Weidner v. Globe Indemnity Co.

98 So. 2d 566, 1957 La. App. LEXIS 911
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 30, 1957
DocketNo. 8744
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 98 So. 2d 566 (Weidner v. Globe Indemnity Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Weidner v. Globe Indemnity Co., 98 So. 2d 566, 1957 La. App. LEXIS 911 (La. Ct. App. 1957).

Opinion

GLADNEY, Judge.

This action was instituted by Carl B. Weidner against the Globe Indemnity Company, insurer of Mrs. Florence R. Camus, to recover property damage to his automobile resulting from an intersectional collision on September 6, 1956, about 5:15 o’clock p. m., in the intersection of Alexander and Egan Streets in Shreveport, Louisiana. The defendant through its answer denied allegations of negligence directed at Mrs. Camus, and having become subro-gated to the rights of its insured, instituted a reconventional demand for the loss it incurred. Additionally, pleading in the alternative defendant has alleged contributory negligence on the part of plaintiff and invoked the last clear chance doctrine. Upon the issues so presented, the case came to trial and resulted in a judgment rejecting both the principal and the reconventional demands. From the judgment so rendered, plaintiff has appealed.

The appellee has answered the appeal for the purpose of preserving its recon-ventional demand. We are also confronted with a motion by appellant to dismiss ap-pellee’s answer to the appeal, which plea is grounded upon the failure of defendant to take individual orders of appeal, filing appeal bond and other steps necessary to perfect an appeal from the court’s dismissal of the reconventional demand.

[568]*568In this court counsel for appellant has neither briefed nor argued the motion to dismiss appellee’s answer to the appeal. However, there seems to be little merit to the motion to dismiss. The answer to the appeal filed by the appellee was sufficient to bring before the appellate court for review its reconventional demand and there was no need for the defendant to perfect an appeal from the judgment. See Alengi v. Hartford Accident & Indemnity Co., 1935, 183 La. 847, 165 So. 8; Glass v. Holomon, La.App.1940, 197 So. 438; Walter E. Canulette & Son v. Clesi, La.App.1949, 39 So.2d 853; Ferguson v. Parr, La.App. 1955, 85 So.2d 117.

At the intersection where the accident occurred Alexander and Egan Streets are each thirty feet in width, black topped, and traffic entering the intersection is not affected by traffic signals or stop signs. Neither of the streets is accorded the right of way under the City traffic ordinance, which fixes a speed limit applicable to these streets of twenty-five miles per hour. At the time of the accident the atmosphere was clear and the streets were dry.

Mrs. Florence R. Camus was driving her Oldsmobile automobile in a westerly direction along Egan Street and plaintiff was driving a Dodge car northerly along Alexander Street. The southeast corner of the intersection was not obstructed and either motorist was visible to the other for a distance prior to reaching the intersection of one hundred feet, or perhaps even farther. Shortly after the collision Officer Houston Burns of the Shreveport Police Department determined the point of impact to be fourteen feet southwest of the northeast corner of the intersection and twenty-six feet northeast of the southwest corner of the intersection. He testified the Oldsmobile of 'Mrs. Camus skidded forty-two feet before the impact and at the instant of collision the vehicle was turned somewhat to the right, which caused the left front portion of the Camus vehicle to strike the right rear part of plaintiff’s car.

Plaintiff charges the proximate cause of the accident was due to the negligence of defendant’s insured in failing to maintain a proper lookout and proper control of the vehicle she was driving; in entering the intersection at a time when she was blinded by the sun; in failing to accord plaintiff the right of way after he had preempted the intersection; in failing to apply her brakes; and in traveling at an excessive rate of speed. Almost identical counter charges are made against plaintiff.

The judge a quo reached his decision upon finding that plaintiff did not actually see Mrs. Camus until he was close to the intersection and, that if he had been alert he would have seen the Camus car approaching on his right and stopped. Accordingly, plaintiff was adjudged guilty of negligence, barring his recovery. The court then opined defendant’s insured was traveling in excess of twenty-five miles per hour, the limit of speed as fixed by the City ordinance, and, in fact, was traveling at the time about thirty or more miles per hour, predicating this finding on the fact that her car skidded forty-two feet, and after arriving at this conclusion he reasoned that if Mrs. Camus had been traveling at a lawful rate of speed she could have stopped short of the intersection and, therefore, have avoided the accident. Therefore, the demand in reconvention was denied.

Plaintiff called to the witness stand Pli-ney Philip Stagg, Ashley E. Elton and Paul N. Lingenfelter, who were passengers in plaintiff’s car. Weidner testified that as he approached the intersection he was traveling at a speed of from twenty to thirty miles per hour and first noticed the Camus vehicle some eighty or one hundred feet east of the intersection, but he did not make this observation until he was from ten to twenty feet from the intersection; that he thereupon took his foot off the brake , and accelerated his automobile in order to negotiate the intersection ahead of the other vehicle. Stagg testified he first saw the Oldsmobile when it was about one-half [569]*569block away and plaintiff’s vehicle was two or three car lengths south of the intersection. Elton stated he did not observe the Camus vehicle until plaintiff’s car was already in the intersection. Lingenfelter said he observed the Camus automobile when it was about seventy-five feet east of the intersection and plaintiff’s car several lengths from the intersection. These witnesses estimated the speed of the Oldsmobile was about the same as that of plaintiff’s Dodge.

Officer Burns testified during his investigation Mrs. Camus said that she was blinded by the sun just prior to the accident but we attach no special significance to this ■evidence as it is definitely shown that Mrs. Camus’ automobile skidded forty-two feet before the impact, thus indicating she attempted to avoid the accident and to control the course of her vehicle when it was ■about seventy-five feet east of the point of ■collision. The record furnishes no direct testimony as to the exact speed of the Oldsmobile just prior to the accident. Mrs. Camus declined to estimate her speed. The passengers in Mr. Weidner’s car testified that he was traveling from twenty-five to thirty miles per hour and that plaintiff’s speed was about the same as that of Mr. Weidner. The opinion of the trial court, predicated on the braking distance of the Camus car, concluded that it was traveling slightly more than thirty miles per hour.

Appellant argues the facts established in this case show plaintiff preempted the intersection and that defendant’s insured should have yielded. Cited in support of this contention is the case of Gauthier v. Fogleman, La.App.1951, 50 So.2d 321, 323, to the effect:

“It is well settled that where a collision occurs between two automobiles at a street intersection, the automobile which first entered the intersection has the right to proceed, having the right of way over any automobile approaching at right angles and that the driver who does not respect the legal right of the automobile which first entered the intersection to proceed through the intersection in safety, is negligent, even though the car entering the intersection secondly in point of time is being driven on a right of way street.” (And authorities therein cited.)

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98 So. 2d 566, 1957 La. App. LEXIS 911, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/weidner-v-globe-indemnity-co-lactapp-1957.