Court Opinion

ID: 9666245
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 01:08:49.784028+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:15:25.236684
License: Public Domain

MONTGOMERY, Judge
(dissenting).
The ground for my dissent is that the trial judge was guilty of an abuse of discretion in permitting a separate trial for the driver of the car in which Mrs. Stevenson was riding. As I see it, the negligence of the driver, Mrs. Davis, was the primary and possibly the sole cause of the injuries suffered.
The following uncontradicted statements made by Mrs. Davis in an affidavit filed show her negligence, to-wit:
“I drove my car, a Cadillac automobile, to the Lexington Country Club, at the specific request and direction of Mrs. George Stevenson. Since she was the hostess I was pleased to drive wherever she desired to take us to lunch * * * I slowed down to make a right hand turn into the Country Club entrance. * * * I did not stop at the entrance to the Country Club to look for golfers on fairway number seven over which the driveway crosses as I turned into the Country Club. All three of us were talking and engaged in idle conversation * * * And I did not look to either my left or to my right in the fairway to the seventh hole for golfers and do not know whether there were any golfers there or not, though I did know this was Sunday afternoon and that golfers would likely be on the seventh hole * * * I could have seen golfers anywhere on the seventh fairway as I entered the Country Club if only I had looked for them. Golfers using fairway No. 7 are not difficult to see as you enter the driveway entrance. However, on this occasion I did not look for golfers * * * I was aware that golf players playing No. 7 hole drive their golf balls across the driveway and across the roadway * * * I knew of the custom among members of the *146Club for automobiles to yield to tbe golfers. But on this occasion we were talking and I didn’t think about it.”
In the complaint filed against the country club, the golfer, and the driver, Mrs. Davis, it was alleged that the negligence of the three defendants “acting independently, jointly and concurrently” brought about the injuries of the plaintiff. The issue as to which party or parties were liable should have been determined by the jury in one trial. To try the issue piecemeal almost inevitably would result in an unfair trial and an injustice to one or more of the parties. Here, the country club has been immeasurably prejudiced by the absence on the trial of the submission of the issue of Mrs. Davis’ negligence. I am sure that Mrs. Davis’ counsel was equally as cognizant of this advantage as appellant’s counsel was conscious of the disadvantage.
The fact that Mrs. Davis might not have been able to attend the trial is not sufficient justification for a separation. The evidence could have been presented in her behalf, and the issue of her liability could and should have been submitted at the same trial in which this issue as to the country club and the golfer was determined.
The only suggested justification for the separation was that Mrs. Davis could not by reason of her health be present at a trial for a year and her friend, Mrs. Stevenson, the plaintiff, could not wait for a later trial on account of her (Mrs. Stevenson) health. In fairness, the appellant should not be made to suffer to the advantage of either Mrs. Davis or Mrs. Stevenson. Additionally, the questions raised as to the instructions, contribution, and indemnity emphasize the error.
Accordingly, I dissent.