Case Title: Jones v. Continental Casualty Co. of Chicago, Ill.

Citation: 169 So. 2d 50, 246 La. 921

Docket Number: 

State: louisiana

Court: Louisiana Supreme Court

Date: 1964-11-09T00:00:00Z

Document:
169 So. 2d 50 (1964) 246 La. 921 Jeff JONES, Sr., and Ethel Jones v. CONTINENTAL CASUALTY COMPANY OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, Halliburton Company, and Meredith S. Hailey. No. 47086. Supreme Court of Louisiana. November 9, 1964. Rehearing Denied December 14, 1964. McHenry, Snellings, Breard, Sartor & Shafto, Kent Breard, Monroe, for defendants-applicants. Roy S. Halcomb, Ferriday, for plaintiffs-respondents. HAMLIN, Justice. In the exercise of our supervisory jurisdiction (Art. VII, Sec. 11, La.Const. of 1921, LSA) we granted certiorari to the Court of Appeal, Third Circuit, in order that we might review its decision in the present matter, as well as its decisions in three companion cases, all of which were consolidated for the purposes of trial, appeal and review. All actions resulted from one *51 accident; the instant decision will be controlling; separate decrees, however, will be rendered in the three companion cases.[1] The accident occurred on May 17, 1961, at approximately 12:45 A.M., on U. S. Highway 84, a highway running generally east and west and straight and level at the point of impact. The colliding vehicles were a 1957 4-door Chevrolet being driven by Keith Samuel Jones, who was accompanied by three friends, in an easterly direction at a speed of approximately seventy miles per hour, and a 1957 International bobtail truck, owned by Halliburton Company and insured by Continental Casualty Company of Chicago, Illinois, being driven by Meredith S. Hailey in a westerly direction at a speed of thirty-five miles per hour; when empty the truck weighed approximately 16,000 pounds and at the time of the accident was carrying 18,000 pounds of concrete. The collision was head-on (both vehicles being at a slight angle, as will be hereinafter described), the point of impact being a point in the south, or eastbound, lane of traffic about three or four feet south of the center line of the highway. All occupants of the Jones car were killed. The plaintiffs herein are the surviving parents of Jerry Jones, a guest passenger of Keith Samuel Jones; the plaintiffs in the three companion suits are the surviving parents of the driver Keith Samuel Jones, and the surviving parents of Eula Mae Dellihoue and Irene Crumb, guest passengers of Keith Samuel Jones. All sued for damages alleged to have resulted from the deaths of their respective children. The trial court and the court of appeal found that the negligence of both Keith Samuel Jones and Meredith S. Hailey contributed to the accident; both courts found that the guest passengers in the Jones car did not contribute to the accident in any manner and that their parents were entitled to recover damages. Only the defendants-appellants applied to this Court for certiorari.[2] The principal errors assigned by relators to the Court of Appeal are: *52 Respondents contend that Keith Samuel Jones was not negligent, and that the defendants failed to sustain the burden of proof of such contributory negligence. They pray for an increase in the damages awarded and for an award of damages to Samuel Jessie Jones and Willie Mae Cravens, parents of Keith Samuel Jones.[3] Initially, we shall dispose of the negligence of the driver of the Jones vehicle. The Court of Appeal found that, "* * * the Jones vehicle was being driven at an excessive rate of speed at the time the accident occurred, and immediately prior to that time he was driving in his left, or wrong, lane of traffic. He continued to drive in the wrong lane of traffic for some distance and then he turned back into his right lane which by that time was occupied by the west-bound truck. Also, blood tests taken after the collision revealed that the driver of the Jones car was intoxicated." The Court of Appeal concluded, "Under these facts, we think the driver of the Jones vehicle was negligent in driving at an excessive rate of speed, in driving on the wrong side of the highway, and in attempting to drive while in an intoxicated condition, and that his negligence in these particulars were proximate causes of the accident." The findings of the Court of Appeal are conclusive as to the negligence of Keith Samuel Jones; his surviving parents, Samuel Jessie Jones and Willie Mae Cravens, did not apply for certiorari. We shall next dispose of the issue of the alleged contributory negligence of plaintiffs' son as well as that of the other two guest passengers. It is alleged that the three were negligent in riding in the car driven by Keith Samuel Jones while it was being driven in a grossly negligent and careless manner at an excessive speed, knowing that the driver had been drinking excessively and knowing that he was then and there and had been for some time under the influence of intoxicating liquor. In order for defendants to prevail in their plea, they must carry the burden of proving all facts necessary to establish contributory negligence unless it be shown by evidence relied upon by plaintiffs. Deshotels v. Southern Farm Bureau Cas. Ins. Co., 245 La. 23, 156 So. 2d 465; Smith v. Borchers, 243 La. 746, 146 So. 2d 793; Grayson v. Allstate Insurance Company, La. App., 141 So. 2d 101; Service Fire Ins. Co., of New York v. Indiana Lumber. M. I. Co., La.App., 111 So. 2d 358; Dilworth v. Roberts, La.App., 138 So. 2d 453. A blood test made after the accident occurred revealed that Keith Samuel Jones' body contained 0.11% alcohol content. Dr. Herman Gibson, Jr., Coroner for the Parish of Concordia, testified that this content was prima facie evidence of blood alcoholic intoxication. Our Jurisprudence affirms the findings of the trial court and the Court of Appeal that the alcoholic content of the driver's blood was sufficient to establish that he was intoxicated and that his mental and physical faculties were materially impaired at the time the collision occurred. Evidence of record shows that the guest passengers were not with Keith Samuel Jones during the entire evening prior to the fatal accident; all had social engagements which separated the group; some attended a graduation at the Jonesville High School. Plaintiffs' son, Jerry Jones, did not attend the graduation; he and other companions were with Keith Samuel Jones during the early part of the evening. The evidence of record discloses that Jerry Jones was with the driver for longer intervals than the other two passengers. At approximately midnight the three guest passengers and Keith Samuel Jones met and thereafter departed from Jonesville for the drive to Ferriday; there is no evidence that the departure was hurried. The Court of Appeal gave weight to the testimony of Joe Dan Barber and Charlie Swift, who stated that they had been with Keith Samuel Jones for several hours of the evening before the accident and neither saw him nor any of the occupants of the car drink any alcoholic beverages. Despite the testimony of Barber and Swift, we believe that having found as a fact that Keith Samuel Jones was intoxicated at the time of the accident, it is unreasonable to say that his guests did not realize that he was intoxicated. If they did not realize his condition, they should have; such is the test of the law. Garth Randall, who was driving on Highway 84 at the time of the accident, testified that the Jones vehicle passed his car at a distance of approximately one-half mile west of the scene of the accident; that the Jones car was being driven at an estimated speed of seventy miles per hour, and that as far as he could see it continued on the wrong side of the highway after passing. Alton Carlock (the trial court gave little credence to his testimony) testified that shortly after midnight on May 17, 1961, he was driving home from his work for the purpose of picking up equipment connected with his employment as an oil field pumper; that he entered Highway 84 from a side road several miles west of the scene of the accident and saw the Jones vehicle parked. He said that the passengers and *54 the driver were engaged in what appeared to be a drinking party, but when pressed he stated he did not know what they were drinking; that they were hollering and carrying on. Carlock further stated that he proceeded towards Ferriday; that the Chevrolet, being driven at a terrific speed, passed him and he had to drive off of the road in order to avoid being hit. After the "whole bunch" hollered to get out of the way, followed by an insulting remark, Carlock began a ninety mile per hour chase of the Chevrolet to ascertain its license number. Finding that he could not overtake the car, Carlock stated that he was nervous and stopped on the side of the road and sat on the hood of his car for fifteen or twenty minutes, arriving at the scene of the accident some time later. He saw neither the truck nor any observers or helpers; he only observed the wrecked Chevrolet, which he positively identified as the car he had previously seen and chased on the highway. The defendant Hailey places helpers at the scene of the accident at the time Carlock states that it was deserted. Hailey testified that a doctor and an ambulance were at the scene of the accident while he and Mr. Randall went to Ferriday to communicate with the police and Hailey's employer. Under the above facts and circumstances, we believe that the defendants have borne their burden of proving the contributory negligence of plaintiffs' son and the other two guest passengers. If these parties did not know, they should have known that the driver was intoxicated. All four occupants of the car are deceased and cannot testify, but we find that the record contains sufficient evidence to support our finding. We conclude therefore that Keith Samuel Jones' guest passengers were guilty of contributory negligence and that no recovery for their deaths can be had from the defendants herein. In answer, the defendants explicitly set forth their version of the events which transpired immediately before the accident as follows: The following excerpts from the testimony of the defendant Hailey affirm the above contentions of defendants: Cross-Examination: The hereinabove portion of defendants' answer and the testimony of defendant Hailey set forth in substance defendants' contentions that defendant Hailey acted in a sudden emergency and should not be held to have acted negligently under the conditions which prevailed at the time of the accident. In view of the fact that a part of the defendants' truck was in the wrong lane of traffic at the time of impact, at an angle, the onus of proof is upon defendants; they must show that the collision was not caused by Hailey's negligence, or that there were justifiable circumstances which would excuse his conduct. Bryant v. Johnson, La. App., 140 So. 2d 758; Noland v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, 232 La. 569, 94 So. 2d 671; Duhon v. Harkins, La.App., 152 So. 2d 85; Breaux v. Valin, La.App., 138 So. 2d 405; Rizley v. Cutrer, 232 La. 655, 95 So. 2d 139. Under the facts of the instant accident, we find that Hailey's error of judgment was *58 in cutting to his left. His testimony affirmatively discloses that his intention was to avoid an accident, which was and he thought was imminent; he hoped that his maneuver would assure his negotiation of the impending traffic peril. For our determination is the question of whether Hailey can be absolved from negligence under the facts of the emergency in which he committed an error of judgment. The Court of Appeal found that "Hailey undoubtedly was confronted with somewhat of an emergency when he observed the Jones car approaching him in the truck's lane of traffic at a distance of 600 feet. Instead of attempting to avoid a collision by stopping or turning sharply to his right or left, however, he merely let up on the accelerator and angled his truck slightly to the left straddling the center line, and he then continued to travel almost along the center of the highway, at least partially in Jones' lane of traffic, for a much greater distance than would have been required for him to stop. According to the traffic expert called by defendants, a period of between 2.3 and 3.9 seconds elapsed between the time the truck first crossed the center line and the time of the accident." The Court stated that in its opinion Hailey had sufficient time after discovering the emergency within which to take some action in an effort to avoid a collision. Dr. Herman Gibson, Jr., Coroner for the Parish of Concordia, arrived at the scene shortly after the accident occurred for the purpose of viewing the bodies and the wreckage. He stated that the accident was one of high impact of speed with a lot of *59 foot-pound energy being expended. It was his opinion that the driver of the Chevrolet was intoxicated and was going at a high rate of speed on the wrong side of the road; that the Chevrolet angled from the north shoulder of the road diagonally across the highway to the point of impact, striking the Halliburton truck at an angle. Dr. Gibson testified that it is very hard to say what a man will do when he is faced with a situation in an accident. Marion E. Barnett, State Trooper, Louisiana State Police, testified that he investigated the accident after having been notified of it by Garth Randall. On direct examination, he was asked whether he felt that the method in which Hailey tried to avoid the head-on collision under the then existing circumstances, as he knew from his testimony and from the physical evidence, was prudent under the then existing circumstances. He replied that he thought it was; he also said, "I feel like I'd have probably done the same thing, right or wrong." On cross examination, Trooper Barnett stated that if he saw a vehicle coming towards him in his lane of traffic 600 feet away, he would attempt to stop or apply his brakes. On redirect examination, when questioned about his answer on cross examination, he said that the day after the accident Hailey told him that the two vehicles were 75 feet apart when he Hailey determined that they were going to hit. William H. Tonn, Jr., a consulting engineer whose work is limited to problems relating to fires, explosions and collisions, when asked what in his opinion was the proximate cause of the accident, stated, "My opinion as to the proximate cause of this accident was due to the Chevrolet driving on the wrong side of the road at a high rate of speed." On cross examination, he gave the following pertinent testimony: A study of the contentions of relators, the testimony of record, and the evidence of record, constrains us to conclude that defendant Hailey was confronted with a sudden emergency; we find that he did not contribute to the imminent peril with which he was faced when he swerved to his left. Peeples v. Dobson, 99 So. 2d 161; Duhon v. Harkins, 152 So. 2d 85. As stated previously, Hailey's vehicle was 30 to 35 feet long, with a total weight of 34,000 pounds; he was travelling on a 24 foot wide highway with a 1 and ½ foot to 2 and ½ foot slope to an approximate 12 foot gravel shoulder. Hailey's uncontradicted testimony convinces us that he was a prudent experienced driver who was brought face to face with danger. Under the facts, he did not make the best judgment; we conclude, however, that he is not guilty of negligence for the fact alone that he made a mistake in the method adopted to escape a peril which existed not through his fault but through the negligence of another. For the reasons assigned, the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Third Circuit, is reversed and set aside; the suit of plaintiffs is dismissed at their costs. [1] 159 So. 2d 5, 245 La. 732, 160 So. 2d 596; 159 So. 2d 11, 245 La. 733, 160 So. 2d 596; 159 So. 2d 12, 245 La. 733, 160 So. 2d 596; 159 So. 2d 13, 245 La. 734, 160 So. 2d 596. [2] In order to protect their entire record and not to have waived any rights whatsoever on the issue of Hailey's negligence, defendants took appeals in all four cases and also applied for certiorari in all four matters. [3] The trial court awarded Jeff Jones, Sr. $7,500.00 plus $300.00 for funeral expenses, and awarded Ethel Jones $7,500.00, which judgment was affirmed by the Court of Appeal. The same amounts were awarded to Alf Crumb and Viney Crumb. Grant Dellihoue was awarded $15,000.00 plus $300.00 by the trial court, but the Court of Appeal reduced the award by $7,500.00 since he was the only surviving parent of Eula Mae Dellihoue.