Court Opinion

ID: 9741006
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 20:47:25.991786+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:24:21.590781
License: Public Domain

JUSTICE HARRISON, dissenting: I cannot agree that the court erred in directing a verdict for plaintiff on the issue of her contributory negligence. Our supreme court has recognized that, where the evidence and the reasonable inferences from it are considered in their aspect most favorable to defendants, and it appears therefrom that there is no evidence from which a plaintiff’s contributory negligence could be inferred, it is the trial court’s duty to direct a verdict for the plaintiff on the contributory negligence issue. Moreover, a court of review passing on the trial judge’s ruling should take into consideration the fact that the trial judge saw and heard the witnesses. (Smith v. Bishop (1965), 32 Ill. 2d 380, 383-84, 205 N.E.2d 461.) Analysis of the record here reveals that the trial court did not, under the unique facts presented, err in directing a verdict on the contributory negligence issue. While plaintiff’s car turned around on the icy road, the record is devoid of any evidence tending to establish that this event was caused by negligence on'the part of plaintiff. Contrary to the majority’s statement that there is no evidence that Parvin slowed down after “fishtailing,” there is absolutely nothing of record which contradicts plaintiff’s testimony to the effect that the road was icy, that she in fact touched her brake lightly in an effort to slow down a bit more, and that the turning of her vehicle was sudden and unforeseeable. Moreover, defendant Sill testified that plaintiff was driving at a safe speed under the circumstances. Additional uncon-tradicted evidence establishes that plaintiff’s car did not hit anything when it turned around, that it stopped in its own lane of traffic, and that Cook, who was closer to plaintiff’s vehicle than was Sill, was able to stop his vehicle without hitting plaintiff’s. The question of a plaintiff’s contributory negligence may, under appropriate circumstances, be decided as a matter of law (Pearson v. Ford Motor Co. (1975), 32 Ill. App. 3d 188, 192, 336 N.E.2d 528), and the trial court’s action in directing a verdict on that issue here is fully supported by the record. Since my review of the record persuades me that defendants’ remaining contentions are also without merit, I would affirm the judgment in its entirety.