Court Opinion

ID: 9454796
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-04 18:59:30.370008+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:34:18.789400
License: Public Domain

GIBSON, Circuit Judge
(dissenting).
I respectfully dissent. The defendant Bates’s car left a position of relative safety on the shoulder of the highway to make a U turn back towards Branson, started to cross a well traveled highway and proceeded without ascertaining that there was no approaching traffic. The highway traffic had the right of way and it was incumbent on Bates to make sure he could proceed across the westbound lane and into the eastbound lane without danger to himself and to others and without disturbing the flow of approaching traffic. Bates testified he looked before starting his left turn and did not see any cars coming, he traveled 6 or 8 feet across the highway when he looked again to the east and saw no cars coming, he then looked up the other side to the west and at about that time his automobile was struck. He testified his speed at the time of impact was not over 7 or 8 miles per hour and he had just shifted out of first gear at the time of impact. He also testified his car had gone over “the middle of the street”, and that most of his car was in the eastbound lane of the highway at the time of impact; further, he did not see Hensley’s automobile at any time prior to the impact.
The undisputed physical evidence located ’ the point of impact in the westbound lane. The gouge mark and the accompanying debris caused by the collision places the impact clearly in plaintiff Hensley's lane of travel.1
While we must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the prevailing party and give the prevailing party benefit of all inferences that might reasonably be drawn, Kotula v. Ford Motor Co., 338 F.2d 732 (8 Cir. 1964), cert. denied, 380 U.S. 979, 85 S.Ct. 1333, 14 L.Ed.2d 273, the defendant Bates still had the burden of establishing his case *1012which included primary negligence and causation. Osterhaus v. Gladstone Hotel Corp., 344 S.W.2d 91 (Mo.1961). Osterhaus in evaluating circumstantial evidence quoted with approval the language used in Hogue v. Wurdack, 298 S.W.2d 492, 498 (Mo.App.1957), aff’d, 316 S.W.2d 523 (Mo.1958):
“[B]ut * * * the shown circumstances must be such that the facts necessary to support the finding may be inferred and reasonably must follow, that the existence of such facts may not depend upon guesswork, conjecture and speculation, and that the evidence should have a tendency to exclude every reasonable conclusion other than the one desired. Although an inference need not be justified beyond all doubt and is not precluded by a mere possibility that the contrary may be true * * *, the law does not countenance the drawing of forced and violent inferences which do not arise from a reasonable interpretation of the facts actually shown * *
The validity of the judgment notwithstanding the verdict rests upon the analysis of what inferences reasonably may be drawn from the evidence.
I depart from the majority’s analysis in that their hypothesis takes an unreasonable view of the evidence adduced in the case. The undisputed evidence shows that Bates was squarely blocking the westbound lane of traffic while attempting to complete his left turn onto the highway, having traveled only about 13 feet from the shoulder in a direct line or perhaps a somewhat longer distance if he utilized a circular movement in the nature of a U turn; but in any event he did not see the Hensley car at any time and the only reasonable inference is that he failed to keep a proper lookout and did not allow Hensley sufficient time to take evasive action before he abruptly proceeded into Hensley’s lane of traffic. The Bates car was caved in at a point a few feet to the rear of its midsection on the left' side, and the point of impact was approximately in the middle of the westbound lane. When his car left the shoulder to enter the highway Bates was obligated to give way to traffic on the highway and not to enter onto the highway until he could do so with safety to himself and to others using the highway. He is charged with the highest degree of care under Missouri law and he should have kept a continual lookout for traffic in both directions. Anthony v. Morrow, 306 S.W.2d 581, 586 (Mo.App.1957).
In discussing a driver’s obligation to carefully observe approaching traffic, Anthony at 585-586 sets forth the Missouri law as:
“The applicable rules of law were well stated by this court in Riley v. Young, Mo.App., 218 S.W.2d 805, loc. cit. 808, as follows:
‘There is no doubt of the duty of the operator of a motor vehicle to keep a careful or vigilant watch ahead for other persons or vehicles on the highway; and for a motorist to fulfill this duty he must look in such an observant manner as to enable him to see and discover such conditions as one in the exercise of the highest degree of care for the safety of himself and others would be expected to see under like or similar circumstances. Kaley v. Huntley, 333 Mo. 771, 63 S.W.2d 21; Brown v. Toedebush Transfer, 354 Mo. 611, 190 S.W.2d 239; Wright v. Osborn, 356 Mo. 382, 201 S.W.2d 935; Rohmann v. City of Richmond Heights, Mo.App., 135 S.W.2d 378. Such duty, being fixed, uniform, and continuous, is in that sense constant ; and if a motorist, having the duty to look, fails to see what is plainly visible, he is guilty of negligence and liable for its consequences. Wright v. Osborn, supra; Rohmann v. City of Richmond Heights, supra.’”
I realize that Bates could not look in opposite directions at the same instant but he still should have kept a continuous lookout in crossing a traveled highway, looking both to the left and to the right for highway traffic, glancing suf*1013ficiently often in each direction to ascertain that he could proceed without encroaching upon the right of way of other highway traffic. With normal peripheral vision he would have had to have seen the Hensley car before blocking the westbound lane of traffic if he had merely glanced towards the east. Furthermore, since his unobstructed view to the west was greater than his unobstructed view to the east, and since he was first entering the westbound lane, his attention should have been directed in large part to westbound traffic while entering that lane.
Bates is required under the Missouri law to have seen what he could have seen in the exercise of due care and caution for his own safety; had he looked towards the east (from whence the Hensley ear was approaching) he would have seen Hensley’s ear, and the failure to see what is plainly visible constitutes contributory negligence as a matter of law. Branscum v. Glaser, 234 S.W.2d 626, 627 (Mo.1950). Therefore, regardless of Hensley’s hypothecated negligence,2 Bates’s contributory negligence would bar him from recovery on a primary negligence complaint in Missouri. The Missouri humanitarian doctrine was not invoked in this case and probably could not be utilized under the factual situation disclosed by the evidence. Therefore, I do not think it proper to say that even though Bates negligently drove his car onto the highway he was then in a position of peril from which he could not extricate himself, and thereby excuse his negligence in failing to look towards the east and see the Hensley car.
Bates’s own evidence shows that Hensley, contrary to the inferences made by the majority, did see the Bates car prior to its entrance onto the highway. Bates introduced in evidence in his case in chief as an admission against interest an interrogatory addressed to Hensley. The interrogatory is as follows:
“Q. State when and where you first saw the Ross Bates automobile prior to the collision on the 16th day of August, 1965.
“A. The Ross car was stopped on said street to my right facing the highway and started forward real fast and made or attempted to make a swerve to his left and we collided on my side or a little to the left of my side.”
It should also be noted that the defendant or the defendant’s insurance company had settled with Hensley on his complaint against Bates and that Hensley was not able to testify because of a brain tumor, unrelated to the accident, which incapacitated him from attending the trial.
While I am in full accord with the rule of viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the verdict, I also think consideration should be given to the ruling and opinion of the trial judge who had the advantage of hearing all of the evidence and of viewing the demeanor of the witnesses. When his opinion, upon reflection, was that a submissible case was either not made or contributory negligence was established as a matter of law, due weight should be accorded his view in sifting through the reasonable inferences to be drawn from the evidence.
In this case I think the trial judge was correct in granting a judgment notwithstanding the verdict under the applicable Missouri law and under a reasonable evaluation of the factual situation disclosed by the defendant’s evidence.
I would affirm the judgment.

. There was conflicting evidence on the distances involved. Trooper Ashurst testified the gouge mark was located 5% feet north of the center line and 75 feet east of the east line of the traveled driveway or entrance to a rock shop and was 85 steps or 255 feet west of the crest of the hill; whereas, the photographer Craig testified the Bock Shop sign was 170 paces or 510 feet from the crest of the hill.

. While Bates is not bound by Hensley’s statement that he was not going over 30 miles per hour and while I agree with the majority that the physical evidence on the force of the impact may justify an inference of speed in excess of 30 miles per hour, I do not think it would reasonably justify an inference of a speed of 60 miles per hour.