Title: Borstad v. La Roque

State: north-dakota

Issuer: North Dakota Supreme Court

Document:

98 N.W.2d 16 (1959) Hilma BORSTAD, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. James LA ROQUE, Defendant and Respondent. No. 7806. Supreme Court of North Dakota. July 20, 1959. *18 Duffy & Haugland, Devils Lake, for plaintiff and appellant. *19 Leslie R. Burgum, Atty. Gen., and Francis Breidenbach, Sp. Asst. Atty. Gen. (Gerald W. Vande Walle, Special Asst. Atty. Gen., on the brief), for defendant and respondent. EUGENE A. BURDICK, District Judge. This is an action to recover damages for personal injuries sustained by the Plaintiff and Appellant, Hilma Borstad, in an upset of an automobile while riding as a guest passenger of the Defendant and Respondent, James La Roque, the owner and driver of the vehicle. The mishap occurred November 23, 1957, on State Highway 20 about one and one-half miles east of Tokio, North Dakota. In her Complaint the Plaintiff alleges that the Defendant, at the time of the mishap, was driving his vehicle at a high and reckless rate of speed on a gravel surfaced road while under the influence of intoxicating liquor, that he did not have his vehicle under control, that he operated it in a reckless and grossly negligent manner resulting in the upset in which the Plaintiff was injured. In his answer to the Complaint the Defendant alleges that the Plaintiff herself was contributorily negligent and that she assumed the risk of injury from the condition of the Defendant and the manner in which the vehicle was driven. The action was tried to the jury. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the Defendant for a dismissal of the Plaintiff's claim for relief. The Plaintiff moved the trial court for a new trial in which she specified certain errors in law occurring at the trial and abuse of discretion by the Court. The motion for new trial was denied and the Plaintiff perfected this appeal from the order denying the motion for a new trial. In her first assignment of error, the Appellant contends that the trial Court erred in permitting, over objection, certain cross-examination of the Plaintiff and in permitting impeachment testimony on a collateral issue. On cross-examination the Plaintiff testified without objection as follows: Thereafter, a third person, one Lyle Mahoney, was called by the Plaintiff and testified with regard to events on the day of the mishap. Upon cross-examination, the following testimony was adduced: Thereafter, the Defendant testified in his own behalf as follows: While Plaintiff's objection to the testimony of the Defendant was made belatedly, the testimony is admissible on the issue of assumption of risk by the Plaintiff in entering the Defendant's automobile. This was not a collateral issue. It was proper for the jury to consider the extent and nature of the acquaintance between the parties, the Plaintiff's knowledge and experience with regard to the operation of a motor vehicle and with respect to the driving habits and driving abilities of the host. Helman v. Strong, 34 N.D. 228, 157 N.W. 986. There was no error in the ruling of the trial court with respect to this testimony. The Appellant specifies as error the giving of the following instructions to the Jury: The Appellant contends that the vice of instruction B lies in that part of the definition of "intoxication" which requires the condition of the defendant to be "noticeable to others." This point is well taken. Under the instructions complained of, the jury may have found that intoxication of the Defendant induced negligent conduct of the Defendant proximately causing the mishap and resulting injury to the plaintiff, but because of lack of evidence of the more obvious manifestations of intoxication, such as odor of alcohol on the breath, uncoordinated movements, incoherent speech, dilated pupils, flushed face, et cetera, the jury may well have concluded that the intoxicated condition of the defendant, although otherwise proved, was not "noticeable to others" and hence was bound to find in favor of the Defendant. That the consumption of alcoholic beverage and its effect upon the driver as a superinducing cause of negligent conduct must have been proved by the testimony of competent witnesses, there can be no doubt. Liability under this exception cannot be predicated without substantial evidence. Thompson v. Hannah Farmers Co-op Elevator Co., N.D., 79 N.W.2d 31. The vice of the instruction lies in the fact that the instruction was equivocal and the jury may have understood it, contrary to the meaning intended, as requiring proof of an obviously drunken condition before liability could be imposed. As will be hereinafter explained, a state of drunkenness need not be shown. See Cyclopedia of Automobile Law and Practice, Secs. 2336 and 6186, Blashfield, Permanent Edition. Of course, it is not necessary that each witness to the fact of intoxication must have observed behavior which in itself evinced an intoxicated condition. One witness may only have seen the driver consume intoxicating beverages. Another may only have observed the manner of driving or the speed of the vehicle, and yet each witness, from his limited vantage point at the time his observations were made, may not have been cognizant of the intoxicated condition of the driver. It is a question of fact for the jury to determine from a consideration of all of the proofthe cumulative effect of all of the evidencewhether the driver was in fact intoxicated at the time of the mishap, although his intoxicated condition may neither have been obvious to others nor observed by others and was proved only by circumstantial evidence. *22 Liability of the host driver for injuries caused by his intoxication arises from the so-called "guest statute" comprising sections 39-1501, 39-1502 and 39-1503, NDRC 1943 which read as follows: Noticeability of the intoxication of the host driver is not made an element of his liability. If liability of the host under the "guest statute" were to depend on the noticeability of his intoxication, responsibility of the host for damages sustained by the guest could seldom be fixed, for the reason that knowledge by the guest of the host's intoxicated condition would almost invariably give rise to the defense of assumption of risk. Under such a construction this exception to non-liability of the host would be virtually nullified. Liability arising from intoxication would be limited to those rare situations where the guest, although having knowledge of the intoxicated condition of the host, lacked freedom of choice or an appreciation of the danger to which he is exposed. The legislature could not have intended such a result. The "guest statute" being a limitation on the usual responsibility for negligence, the exceptions to non-liability should be given a broad rather than a narrow construction. We hold that it is not necessary that the intoxication of the host be obvious to others. The instruction given was clearly erroneous and prejudicial. While knowledge of the guest as to the intoxication of the host is not an element of liability of the host, it is, as will be shown, an essential element of the defense of "assumption of risk." Instruction "A" set forth above must be considered in the light of other instructions given by the trial court. After defining "gross negligence" and "intoxication," the trial court charged the jury as follows: The effect of this instruction was to charge the jury that gross negligence was an element of liability under the "intoxication" exception of the "guest statute." This was not a correct statement of the law. Liability of the host arising from intoxication under the "guest statute" is not predicated on the mere impairment of judgment or even impaired ability to drive or operate a vehicle. It must be shown further that the mishap was proximately caused by negligent conduct of the host and that such negligence was superinduced by his own intoxication. Now, what kind of negligence must be shown under this issue? If gross negligence must be shown then it was redundant for the legislature to specify "intoxication" as an exception to non-liability of the host as "gross negligence" is also a specific exception. Again, the statute should be construed to give effect to all of the stated exceptions. This can mean only that ordinary negligence is sufficient when it is superinduced by intoxication of the host. See Frisvold v. Leahy, 15 Cal. App. 2d 752, 60 P.2d 151; 60 C.J.S. Motor Vehicles § 399(3), note 53. This conclusion is also in harmony with a well recognized definition of "intoxication" and "intoxicated" as used with reference to the operation of a motor vehicle. See also Cyclopedia of Automobile Law and Practice, sec. 2336, Blashfield, Permanent Edition, citing, among others, Smith v. Baker, 14 Cal. App. 2d 10, 57 P.2d 960, 961. In Smith v. Baker the court said: This conclusion is also in harmony with our own definition of "under the influence of intoxicating liquor" as set forth in State v. Hanson, N.D., 73 N.W.2d 135, 136. In that case we said: In Noble v. Key System, Ltd., 10 Cal. App. 2d 132, 51 P.2d 887, 888; the Court, construing a "guest statute" similar to ours said: In the light of the foregoing definitions which we approve, we hold that liability of the host under the "guest statute" is established when, by reason of intoxication, a host's normal mental and physical faculties for the safe and prudent operation of the motor vehicle are appreciably impaired and ordinary negligence of the host is thereby induced which proximately causes the mishap out of which the guest's injuries and damages arise. We shall consider next the defenses of contributory negligence and assumption of risk. Instructions A, C, E and G, set forth above, deal with these issues. In addition to these instructions, the trial court, upon request of the jurors after they had retired to deliberate the case, orally instructed the jury in part as follows: The Appellant argues that these instructions confused the Jury in suggesting that she would be barred from recovery if she had assumed the risk of injury in riding with an intoxicated driver although she may not have been negligent in doing so. There is no question but that the Court had in mind and conveyed to the jury the idea of separate defenses although the two defenses were somewhat confused. There has been considerable confusion in the cases as to whether the defense of "assumption of risk" applies in tort cases not arising out of a contractual relationship. In Eddy v. Wells, 59 N.D. 663, 231 N.W. 785, 786, we pointed out, following Bolton v. Wells, 58 N.D. 286, 225 N.W. 791, that the term "assumption of risk" was not appropriate in absence of the master and servant relationship. This statement, of course, was dictum. In Bolton v. Wells, supra, we held that the trial court did not err in refusing to charge the jury that the plaintiff had assumed the risk of the mishap. In Eddy v. Wells, supra, we held that the plaintiff assumed the risk of the mishap *25 "unless he has shown * * * that the skidding and overturning was proximately caused by the Defendant's negligence." As we pointed out in the Eddy case, the term "assumption of risk" has been used by the courts in a variety of senses. In the two Wells cases, it was used merely to denote a conclusion of law arising from the absence of negligence on the part of the Defendant. The term was used in making it clear that the host driver was not an insurer for the safety of his guest passenger and that unless the mishap was proximately caused by negligence of the driver, the guest passenger would be deemed to have "assumed the risk" of injury from hazards incident to the exercise of ordinary care. In the case at bar, the term "assumption of risk" is to be used in an entirely different sense. Here it is used as a defense in a case where liability of the host driver may otherwise be clear. In this sense, liability of the host upon any theory is taken for granted, and the question arises as to whether the guest passenger "assumed the risk" of injury to herself in voluntarily entering or remaining in the vehicle when she knew of the disabling effect of the intoxication of the host driver. Courts have divided on whether "assumption of risk" is merely a species of contributory negligence or constitutes a defense independent of the plaintiff's negligence. Several eminent writers[1] have commented on the origin and nature of "assumption of risk" and distinguish it from contributory negligence. As applied to the defense raised by the host driver in an action by his guest passenger where liability of the host arises in tort, the guest will be deemed to have "assumed the risk" of injury arising from the mishap when (1) the guest has knowledge of a situation that is dangerous beyond that normally inherent in the operation of a vehicle whether caused by the obvious incompetence of the driver or by the dangerous condition of the vehicle, or otherwise, (2) an appreciation of the danger and a voluntary choice to encounter it, and (3) an injury proximately caused by the danger presented. This defense is not available if wrongful conduct of third persons was a proximate cause of the mishap, unless such conduct, like any other contributory cause, could reasonably have been anticipated by the plaintiff at the time the risk was assumed and thus served to compose the danger. Contributory negligence, on the other hand, arises from the failure of the guest, in the same situation, to exercise ordinary care for his own safety and constitutes a defense, although wrongful conduct of third persons may have contributed as proximate causes of the mishap and resultant injury. Both of these defenses arise from Section 9-1006, NDRC 1943 which reads as follows: Considering the "guest statute" in the light of this section, it is clear that where the guest knows of the disabling effect of the intoxication of the host and, being aware that a dangerous situation beyond normal anticipation has been created and having an appreciation of the danger, voluntarily enters or voluntarily refrains from leaving the automobile as a passenger and a mishap occurs as the proximate result of the host's negligence superinduced by his intoxication and other hazards of which the guest is then aware, the guest will be said to have "assumed the risk" of the resultant injury. Likewise, it is clear that where the guest, though unaware of the disabling effect of the intoxication of *26 the host or that a dangerous situation has been created and fails to exercise ordinary care for his own safety and becomes an actor in the chain of causation by reason of his own negligent conduct, whether by affirmative acts of commission, such as fawning attentions to the driver, or by acts of omission, such as a failure to protest an unsafe rate of speed, the guest will be said to be guilty of contributory negligence barring his recovery. See Billingsley v. McCormick Transfer Co., 58 N.D. 913, 228 N.W. 424. The defense of contributory negligence is established only when it is shown that the guest, had she exercised ordinary care, would have known that the Defendant's ability to operate or drive a vehicle had been appreciably impaired by reason of his intoxication and, while failing to exercise ordinary care for her own safety, voluntarily becomes or voluntarily remains a guest passenger of the Defendant. The Plaintiff further specifies as error that the trial court erred in giving the following instructions to the Jury: Plaintiff contends that this instruction is prejudicial in that it directs the jury to consider evidence of a prior conviction only with respect to impeachment of the testimony of the Defendant, and not as substantive evidence of facts material to the issue of liability. It was shown by the testimony of Harold Brusletten, a state highway patrolman, that as a result of the accident in question, the Defendant was charged with the crime of driving a motor vehicle too fast for conditions and that the Defendant pleaded guilty to this charge. There was no evidence of any other criminal convictions of the Defendant. In a civil action arising out of a motor vehicle accident, evidence of the Defendant's plea of guilty to a criminal charge arising out of the same accident constitutes an admission and may be received in evidence as proof of the alleged wrongful conduct upon which liability is predicated. Of course, the evidence is not conclusive and may be explained. Clark v. Josephson, N.D., 66 N.W.2d 539. The instruction of the trial court in limiting the evidentiary effect of the Defendant's plea of guilty is clearly erroneous and prejudicial. The Plaintiff also specifies as error that the trial judge abused his discretion in his comments to the jury after the jury had returned to the courtroom and before they had returned a verdict. The jury had been unable to agree upon a verdict and returned to the courtroom for further instructions. The following colloquy occurred: Later we find the following: A new trial being necessary it is sufficient merely to observe that the trial court should scrupulously avoid any suggestion to the jury that would induce them to conciliate arbitrarily or coerce them into returning a verdict at the cost of any juror surrendering his honest convictions. Lathrop v. Fargo-Moorhead Street Railway Co., 23 N.D. 246, 136 N.W. 88. The Order denying the motion for new trial is reversed and a new trial is granted. The case is remanded to the district court for further proceedings in conformity within the views herein expressed. SATHRE, C. J., and MORRIS and BURKE, JJ., concur. TEIGEN, J., being disqualified, did not participate; EUGENE A. BURDICK, Judge, Fifth Judicial District, sitting in his stead. [1] Prosser on Torts, Second Edition, page 303. Shearman and Redfield on Negligence, Rev.Ed. Sec. 135.