Case Name: WATT JUSTICE, Administrator of WAYNE JUSTICE, Deceased, v. SOUTHERN RAILWAY COMPANY, E. O. MOOSE, B. L. PUGH, W. E. WINCHESTER, and U. G. McGALLIARD
Court: Supreme Court of North Carolina
Jurisdiction: North Carolina
Decision Date: 1941-03-19
Citations: 219 N.C. 273
Docket Number: 
Parties: WATT JUSTICE, Administrator of WAYNE JUSTICE, Deceased, v. SOUTHERN RAILWAY COMPANY, E. O. MOOSE, B. L. PUGH, W. E. WINCHESTER, and U. G. McGALLIARD.
Judges: ClaeksoN and Sea well, JJ., concur in this opinion.
Reporter: North Carolina Reports
Volume: 219
Pages: 273–279

Head Matter:
WATT JUSTICE, Administrator of WAYNE JUSTICE, Deceased, v. SOUTHERN RAILWAY COMPANY, E. O. MOOSE, B. L. PUGH, W. E. WINCHESTER, and U. G. McGALLIARD.
(Filed 19 March, 1941.)
1. Trial § 22b—
Upon demurrer to the evidence, the evidence must be considered in the light most favorable to plaintiff. C. S., 567..
2. Railroads § 10 — When there is no evidence as to how long intestate had been prone on track when struck, doctrine of last clear chance is inapplicable.
Plaintiff’s evidence tended to show that his intestate was prone on the track when struck by defendant’s train, that the accident occurred on a clear day, that the place of the accident could have been seen 200 or 300 yards from the engine of the approaching train, and that the train could have been stopped in 150 to 200 feet. Held: In the absence of evidence that intestate was prone on the track for a sufficient length of time for him to have been seen by the engineer in time to have stopped the train before striking him, the doctrine of last clear chance is inapplicable.
3. Same—
When from the evidence it is just as probable that intestate staggered into the side of the moving train as it is that he was prone on the track for a sufficient length of time for the engineer to have seen him and stopped the train before striking him, plaintiff is not entitled to recover on the doctrine of last clear chance, since the burden is on plaintiff to do more than balance probabilities.
4. Same—
Testimony of a witness that about three minutes before the train came, he looked down the track and did not see anyone on the track, that he could have seen anyone standing on the track but, because of the grade, could not have seen anyone prone on the track, is no evidence that intestate was prone on the track at that time.
5. Same—
Expert testimony that intestate was prone on the track at the time he was struck by defendant’s train is no evidence that intestate was prone on the track for a sufficient length of time before he was struck for the engineer to have seen him and stopped the train before striking him.
Devin, J., dissenting.
Clarkson and Seawell, JJ., concur in dissent.
Appeal by defendants from Nettles, Jat December Term, 1940, of BUNCOMBE.
This is an action against tbe Southern Eailway Company and its employees for tbe wrongful death of tbe plaintiff’s intestate alleged to have been caused by tbe negligent failure of tbe defendants to avail themselves of tbe last clear chance to avoid running a train over and fatally injuring the plaintiff’s intestate while down helpless on the track of the defendant company. The action was instituted in the general county court of Buncombe County and there tried upon the issues of negligence, contributory negligence, last clear chance, and damage. All of the issues, except the second relating to contributory negligence, were answered in favor of the plaintiff, and from judgment predicated upon the verdict, the defendants appealed to the Superior Court of Buncombe County. In the Superior Court all of the assignments of error brought forward by the appellants were overruled and judgment was entered affirming the judgment of the county court. From this judgment the defendants appealed to the Supreme Court, assigning errors.
W. W. Candler and Harkins, Van Winkle <& Walton for plaintiff, appellee.
W. T. Joyner and Jones, Ward & Jones for defendants, appellants.

Opinion:
ScheNCK, I.
The appellants assign as error the refusal of the trial court to allow their motion for judgment as in case of nonsuit lodged when the plaintiff had introduced his evidence and rested his case, and renewed when all of the evidence was in. C. S., 567.
When viewed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, as it must be upon a demurrer thereto, the evidence tends to show that the plaintiff's intestate, while drunk, was upon the track of the defendant company about 2% miles east of Canton, and that the company's freight train, operated by the individual defendants, while going in a westerly direction from Asheville to Canton, ran over the plaintiff's intestate, thereby severing his right hand and crushing his left elbow, from which wounds he died; that the intestate "was lying with one elbow and hand on the track when the train came along"; that the track east of the place where the intestate was run over is practically straight for some distance and is down grade, that the train of the defendant company was composed of two engines and 37 cars, some loaded and some unloaded, and was running between 20 and 30 miles per hour and could have been stopped in 150 to 200 feet; that the place where the intestate was run over could be seen from down the track east 200 or 300 yards; that the train did not slow up or stop; that neither of the engineers nor other employees of the defendant company saw the intestate on the track.
While there is evidence that the intestate "was lying with one elbow and hand on the track when the train came along," the evidence is silent as to how long the intestate had been in this position when he was run over. In fact, the appellee in his brief states, in reference to the testimony of Dr. Rich, by whom it was sought to show the position of the intestate when run over by the train, that "we point again to the fact that Dr. Ricb did not undertake, in any part of bis testimony or in any answer on direct or cross-examination, to say wben or bow long tbe deceased bad been upon tbe track before tbe train wbicb injured bim came along."
Altbougb there is evidence tending to show that if be bad been down on tbe track a sufficient length of time tbe intestate could have been seen from tbe engine soon enough to have stopped tbe train and avoided running over bim, there is no evidence as to bow long be bad been in that position. Wben last seen by anyone tbe intestate was to tbe side of tbe track some 8 or 10 feet, in a drunken condition. It is just as reasonable and just as probable that tbe intestate staggered into tbe side of tbe moving train as it came by bim, as it is that be was prone and apparently helpless on tbe track before tbe train reached bim; and tbe burden is upon tbe plaintiff to do something more than balance probabilities.
As was said by Winborne, J., in Mercer v. Powell, 218 N. C., 642, in tbe most recent utterance of this Court upon tbe doctrine of tbe last clear chance wben sought to be applied in cases of this kind: ". . . tbe burden is upon tbe plaintiff to show by proper evidence: (1) That at tbe time tbe injured party was struck by a train of defendant be was down, or in an apparently helpless condition on tbe track; (2) that tbe engineer saw, or, by tbe exercise of ordinary care in keeping a proper lookout could have seen tbe injured party in such condition in time to have stopped tbe train before striking bim; and (3) that tbe engineer failed to exercise such care, as tbe proximate result of wbicb tbe injury occurred. Upton v. R. R., supra (128 N. C., 173, 38 S. E., 736); Clegg v. R. R., supra (132 N. C., 272, 43 S. E., 826); Henderson v. R. R., 159 N. C., 581, 75 S. E., 1092; Smith v. R. R., 162 N. C., 30, 77 S. E., 966; Davis v. R. R., 187 N. C., 147, 120 S. E., 827; George v. R. R., 215 N. C., 773, 3 S. E. (2d), 286; Cummings v. R. R., supra (217 N. C., 127, 6 S. E. [2d], 837.)" See, also, Owens v. So. Ry. Co., 33 Fed. R. (2d), 870.
Since there is no evidence as to bow long tbe intestate was prone upon tbe track, tbe jury could not have found that tbe engineer saw, or by tbe exercise of ordinary care could have seen bim in such position and condition in time to have stopped tbe train before striking bim.
Tbe testimony of Lawton Johnson, corroborated by other evidence, to tbe effect that be was crossing tbe track about 50 yards west of tbe place where tbe intestate was run over as the train approached from tbe east, about three minutes before tbe train came, about 2% miles ahead of tbe train, that be looked east down tbe track and saw no one standing on tbe track, that be could have seen a person standing on tbe track at this place, but be could not have seen a person lying down on tbe track at this place, is no evidence that tbe intestate was there prone upon tbe track at that time. It is conceded that tbe intestate was prone upon tbe track wben run over, but as to wben be became prone upon tbe track tbe evidence is silent.
'While we bave considered tbe expert opinion given in answer to a hypothetical question by Dr. Rich to tbe effect that tbe intestate was lying down on tbe track wben tbe train came along we do not decide tbe question raised by an exception to its competency. We simply bold that even if it be conceded, without deciding, that such evidence is competent as has been held relative to expert opinion testimony based upon personal examination of tbe body and wounds thereon, McManus v. R. R., 174 N. C., 735, 94 S. E., 455, there is no evidence of tbe fact essential to eases of this nature that tbe deceased was down or apparently helpless on tbe track long enough to bave been seen by an engineer or other train operative soon enough to bave stopped tbe train in time to bave avoided running over him.
Entertaining, as we do, tbe opinion expressed relative to tbe demurrer to tbe evidence, it becomes supererogatory to discuss tbe other interesting questions presented by tbe able briefs filed in this case.
Tbe judgment of the Superior Court is
Reversed.