Case Name: WEATHERS et al. v. COWAN et al.
Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
Jurisdiction: Georgia
Decision Date: 1985-07-30
Citations: 176 Ga. App. 19
Docket Number: 69870
Parties: WEATHERS et al. v. COWAN et al.
Judges: Banke, C. J., McMurray, P. J., Birdsong, P. J., Carley, Sognier, and Benham, JJ., concur. Beasley, J., concurs specially. Deen, P. J., dissents.
Reporter: Georgia Appeals Reports
Volume: 176
Pages: 19–27

Head Matter:
69870.
WEATHERS et al. v. COWAN et al.
(335 SE2d 392)

Opinion:
Pope, Judge.
Appellants Mr. and Mrs. Weathers brought suit against appellees Cowan and Time D. C., Inc. seeking to recover for injuries allegedly sustained by Mrs. Weathers and loss of her consortium resulting when the car she was driving collided with a truck driven by Cowan and owned by his employer, Time D. C., Inc. After a trial by jury, appellants appeal from a judgment entered on a verdict in favor of appellees and the subsequent denial of their motion for new trial.
1. Appellants first assert that the trial court erred in allowing appellees' counsel to inquire of Mrs. Weathers on cross-examination regarding certain rental property belonging to appellants. Objection was made based upon a lack of relevance, and it was overruled. On appeal appellants argue that the trial court impermissibly allowed evidence of their worldly circumstances to be injected into the case. Appellants rely on "[t]he general rule . . . that evidence of the wealth or worldly circumstances of a party litigant is never admissible, except in those cases where position or wealth is necessarily involved." Northwestern Univ. v. Crisp, 211 Ga. 636, 641 (88 SE2d 26) (1955).
Contrary to appellants' contentions, we find no basis for reversal on this ground. We do not find the evidence constituted "worldly circumstances" but, even assuming it did, in light of Mrs. Weathers' previous testimony on direct examination, the evidence objected to was relevant. On direct Mrs. Weathers testified as to her various activities which had been limited, curtailed or made impossible after the collision and her resulting injuries. Among these was gainful employment. Although unemployed when injured, Mrs. Weathers testified that as a result of her injuries she was unable to physically perform the secretarial work she had previously done. Since the collision, she testified, she had been unable to find a job which she was physically capable of performing. Mrs. Weathers specifically complained of the discomfort brought on by sitting for any period of time. On cross-examination appellees' counsel established that although Mrs. Weathers had visited several doctors, none had told her that she was physically incapable of working. To show that Mrs. Weathers had been active since the collision, appellees' counsel adduced evidence without objection on cross-examination to show that since the collision she had traveled on vacation with her husband by car on several occasions to their home in Panama City, Florida, to their home at Lake Jackson, as well as to several cities in Georgia for meetings. The transcript supports appellees' argument that Mrs. Weathers was asked about the rental houses to further show that she had remained active. Although her answers showed that her involvement was limited to accepting the rent payments, the brief questioning was aimed at establishing that her time had been occupied with her interests in the rental houses. The questions were, thus, relevant to the issue of her asserted disability following the collision. "The admission of evidence is a matter which rests largely within the sound discretion of the trial judge. However, [t]he Georgia rule favors the admission of any relevant evidence, no matter how slight its probative value. Evidence of doubtful relevancy or competency should be admitted and its weight left to the jurors." (Citations and punctuation omitted.) Southern Bell Tel. &c. Co. v. Coastal Transmission Svc., 167 Ga. App. 611, 618 (307 SE2d 83) (1983). "Where evidence is offered and objected to, if it is competent for any purpose, it is not erroneous to admit it. [Cits.]" Gordon v. Gordon, 133 Ga. App. 520, 522 (211 SE2d 374) (1974). The challenged testimony was relevant as it tended to illustrate the contested question of Mrs. Weathers' disability and for that reason was competent. Cf. Northwestern Univ. v. Crisp, supra.
2. Appellants next contend that the trial court erred when, over objection, the jury was instructed thus: "Testimony of a party who offers himself or herself as a witness in his or her own behalf is to be construed most strongly against such party when it is self-contradictory, vague, or equivocal, and that party is not entitled to a finding in his or her favor if that version of testimony that is most unfavorable to that party shows that the verdict should be against that party." (Emphasis supplied.) Appellants argue that the charge was not authorized by the evidence and, thus, provides a basis for reversal.
The collision occurred around dusk on Saturday November 24, 1980 on the four-laned southbound side of Interstate 285 in DeKalb County between the entrance ramp from Bouldercrest Road and the next exit ramp for Moreland Avenue. Mrs. Weathers entered southbound 1-285 from Bouldercrest, then moved into the second lane from the outside. She was driving her Chevrolet Citation automobile between 50 and 55 miles per hour when she collided with the tractor-trailer truck driven by Cowan. Cowan was in the lane to her immediate left. The point of impact was the right front hub wheel of Cowan's tractor. His speed was approximately 50 miles per hour. After the collision, her car crossed the two lanes to her left and she struck the inside concrete median. Thereafter, she drove her car to a nearby service station. Mrs. Weathers testified that she was within her lane; that she never saw Cowan's truck; and that she never saw anything to the left or right of her. She stated: "I was just driving in my lane out 285, and then all of a sudden, I was hit. I didn't know by what or who[m]." Although she contends that Cowan left his lane and moved across to hit her, she never saw him. Cowan's testimony was that he was in the third lane from the outside preparing to move to the right lane to exit at Moreland Avenue. He had his right turn blinking sig nals turned on as well as running lights. He checked in his mirrors to see if anything was behind or beside his truck and saw nothing. At the time he felt the impact, he had not moved from his lane and he never saw Mrs. Weathers before the collision. His testimony was arguably self-contradictory, however, on the question of whether he had been passed by or had passed any vehicles during the period of time shortly before the impact. He also admitted that he entered a guilty plea to a charge of improper lane change. Mrs. Weathers' own testimony was self-contradictory on the issue of her alleged disability. See Division 1, supra.
"The above-quoted portion of the trial court's charge does state two correct and interrelated abstract principles of law. See generally Mattison v. Travelers Indent. Co., 167 Ga. App. 521, 525 (4) (307 SE2d 39) (1983). First, as indicated by the unemphasized portion of the contested charge, the testimony of a party who offers himself as a witness in his own behalf is to be construed most strongly against him when that testimony is self-contradictory, vague, or equivocal. See White v. Rainwater, 205 Ga. 219, 224 (52 SE2d 838) (1949). However, the correct legal principle that is contained in the emphasized portion of the contested charge has no applicability in a case unless there is no testimony — other than the party's own vague, contradictory and equivocal testimony — upon which a verdict in his favor might be returned. Ray v. Green, 113 Ga. 920 (39 SE 470) (1901); Clark v. Bandy, 196 Ga. 546, 561 (27 SE2d 17) (1943). See also Western & Atlantic R. Co. v. Evans, 96 Ga. 481 (23 SE 494) (1894); Castile v. Burton, 200 Ga. 877, 882 (2) (38 SE2d 919) (1946); Fowler v. Glover, 105 Ga. App. 216 (123 SE2d 903) (1962); Mattison v. Travelers Indent. Co., supra." Maurer v. Chyatte, 173 Ga. App. 343 (3) (326 SE2d 543) (1985).
Appellees argue that the challenged portion of the charge to the jury applies to the testimony of both parties and, thus, constitutes no error. We disagree. While the charge was phrased neutrally and arguably could have described both as vague, equivocal or self-contradictory, insofar as it related to appellants it was inapplicable. Aside from Mrs. Weathers, appellants presented witnesses on the issues of liability and causation. Although not an eyewitness to the collision, Officer Bailey of the DeKalb County Police Department testified that he arrived on the scene shortly after it occurred. Relying upon his handwritten report of the accident, Officer Bailey testified without objection that Cowan told him that while he was attempting to change lanes, he struck Mrs. Weathers' automobile in the left side causing her to lose control and strike the retaining wall. He further stated that the foregoing statement of Cowan formed the basis for the charge against him for improper lane change. Officer Bailey's testimony relating Cowan's res gestae statements was admissible. See OCGA § 24-3-3; Land v. McClure, 135 Ga. App. 243 (2) (217 SE2d 600) (1975). The jury was, thus, provided with competent evidence, other than Mrs. Weathers' testimony, upon which a finding of appellees' liability could be based. On the issue of causation, one of appellants' expert witnesses, Dr. Yusufji, an orthopedic surgeon who treated Mrs. Weathers following the collision, testified that in his opinion the injuries from the collision had a causal relationship to the abnormalities in her knees, back, and neck which he found on examining her. The jury in this case would have been authorized to find sufficient evidence of causation, apart from Mrs. Weathers' testimony, based upon Dr. Yusufji's testimony. However, the portion of the trial court's charge at issue herein had the effect of negating Officer Bailey's testimony as well as that of Dr. Yusufji. "Thus, under the evidentiary posture of this instant case, the contested instruction 'would violate (OCGA § 24-4-4) which authorizes the jury to consider all the facts and circumstances of the case in determining where the preponderance of the evidence lies.' Slaton Machine Sales v. Owens-Illinois, 138 Ga. App. 80, 82 (225 SE2d 473) (1976). This was harmful error requiring the grant of a new trial." Maurer v. Chyatte, supra at 345-46.
3. Appellants again challenge a portion of the trial court's instruction to the jury, assigning error to the inclusion of the principles of avoidance, comparative negligence and contributory negligence. We find no error. The issue of how the collision occurred was before the jury. Cowan testified that he did not see Mrs. Weathers in the lane to his right, but had begun preparation for a change in lanes to his right, i.e., blinking signals indicating a move to the right. Mrs. Weathers, on the other hand, testified that she never saw Cowan at all even though he was, at the time of the impact, driving a tractor-trailer truck apparently to her immediate left. The jury was authorized to find that a prudent driver of a small automobile would, considering the proximity and relative similarity of speed, notice or be aware of the presence of the much larger vehicle to the immediate left. The failure to exercise the reasonable care required in this situation was a question for the jury. " 'The rule that in order for the plaintiff to recover, he must have exercised ordinary care to avoid the consequences to himself caused by the defendant's negligence, is not limited to the negligence of the defendant which may have been actually discovered, but extends also to the negligence which might have been discovered by the exercise of ordinary care on the plaintiff's part.' Ga. Power Co. v. Maxwell, 52 Ga. App. 430, 432 (3) (183 SE 654) (1936)." Freed v. Redwing Refrigeration, 156 Ga. App. 817, 819 (275 SE2d 691) (1980). The trial court did not err in charging on the principles cited in this enumeration.
Judgment reversed.
Banke, C. J., McMurray, P. J., Birdsong, P. J., Carley, Sognier, and Benham, JJ., concur. Beasley, J., concurs specially. Deen, P. J., dissents.