Title: McMullen v. Ursuline Order of Sisters

State: new-mexico

Issuer: New Mexico Supreme Court

Document:

246 P.2d 1052 (1952) 56 N.M. 570 McMULLEN et al. v. URSULINE ORDER OF SISTERS. No. 5453. Supreme Court of New Mexico. July 31, 1952. *1053 Harry L. Bigbee, Donnan Stephenson, Santa Fe, for appellants. Owen B. Marron, Alfred H. McRae, Albuquerque, for appellee. COMPTON, Justice. This is a personal injury action. Appellee, during the 1945-1946 school year, operated a private boarding school at Waterflow, New Mexico. Appellant was then 17 years of age. Previously, he had attended the public school at Kirtland, near Farmington. His attendance at the Kirtland school was quite irregular, resulting from his truancy. His parents, upon learning that he had absented himself from the Kirtland school upon several occasions without their permission, became greatly concerned, and to guard against such delinquency, decided to enroll him in the private school conducted by appellee. His mother and father, accompanied by appellant, discussed his truancy with the superintendent of appellee's school. The superintendent was fully informed of his record, nevertheless agreed to his enrollment and assured his parents that he would be kept in school during school hours and off the highways. Appellant was not to leave the school grounds without the permission of his parents. Pursuant to the undertaking, appellant was enrolled in appellee's school. He attended regularly during the Fall, 1945 term, and until March 14, 1946, the date of the alleged injury. In the Spring of 1946, appellee was engaged in an improvement program of its school grounds, including walks, driveways, and the construction of a grotto. On various occasions students were dismissed during school hours to participate in the program. It appears that on March 13, 1946, certain girl students were permitted to go to a mine located in the vicinity for the purpose of obtaining shale to be used in the program. The following day, appellant, with four younger boys, was excused from classes to do likewise. Permission was given the boys to dig shale in the place visited by the girls the previous day. Pursuant to the permission granted, appellant and his four companions took a tractor with wagon attached, tub for carrying shale, and went to the mine. The entrance to the mine was protected by what appeared to appellant to be a solid rock ledge supporting an overhanging of four or five feet. The method employed in mining was to crawl under this ledge, dig the shale, fill the tub and load it into the wagon. On the occasion in question, while appellant was thus engaged, the ledge violently *1054 caved down upon him causing serious injury. The action was instituted by Lewis D. Durant as next friend, but due to delay, appellant had attained his majority at the time of hearing and the action was carried on in his name. The complaint generally charges that appellee was negligent in permitting appellant, without permission of his parents, to leave the school ground, and to mine the shale without proper supervision. The answer denies all material allegations. Contributory negligence and assumption of risk are also pleaded as a defense. The cause was tried to the court sitting with a jury. When appellant rested, appellee moved for a directed verdict on the grounds that there was no evidence of appellee's negligence, and that appellant was guilty of contributory negligence as a matter of law. The motion was granted and from a judgment following the verdict, appellant brings the cause here for review. The questions presented are, (a) whether the trial court erred in determining the evidence introduced by appellant was insufficient to require submission of the case to the jury, and (b) whether the court erred in determining that appellant was contributorily negligent as a matter of law. When a verdict is directed as being without support in the evidence, the court must view a plaintiff's evidence in the most favorable aspect, indulging all reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom and disregarding all unfavorable testimony and inferences, to sustain the verdict. Chandler v. Battenfield, 55 N.M. 361, 233 P.2d 1047; Sanchez v. Gattas, 54 N.M. 224, 219 P.2d 962; Dickerson v. Montoya, 44 N.M. 207, 100 P.2d 904; Hobbs v. Kizer, 10 Cir., 236 F. 681. So viewing the evidence of appellant, plaintiff below, we conclude that the trial court erred in directing the verdict. The question was one for the jury if there were evidence of the existence of a danger known to the school authorities who neglected to guard its student against such danger or if there were an unknown danger which appellee, by the exercise of ordinary care as a reasonable prudent person, would have discovered. In this regard, there is no evidence that appellee's servants had ever inspected the shale mine or had otherwise attempted to determine if shale could be safely mined therefrom. We quote from appellant's testimony: *1055 We think it is clear that from the unsupervised mission, under the circumstances, a jury could reasonably infer that appellee was negligent. The annotator, at 160 A.L.R. 229, states generally the circumstances under which school authorities may become liable: The author, at 38 Am.Jur., Negligence, states the rule, under which a defendant's liability may be withdrawn from the jury, as follows: In following the rule, in Archuleta v. Jacobs, 43 N.M. 425, 94 P.2d 706, 711, we said: Also, in Olguin v. Thygesen, 47 N.M. 377, 143 P.2d 585, 591, we adhered to the rule: The courts of other jurisdictions are in accord. Hanson v. Reedley Joint Union High School Dist., 43 Cal. App. 2d 643, 111 P.2d 415; Brigham Young University v. Lillywhite, 10 Cir., 118 F.2d 836, 137 A.L.R. 598; Beardsell v. Tilton School, 89 N.H. 459, 200 A. 783; Stockwell v. Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University, 64 Cal. App. 2d 197, 148 P.2d 405; *1056 Satariano v. Sleight, 54 Cal. App. 2d 278, 129 P.2d 35. Appellee argues that appellant was guilty of contributory negligence as a matter of law. The argument is without merit. There is evidence which would warrant the jury in finding that appellant was not contributorily negligent. It must be borne in mind that he was slightly under the age of 18 years, was inexperienced in mining, had not seen the mine previously, and the overhanging appeared to him as solid rock. We believe that from such evidence the jury could have found appellant free from contributory negligence. Whether appellant exercised the proper care for his own protection may be gleaned from his description of the mine: Where the burden is upon the moving party and he seeks to sustain it by the testimony of witnesses, a directed verdict will seldom be granted. When reasonable men may fairly differ on whether there is contributory negligence, a determination of the question is for the jury. Olguin v. Thygesen, supra; Hogsett v. Hanna, 41 N.M. 22, 63 P.2d 540; Caviness v. Driscoll Const. Co., 39 N.M. 441, 49 P.2d 251; Tiedebohl v. Springer, 55 N.M. 295, 232 P.2d 694; Crespin v. Albuquerque Gas & Electric Co., 39 N.M. 473, 50 P.2d 259, 261. In the Crespin case we said: The author, at 38 Am.Jur., Negligence, Section 188, expresses what we conclude to ge the correct view: See, Melkusch v. Victor American Fuel Co., 21 N.M. 396, 155 P. 727; Biondi v. Central Coal & Coke Co., 320 Mo. 1130, 9 S.W.2d 596. In the latter case, the Missouri court held that the failure of a miner working under a rock to ascertain whether conditions were safe, did not constitute contributory negligence as a matter of law. Also, see City of Dothan v. Hardy, 237 Ala. 603, 188 So. 264, 122 A.L.R. 637; Mercury Mining Co. v. Chambers, 193 Ark. 771, 102 S.W.2d 543; N.O. Nelson Mfg. Corporation v. Dickson, 114 Ind. App. 668, 53 N.E.2d 640; Philyaw v. Arundel Corporation, 4 Cir., 51 F.2d 183. Moreover, an infant's conduct is not to be measured by the same yardstick as would apply to adults. An infant is held to the same degree of care for its protection as is reasonably to be expected of children of like maturity and capacity. Such was our holding in Archuleta v. Jacobs, supra, wherein we said: The rule recognized by the courts generally is found at 38 Am.Jur., Negligence, Section 204, as follows: The judgment will be reversed with directions to the trial court to enter an order reinstating the case upon its docket and proceed in a manner not inconsistent herewith. It is so ordered. LUJAN, C.J., and SADLER, McGHEE and COORS, JJ., concur.