Woods v. Dalton

331 S.W.2d 132, 1960 Mo. App. LEXIS 592
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedJanuary 19, 1960
DocketNo. 30261
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 331 S.W.2d 132 (Woods v. Dalton) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Woods v. Dalton, 331 S.W.2d 132, 1960 Mo. App. LEXIS 592 (Mo. Ct. App. 1960).

Opinion

BRADY, Commissioner.

This appeal arises out of a suit for personal injuries and damages allegedly sustained as the result of an automobile collision which occurred at the intersection of Cherokee and Gravois Streets in the City of St. Louis, Missouri, at about 1:30 a. m., March 26, 1957. The jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff, hereinafter called the [134]*134respondent, in the amount of $2,500, and the defendant, hereinafter called the appellant, has duly perfected his appeal to this court.

Appellant assigns three actions of the trial court as prejudicial error. First, in overruling his “motions” for directed verdict. In this connection, appellant alleges that respondent failed to make a case upon primary negligence because the evidence was that appellant stopped his automobile before entering the intersection, thereby securing the right of way at the intersection by being the first to lawfully occupy its common area, and that his automobile had cleared the greater part of the intersection and most of the path of respondent’s automobile, when respondent, proceeding into the intersection at the undiminished speed of 25 m. p. h., collided with the extreme right rear end of appellant’s auto. Appellant further alleges that respondent failed to make a submissible case upon any theory of humanitarian negligence because the evidence shows that respondent, who admittedly was not oblivious, was not in a position of imminent peril soon enough for the duties under the humanitarian doctrine to commence to operate in time for effective action. The third sub-point in this first assignment of error is that respondent was guilty of contributory negligence as a matter of law because he did not apply his brakes at any time from the time he first saw appellant’s automobile approximately one-fourth of the way across the intersection, at which time respondent was still 45-60 ft. back from the point of impact and traveling at a speed of 25 m. p. h. down to the time when the impact occurred.

The second assignment is that the court committed prejudicial error by giving and reading Instruction No. 2, because that instruction failed to hypothesize sufficient facts as to relative speeds and positions of the vehicles so as to advise the jury under what circumstances they could find that appellant entered the intersection “at a time when it was not safe to do so,” and that there was no evidence that the appellant did not stop at the major stop sign. In connection with this assignment of error, the appellant also objects to the giving of Instruction No. 2 for the reasons stated earlier, that there was failure to make a submissible case upon any theory of primary negligence, and also because the respondent was guilty of contributory negligence as a matter of law.

The appellant urges as a third commission of prejudicial error the giving of Instruction No. 1, because that instruction is upon a theory of humanitarian negligence, and under his first assignment of error, appellant urges that there was no humanitarian negligence case made and, therefore, respondent was not entitled to instruct on humanitarian failure to stop or slacken speed.

The instructions complained of are as follows:

“Instruction No. 1
“The Court instructs the jury that if youfind (sic) and believe from the evidence that at the time and place mentioned in evidence, the plaintiff, Eugene Woods, was driving the Ford automobile mentioned in evidence in a southwestwardly direction on Gravois at its intersection with Cherokee Street, and if you further find that at said time and place the plaintiff and the automobile which he was driving were in imminent peril of coming into collision with the defendant’s automobile being then and there driven by the defendant in a westwardly direction on Cherokee Street and if you further find and believe from the evidence that the defendant saw, or by the exercise of the highest degree of care, should have seen the plaintiff and the automobile he was driving in such position of imminent peril in time thereafter, with the means and appliances then and there at hand, and with reasonable safety to the defendant, his automobile, and all other persons and property in the vicinity, to have stopped said automobile or slackened the speed there[135]*135of, and thus and thereby have avoided coming into collision with the automobile which plaintiff was driving, and if you further find and believe that the defendant failed to exercise the highest degree of care in either of the particulars aforesaid after he saw, or should have seen the plaintiff and the Ford automobile he was driving in such position of imminent peril, if any, and was thereby negligent, and that such negligence, if any, was the direct and proximate cause of the collision mentioned in evidence, and plaintiff’s injuries, if any, then and in that event your verdict should be for the plaintiff, Eugene Woods, and against the defendant, John Dalton; and this is the law, even though you may also find that the plaintiff himself was negligent, and that such negligence, if any, directly contributed to his being in said position of imminent peril.
***** *
“Instruction No. 2
“The Court instructs the jury that it is the duty of the driver of a motor vehicle, under the law of the City of St. Louis, to stop at stop signs erected at lawfully designated stop intersection, and to yield the right of way to drivers and pedestrians, and not proceed through said intersections or into said major streets until safe to do so.
“In this connection, you are further instructed that if you find and believe from the evidence that at the time and place mentioned in evidence, the plaintiff was in the exercise of the highest degree of care for his own safety and was driving the Ford automobile mentioned in evidence in a southwestwardly direction on Gravois approaching its intersection with Cherokee Street, and if you further find and believe that at said time and place Gravois was a lawfully designated stop intersection and major street, and that a stop sign was erected atsaid (sic) intersection controlling westbound vehicular traffic on Cherokee Street, and if you further find that the defendant at said time and place drove his automobile in a west-wardly direction on Cherokee Street, and into and through its intersection' with Gravois at a time when he saw, or by the exercise of the highest degree of care, should have seen the Ford automobile plaintiff was driving in close and dangerous proximity to said intersection and defendant’s intended path of travel, and if you further find that in driving into and through said intersection, the defendant failed to yield the right of way to the plaintiff and proceeded through said intersection at a time when it was not safe to do so, and if you further find said aforementioned vehicles came into collision in said intersection, causing the automobile plaintiff was driving to spin and strike the lamp post mentioned in evidence, causing plaintiff to sustain injuries, and if you further find that in failing to yield the right of way to plaintiff, and in proceeding into and through said intersection at a time when it was not safe to do so, if you so find, thes (sic) defendant was negligent, and that such negligence, if any, was the direct and proximate cause of the collision mentioned in evidence, and plaintiff’s injuries, if any, then and in that event your verdict should be in favor of the plaintiff, Eugene Woods, and against the defendant, John Dalton.

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Bluebook (online)
331 S.W.2d 132, 1960 Mo. App. LEXIS 592, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/woods-v-dalton-moctapp-1960.