Court Opinion

ID: 9832088
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-01 21:36:32.193358+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:43:41.925563
License: Public Domain

On Motion for Rehearing.
In our original Opinion we held that the trial court erred in submitting to the jury, as a distinct ground of negligence, the failure -of appellants to keep a watchman at the crossing where the collision of the automobile with appellant’s train occurred, without a proper, or any, instruction explaining the law relating to the duty of the appellants-to maintain such watchman at the crossing-Under the facts of this case, and the general charge and the issues submitted to the jury, we think we were wrong in so holding. The trial court defined négligence to be:
“The doing of that which a person of ordinary-prudence would not have done under the same or similar circumstances, or the leaving undone of that which a person of ordinary prudence would have done under the same or similar circumstances.”
He also submitted issues Nos. 9 and 5 as set out in the original opinion. Issue No. 9 is as follows:
“Were the conditions surrounding the crossing in question such as to render that crossing moré than ordinarily hazardous or unusually dangerous at the time W. R. Ferguson attempted to cross?” which the jury answered “Yes.”
And No. 5 is as follows:
“Were the defendants or -either of them guilty of negligence under the circumstances surrounding this crossing at the time of the collision, in failing to keep a watchman or flagman at said crossing to warn the public of approaching -trains?” Which the jury answered, “Yes.”
This charge upon negligence, and the issues and answers thereto fully informed the-jury that they must find that appellants-were guilty of negligence as defined by the-court; hence the charge and the issues submitted were sufficiently full and complete.
*684We therefore grant the appellee’s motion for rehearing, set aside our judgment reversing the trial court’s judgment, and now affirm the judgment of the trial court.