Court Opinion

ID: 9443039
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-03 19:08:24.184518+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:29:20.642923
License: Public Domain

On Petition for Rehearing
In Williams v. Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company, 5 Cir., 190 F.2d 744, 748, we held that the court should not consider specifications of error based upon failure of the trial court to give particular instructions to the jury at the written request of the plaintiff when the plaintiff did not comply with Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, rule 51, 28 U.S.C.A. by objecting to such failure before the jury retired and stating the grounds of his objection. In so holding we cited and relied upon the case of Frasca v. Howell, 87 U.S.App.D.C. 52, 182 F.2d 703. That decision has been qualified by the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in the recent case of Montgomery v. Virginia Stage Lines, Inc., 191 F.2d 770, 773, where the court pointed out that the effect of Rule 46 had not been taken into account. That is likewise true as to our decision in Williams v. Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company, supra. In that case it was not necessary that we rule upon the specifications of error referred to inasmuch as the cause was reversed and remanded for other errors. The result of the decision was not affected by our reliance upon Frasca v. Howell, supra.
In our original opinion in the present case we had not read Rule 51 in conjunction with Rule 46 and there is now no necessity for our deciding the effect of the two rules considered together for the paragraph of the opinion which follows is not necessary to the decision and is hereby withdrawn.
“The defendant did not except to such failure otherwise than by requesting the quoted charge. To comply with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 51, the defendant should have objected to the failure of the court to define negligence stating the grounds of its objection. The fact that requests to charge are submitted does not avoid the operation of Rule 51. Blair v. Cullom, [2 Cir.], 168 F.2d 622, 624.”
With the opinion thus modified, the petition for rehearing is hereby denied.