Court Opinion

ID: 9856115
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 06:38:39.977834+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:26:04.937640
License: Public Domain

DeNNY, J.
The defendant assigns as error the refusal of the court below to sustain its motion for judgment of nonsuit.
The plaintiff, as in all cases where a motion for judgment of nonsuit is interposed, is entitled to have her evidence considered in the light most favorable to her and to the benefit of every reasonable inference to be drawn therefrom. Edwards v. Vaughn, ante, 89, 76 S.E. 2d 359; Morrisette v. Boone Co., 235 N.C. 162, 69 S.E. 2d 239; Chambers v. Allen, 233 N.C. 195, 63 S.E. 2d 212; Bundy v. Powell, 229 N.C. 707, 51 S.E. 2d 307. Moreover, on such a motion, evidence offered by the defendant which is favorable to the plaintiff, or which may be used to clarify or explain the plaintiff’s evidence, will be considered. Ervin v. Mills Co., 233 N.C. 415, 64 S.E. 2d 431; Gregory v. Insurance Co,, 223 N.C. 124, 25 S.E. 2d 398, 147 A.L.R. 283; Harrison v. R. R., 194 N.C. 656, 140 S.E. 598.
A careful consideration of the evidence presented in the trial below, when considered in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, leads to the conclusion that it was sufficient to warrant its submission to the jury. Consequently, the motion for judgment of nonsuit was properly denied.
The defendant’s exception No. 7 is to the following portion of the charge to the jury: “Contributory negligence is such act or omission on the part of the plaintiff amounting to a want of ordinary care, concurring and cooperating with some act or omission on the part of the defendant as makes the act or omission of the plaintiff the proximate cause or occasion of the injury complained of. Proximate cause means the direct cause that produces the result without any cause supervening to bring about the injury. Negligence of the plaintiff and its proximate cause must concur and be proven by the defendant, by the greater weight of the evidence.”
Prior to giving the above instruction to which the defendant excepts, the court gave a correct charge on contributory negligence. Later, however, it instructed the jury on the issue of contributory negligence as follows: “. . . if you find the truck driver was negligent, and that his negligence was the proximate cause of the injuries to Mrs. Godwin, and then you further find, that she was negligent, and that her negligence combined and concurred with his negligence, and was the proximate cause of her injury, then you would answer the second issue Yes.”
*630It is clear that if tbe negligence of tbe defendant was tbe proximate cause of tbe plaintiff’s injuries, and not merely a proximate cause or one of tbe proximate causes thereof, then tbe negligence of the plaintiff, if any, would not constitute contributory negligence. Construction Co. v. R. R., 184 N.C. 179, 113 S.E. 672. On tbe other band, if tbe negligence of tbe plaintiff was tbe proximate cause of her injuries, tbe idea of negligence on tbe part of tbe defendant would be excluded. Godwin v. R. R., 220 N.C. 281, 17 S.E. 2d 137; Absher v. Raleigh, 211 N.C. 567, 190 S.E. 897; Wright v. Grocery Co., 210 N.C. 462, 187 S.E. 564; Newman v. Coach Co., 205 N.C. 26, 169 S.E. 808; Lunsford v. Manufacturing Co., 196 N.C. 510, 146 S.E. 129.
In tbe case of Scenic Stages v. Lowther, 233 N.C. 555, 64 S.E. 2d 846, Stacy, C. J., said: ‘‘We have consistently held that in actions like tbe present tbe plaintiff’s contributory negligence, in order to bar recovery, need not be tbe sole proximate cause of tbe injury as this would exclude any idea of negligence on tbe part of tbe defendant. ... It is enough if it contribute to tbe injury as a proximate cause, or one of them. .- . . Tbe very term ‘contributory negligence’ ex vi termini implies or presupposes negligence on tbe part of tbe defendant. . . . Tbe plaintiff is barred from recovery, in an action like tbe present, when bis negligence concurs and cooperates with tbe negligence of tbe defendant in proximately producing tbe injury. Gordon v. Sprott, 231 N.C. 472, 57 S.E. 2d 785; Moore v. Boone, 231 N.C. 494, 57 S.E. 2d 783.”
In Wright v. Grocery Co., supra, Devin, J. (now Chief Justice), said: “Tbe plaintiff’s negligence need not have been tbe sole proximate cause of tbe injury. If bis negligence was one of tbe proximate causes, tbe plaintiff would not be entitled to recover. To charge tbe jury that tbe burden was on tbe defendant to show that tbe plaintiff’s negligence was tbe proximate cause of tbe injury would exclude tbe idea of tbe concurring negligence of both plaintiff and defendant proximately contributing to tbe injury.”
• Tbe instruction complained of would seem to be susceptible to only one interpretation — that is, that before the jury could find tbe plaintiff guilty of contributory negligence, it would be necessary for it to find that tbe plaintiff’s negligence was tbe proximate cause of her injury. Naturally, if tbe jury in arriving at its answer to tbé second issue considered this instruction, rather than that previously given thereon, it may have been influenced in arriving at such answer to tbe prejudice of tbe defendant. Moreover, an erroneous instruction upon a material aspect of tbe case is not cured by tbe fact that in other portions of tbe charge tbe law is correctly stated. S. v. Ellerbe, 223 N.C. 770, 28 S.E. 2d 519; S. v. Isley, 221 N.C. 213, 19 S.E. 2d 875; S. v. Floyd, 220 N.C. 530, 17 S.E. 2d 658; S. v. Starnes, 220 N.C. 384, 17 S.E. 2d 346.
*631In S. v. Floyd, supra,, in passing upon a question similar to that now under consideration, Winborne, J., said: “We must assume in such case, in passing upon appropriate exception, that the jury, in coming to a verdict, was influenced by that portion of the charge which is incorrect.”
Therefore, the defendant is entitled to a new trial, and it is so ordered. New trial.