Woods v. Pearce

327 S.W.2d 377, 230 Ark. 859, 1959 Ark. LEXIS 705
Supreme Court of Arkansas·Decided September 21, 1959·No. 5-1896·Published·Cited by 5 cases

Opinion

Carleton Harris, Chief Justice.

This is an appeal from a judgment entered in the White Circuit Court against appellants in a personal injury and property damage action, arising from a collision between appellants’ truck and appellee’s automobile, occurring on highway No. 67 in White County on the morning of November 10, 1957. Appellee, Quenten C. Pearce, accompanied by his eight year old son, Randy, was driving south on the highway, and about three miles from Bradford, started to execute a left turn into a dirt road which crosses the highway at that point. Appellants’ truck, driven by R. W. Plerry, which had been following behind the automobile, in endeavoring to pass, collided with the car, the extreme left front of the truck striking the right rear of appellee’s vehicle. The car was damaged, appellee suffered some injuries, and Randy received a broken leg. Complaint was subsequently filed, seeking $1,465 for damages to the automobile, $2,500 for injuries sustained by Pearce, and $15,000 for injuries sustained by the child. Appellants denied liability, alleging that the collision and injuries resulting therefrom were “solely and directly caused and contributed to” by the negligence of appellee, in that “the plaintiff carelessly, negligently, and without giving any signal of any kind, began to angle his car across the center line of the highway to the left. Defendant Plerry gave loud and continuously warning by his horn but plaintiff Pearce carelessly and negligently continued to angle left across highway and failed to yield the right-of-way to the overtaking vehicle on audible signal, as required by § 75-609, Ark. Rev. Stats. * * *” On trial, the jury found that Plerry was guilty of negligence which proximately caused the injuries, and that Pearce was guilty of contributory negligence in a percentile of 25%. They found that Pearce suffered $1,800 damages, and his son $7,500 damages. Judgment was accordingly entered for a total of $8,850, apportioned $1,350 to Quenten C. Pearce and $7,500 to Pearce as father and next friend of Randy Pearce. In seeking a reversal, appellants rely on three points, as follows:

“I.
Giving Plaintiff’s Instruction Number Pive Was Reversible Error Because It Is A Binding Instruction and Inherently Erroneous.
II.
It Was Prejudicial and Reversible Error to Admit the Opinion Testimony of the Policeman as to the Course and Location of the Truck at the Point of Impact.
III.
The Verdict was Grossly Excessive and Should be Beduced or Set Aside Because Not Supported by the Evidence and Fixed Through Jury Prejudice.”

We proceed to a discussion of each point.

I.

Flerry and Pearce gave conflicting versions of the manner in which the collision occurred. Pearce testified that he saw the truck from his rear view mirror before making the left hand turn. He testified that Flerry was in the right hand lane at all times, and that he (Pearce) had turned on his left blinker light about 150 yards before reaching the turning point. To the contrary, Flerry testified that he was in the act of passing, and was already even with the left rear fender of appellee’s automobile at the time the turn was started, and further, that he sounded his horn before starting to pass; that he saw no signal for a left turn, and was only 12 or 15 feet behind Pearce, and entirely in the left hand lane, when the brake light of the automobile came on. The instruction complained of reads as follows:

“You are instructed that if you find from a preponderance of the evidence that the plaintiff gave a proper signal for a left hand turn for the last 100 feet prior to entering the intersection and you further find from a preponderance of the evidence that defendant, B. W. Flerry, was not then in the act of passing plaintiff, then you are instructed that plaintiff had the right-of-way and that defendant was under a duty to yield the right-of-way to plaintiff.”

Appellants contend that this was a binding instruction, and inherently erroneous. We do not agree. The proof showed that the highway, at the point where the collision took place, was a straight, level highway, and there was no traffic approaching from the opposite direction; nor was there traffic on the dirt road which crossed the highway at the point of collision. It is also undisputed that the weather was clear. Since these matters were not in controversy, it was unnecessary to include in the instruction any reference to other traffic. Specifically, appellants complain that the instruction ignored the statutory requirement that the turn be attempted only if it could be made with reasonable safety. They contend the instruction “binds” the jury to return a verdict based only on that particular instruction, and disregards other factors which could have occasioned the collision.

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Woods v. Pearce, 327 S.W.2d 377, 230 Ark. 859, 1959 Ark. LEXIS 705 (Ark. 1959).

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