traffic and requiring traffic coming from Belmont Avenue and entering into Federal Street to come to a dead stop.”

The question, in the first place, “Why did you have that sign there placed with the word ‘stop’ on the street,” it was not for this officer to say why the sign was placed in the street. Anyone coming' down the street would know why it was placed there, and the answer plaintiff expected to receive was only this man’s opinion of the law and what ought to be done. The sign was ordered by the city. There was no error in the court not permitting this question to be answered.

The next error complained of is in the charge. The court had permitted the ordinance of the city of Youngstown to be introduced in evidence. By the time the case got to the charge the court had changed his opinion, because he felt that the requirements of §6310-32 GC had not been complied with by the city, so as to make the ordinance which the city had passed, requiring travelers to stop at this sign, effective; in other words, that the city had not complied with the provisions of the Code. He took from the consideration of the jury this ordinance, and further, on probably pages 212 and 213, he again referred to the stop sign and said the only purpose it served was in determining what would be ordinary care as a party approached on Belmont Avenue to Federal Street. After that charge he then charged the statutory rule as interpreted by the Supreme Court in the case of Heidle v Baldwin, 118 Oh St, 375. This is urged on the part of the plaintiff in error and the other party claimed it was not error, and each party appeals to this case that we have just now referred to as sustaining their proposition. Plaintiff claims that in §7 of the syllabus, the court announces the rule that a city having such an ordinance requires the party to stop and it is actionable if an accident occurs by the failure to do so. The defendant claims that the question we have was not before the Supreme Court. A reading of the facts stated in the opinion would show that the municipality in which that accident had occurred had complied with the provisions of the statute, so that the question we have in this case was not before the Supreme Court.

Our attention has been called to the Court of Appeals case in the 30 Oh Ap, and to one in the 32 Oh Ap. We do not think either of those cases assist in determining the question that we have in this case. It must be determined from a construction of the provisions of this section, §6310-32 GO. It is probably well enough to refer to the three sections which announced the statutory rule, and then §6310-32 GC has reference to the modification or change that may be made by the city. §6310-30 GC reads:

“For the purpose of enforcing the road regulations referred to in this chapter, the main thoroughfare shall be understood to mean all sections of public roads and highways on which street cars or electric cars run, and also all main market and inter-county highways within the' state.”

So it must be conceded that Federal Street was a main thoroughfare of this city. §6310-31 GC reads:

“Vehicles and street cars going on main thoroughfares shall have the right of way over those going on intersection thoroughfares.”

Sec 6310-28 GC defines right of way:

“Right of way means the right of a vehicle to proceed uninterruptedly in a lawful manner in the direction in which it is ipoving in preference to another vehicle approaching from a different direction into its path.”

[88]*88Sec 6310-32 GC reads:

“Local authorities shall have the right to designate by ordinance or resolution additional main thoroughfares and to designate what vehicles shall have the right of way at intersections of main thoroughfares; provided, however, that legible and appropriate signs be erected not nearer than 100 feet from the intersection along all roads and highways intersecting such main highways.”

This section refers to streets in cities like Federal Street in Youngstown. It was necessary in order for the city to provide rules and regulations for the entry of traffic on Federal Street to place a sign not less than 100 feet from the intersection. It is not claimed that the city had done that. It had placed this stop sign something like 20 feet back in the street and there was some sign on the side of the street, (we have not been able to learn how far back or where it was), which notified vehicles to stop, but it is not claimed it was 100 feet or more from the intersection. It is claimed that this provision allowing cities to control by placing signs 100 feet back only refers to main highways made so by ordinance of the city and not by main highways made so by the statute, and that Federal Street is a main thoroughfare by the statute, so that we will examine the first part of this section again, “Local authorities shall have the right to designate by ordinance or resolution additional main thoroughfares,” so that there can be no doubt but what a city can designate main thoroughfares which are not made so by the Code proceedings, then the section says: “and to designate what vehicles shall have the right of way at intersections of main highways.” In other words, this latter part of this sentence gives the city the right to designate what vehicle shall have the right of way at intersections of main thoroughfares, not main thoroughfares such as are made by former expression of this sentence, but main thoroughfares, so that we think a city’s right to designate or change the statutory rule provided by the former section depends upon their compliance with the further provision of this section, and that it includes all main thoroughfares. Coming to that conclusion, the Court of Common Pleas was not in error in withdrawing this ordinance from the jury, for the reason as we have stated, and the charge then as given was, as we think, correct.

There is another error complained of in the charge, and that is the petition alleged that the defendant did not have the brakes on his truck in proper condition.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
14 Ohio Law. Abs. 85, 1932 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 1010, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/warnock-v-youngstown-bag-burlap-co-ohioctapp-1932.