Court Opinion

ID: 9624371
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 07:01:08.468649+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T11:52:04.792183
License: Public Domain

CARTER, J.
I concur in the judgment of reversal because I think it is obvious that reasonable minds might differ on whether or not defendant had a last clear chance to avoid the accident here involved. This is the one and only test which may be applied in determining whether a case comes within the last clear chance doctrine. There was a conflict in the evidence and the trier of fact might well have found that plaintiff Daniels was negligent in placing herself and Mrs. Smith in a position of peril which was perceived by defendant in time to avoid a collision if he had exercised ordinary care; that plaintiff was unable, by the exercise of ordinary care, to extricate herself and Mrs. Smith from such peril; and that defendant’s failure to exercise ordinary care was therefore the proximate cause of the accident. The facts as disclosed by the record justify but do not compel this conclusion.
The last clear chance doctrine has been applied in numerous cases by the courts of this state. As a legal theory it is well understood by the legal profession. It is in the application of the doctrine to a particular case where conflicts arise. (See excellent article by Myron L. Garon, member of Los Angeles Bar, entitled Recent Developments in California's Last Clear Chance Doctrine, volume 40, Cal.L.Rev., pp. 404-411.) There can be no doubt that the doctrine has been manna for injured plaintiffs who have themselves been negligent. In my opinion it is a salutary doctrine evolved by great liberal-minded jurists to ameliorate the injustice which resulted from a rigid application of the plea of contributory negligence as a complete defense in an action for personal injuries. Like all other liberal doctrines it has met with opposition. Those opposed have generally rejected it as inapplicable to the factual situation presented in a particular case—holding the doctrine inapplicable as a matter of law. This conclusion being reached regardless of whether reasonable minds might differ as to the factual situation presented. Such cases as Young v. Southern Pac. Co., 182 Cal. 369 [190 P. 36] ; Rodabaugh v. Tekus, 39 Cal.2d 290 [246 P.2d 663]; Johnson v. *628Southwestern Eng. Co., 41 Cal.App.2d 623 [107 P.2d 417] ; Dalley v. Williams, 73 Cal.App.2d 427 [166 P.2d 595]; Gore v. Market Street Ry. Co., 4 Cal.2d 154 [48 P.2d 2] ; and Johnson v. Sacramento Northern Ry., 54 Cal.App.2d 528 [129 P.2d 503] fall in this category.
There are, of course, many cases in which the doctrine is inapplicable. There are also borderline cases. The problem is first for the trial court to determine. If it submits the issue to the jury on proper instructions and the jury finds liability, I do not think it can then be said that reasonable , minds cannot differ as to the applicability of the doctrine, because, to so hold, is to say that the trial judge and members of the jury do not have reasonable minds. If the trial judge refuses to submit the issue to the jury, the same situation arises as when a nonsuit, directed verdict or motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict is granted. The question for the appellate court to determine in such a case is whether there was any substantial evidence in the record on which a trier of fact could reach a contrary conclusion. Of course, if the appellate court holds that such evidence exists, the reasonable minds doctrine comes into play and the case goes back to the trial court where the issues of fact are determined. This is and should be the law, because it is the product of reason, logic and common sense. If it were applied by the courts of this state, it would remove a tremendous burden from this court and the District Courts of Appeal as well as our superior courts. This is manifest when we consider that many of the cases now before this court and the District Courts of Appeal involve only factual questions which have been determined by the trial courts and the question we are asked to decide is whether the issues of fact were correctly determined. This is not the function of this court or of the District Courts of Appeal, and if the members of this court would come to this realization, we would have more time to consider questions of law and dispose of cases more expeditiously. To demonstrate the truth of the foregoing statement, I wish to call attention to the fact that we now have twelve cases pending before this court which involve only factual questions. Most of these cases, including the case at bar, were correctly decided by the District Court of Appeal (see Daniels v. City & County of San Francisco, *(Cal.App.) 246 P.2d 125, but these cases are before this court because a hearing *629was granted for the sole purpose of reconsidering questions of fact. I shall have more to say on this subject when the decisions in these cases are announced.
I also disagree with that part of the majority opinion which holds that the trial court properly submitted to the jury the issue of contributory negligence on the part of Kathaleen Smith. The uncontradicted evidence shows that Mrs. Smith was a guest in defendant Daniels’ automobile, had no control over its operation and there is no basis whatsoever for an inference that any negligence on her part in anywise contributed to the accident. In this respect I am in full accord with the views expressed by the District Court of Appeal in its decision, supra, on this subject.

A hearing was granted by the Supreme Court on Sept. 11, 1952.