Court Opinion

ID: 9667235
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 01:39:21.251337+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:15:36.214193
License: Public Domain

DISSENTING OPINION
STORCKMAN, Judge.
The majority opinion deals chiefly with the propriety of Instruction No. 3, plaintiff’s verdict-directing instruction, and the sufficiency of the facts to make a submis-sible case under the rear-end collision doctrine. The defendant’s attack on the sufficiency of the evidence has two principal aspects. First it is contended that defendant’s motion for a directed verdict should have been sustained because the plaintiff failed to prove any negligence. Next it is asserted that defendant’s motion for new trial was correctly sustained because plaintiff’s verdict-directing instruction was erroneous in that the rear-end doctrine was wholly inapplicable and the instruction constituted a submisssion of “general negligence only and not specific negligence, thereby giving the jury a roving commission.” We will first consider the majority opinion’s treatment of the sufficiency of the evidence to support the plaintiff’s verdict returned in response to the submission of liability on the theory of a rear-end collision.
In determining whether the evidence was sufficient to make a submissible case under the rear-end collision doctrine, the plaintiff is entitled to have her evidence considered in its most favorable light and is further entitled to all favorable inferences that can reasonably be drawn therefrom. This rule is so trite that it would hardly need to be stated but for the fact that the majority opinion appears to have taken the opposite view.
The plaintiff was driving a 1954 Ford Ranch Wagon, sometimes referred to as a station wagon. It is common knowledge that one of the unusual features of this type of motor vehicle is a door in the rear or back end that can be opened for loading and unloading cargo of various sorts. This is in addition to one or more sets of side doors. The favorable view of the evidence would be that the witnesses were talking of such a rear door in describing the point of contact. This view would also be more consistent with the physical facts such as the position of plaintiff’s car when it was struck and the damage to the rear bumper, the rear fender, and the taillight. This view is also harmonious with the plaintiff’s description that the car was struck on the left rear driver’s side. Also when she said in this connection that a hole was knocked in the middle of the car the favorable view is that she was talking of the middle of the rear end or the back door. The same construction should be put on the testimony of her other witnesses including her son whose testimony is not referred to in the majority opinion. We must also keep in mind that the defendant offered no conflicting evidence. This dissenting opinion will undertake to view the evidence in a favorable light with as little repetition as possible.
In discussing the application of the rear-end collision doctrine, the majority opinion fails to give effect to direct and circumstantial evidence which gives further support to the factual proposition that the plaintiff’s automobile was struck from the rear when the plaintiff had her vehicle in a portion of the highway where she was entitled to have it in view of the course in which she was proceeding. The evidence shows that plaintiff’s car, at the time it was struck, was headed northeast in the north half of the highway with a portion of the front off the north side of *109the pavement and a portion of it still a foot or two over the center line in the south half of the highway. Placing a motor vehicle, approximately 18 feet long, in such a position headed in a northeast to southwest direction on a strip of pavement ten feet wide demonstrates that the left rear portion of the vehicle would be nearer to the middle of the ten-foot strip than to the center line of the highway. At the time of the collision, the defendant’s automobile was in the north ten-foot portion of the highway apparently moving straight ahead as shown by his skid marks and the shakedown. This is consistent with the evidence of physical damage to the plaintiff’s car which was described as being to the back end, the rear bumper, and the left rear taillight and fender.
There is further direct evidence that the Clevenger car was struck from the rear and in the rear end, particularly on the left portion of the rear end. Lyndell Gerald Clevenger, a son of the plaintiff, was working on a tractor in a field about 300 feet directly south of the place where the collision occurred. He testified that he saw the “family car” coming down the road with “this other car coming behind it,” that he “saw smoke coming from his tires” and that the other car hit the family car and pushed it down the highway. These questions were then asked and these answers given:
“Q (By Mr. Shirkey) What part of the family automobile was struck?
“A The rear end.
“Q All right, and what part of the other vehicle struck it?
“A The front end.”
As to what he saw after he went over to the place of collision, plaintiff’s son further testified:
“Q Can you describe the damage that you saw to his automobile?
“A Well, the hood, and headlights, and grille, and bumper was all smashed in.
“Q And what had happened to the family automobile?
“A Well, the back end was smashed in.
“Q By the back end what part do you mean by that?
“A Well, the fenders and bumper.
“Q Is this also what you call the rear end?
“A Yes.”
There is undisputed evidence by the highway patrolman that the left rear bumper and taillight of the Clevenger car was “bashed in”. This was corroborated by Mr. and Mrs. Clevenger. The majority opinion tends to discount as a conclusion their statements that their car was struck initially at the left rear corner on the ground that they did not actually see the contact. But sight alone is not the only reliable sense by which a person can determine where his car has been struck. The direction of the sound and the feeling of momentum resulting from the impact are quite trustworthy. If the occupant of the lead car cannot testify that his vehicle was struck from the rear, the testimony in a rear-end collision case will be severely limited which is a handicap the doctrine was intended to avoid.
The “rear-end collision doctrine” means that, if a person has his motor vehicle in a portion of the highway where he should have it or is entitled to have it in view of the course in which he is proceeding, and some other person traveling behind him in the same direction overtakes him and permits his vehicle to run into the rear of the one ahead, the proof of a collision under such circumstances makes out a prima facie case of specific negligence against the person in charge of the overtaking vehicle. Jones v. Austin, Mo.App., 154 S.W.2d 378, 381 [8]; Jones v. Central States Oil Co., *110350 Mo. 91, 164 S.W.2d 914, 919-920 [5]; Hughes v. St. Louis Public Service Co., Mo.App., 251 S.W.2d 360, 362 [3]; Witherspoon v. Guttierez, Mo., 327 S.W.2d 874, 880 [5]; Branch v. Gordon’s Transports, Inc., Mo.App., 375 S.W.2d 418, 421 [1]; Snyder v. Hedges, Mo.App., 381 S.W.2d 376, 380 [2, 3].
If the plaintiff’s evidence is true, and we must so accept it on this appeal, the plaintiff gave a proper and timely warning of her intention to turn left into the country road. At the time of the collision, her automobile was in a proper position to execute the turn which she had signaled for a distance of 400 to 500 feet west of the side road. There is direct evidence that the defendant was following in the same lane as the plaintiff which is buttressed by the fact that the defendant’s skid marks began in the eastbound lane and extended a distance of 174 feet to the place where defendant’s automobile came to rest headed southeast in the west lane or north half of the highway at the intersection of the country road and U. S. 36. The highway patrolman estimated that the defendant was traveling 70 miles per hour when he applied his brakes which was the legal limit at that section of the highway. Allowing for normal reaction time, the defendant’s automobile traveled 77 feet in the eastbound lane after he perceived the need of slowing or stopping his car and before the skid marks began. Thus he was in the eastbound lane a distance of at least 164 feet (one-half the skid marks plus the reaction distance) while he was undertaking to slow or stop before he crossed over into the west lane or north half of the highway. This is hardly consistent with the defendant’s contention that he was undertaking to pass the plaintiff when she started her left turn. In these circumstances the jury could reasonably believe that the defendant had proper warning of the left turn between 400 and 500 feet west of the country road but that he made no effort to lessen the speed of his automobile until he was about 251 feet from the point of collision, and that he thereby negligently allowed his automobile to collide with the Clevenger car.
The evidence tends to show that the Clevenger car was propelled about 100 feet east of the side road and came to rest on the pavement and that Mr. Clevenger backed it onto the north shoulder to a point 40 to 50 feet east of the side road. The direction and distance of the propulsion is hardly consistent with the view that the Clevenger automobile was struck initially and primarily on its left side. The inference that the plaintiff was struck from the rear is the only logical one in the circumstances shown by the evidence.
The “rear-end collision doctrine” is de- ■ signed to cover situations where the driver or occupant of the car struck cannot be expected to know precisely the neglect or failure of the driver of the following car. If the doctrine, which is somewhat indigenous to Missouri, has any value, it serves that purpose and relieves the plaintiff from resorting to speculation in selecting the sub-missible ground of negligence. The driver of the following car, however, does have a view of what is ahead of him and can better explain why he allowed or permitted some portion of his car to strike the rear of the car ahead which is in a portion of the highway where it is entitled to be in view of the course in which it is proceeding. It is doubtful if the rear-end collision doctrine presents any stricter rule of liability than the several other grounds of primary negligence and also the humanitarian rule.
Moreover, it is apparent from the reported decisions that the rear-end collision doctrine is not limited to situations where the evidence clearly establishes that the lead car is proceeding straight ahead without deviation. In the parent case of Jones v. Central States Oil Co., 350 Mo. 91, 164 S.W.2d 914, there was evidence that the defendant was attempting to pass, that the plaintiff’s vehicle swerved into the right wheel *111of defendant’s truck and was over the center line at the time of the collision.
In Hughes v. St. Louis Public Service Co., Mo.App., 251 S.W.2d 360, the plaintiff pulled out from the curb and drove towards the streetcar track, looked in his side-view mirror and could not at that time observe the approaching streetcar. Plaintiff’s car was struck from the rear after he had gone a short distance on the track.
In Jones v. Austin, Mo.App., 154 S.W.2d 378, at page 381, the court stated that the “very fact that the Robinson car was standing at a place it had a right to be, and that defendant’s taxicab ran into it in the rear, raised an inference that a proper effort to control the taxicab was not made.” Boresow v. Manzella, Mo., 330 S.W.2d 827, treated the res ipsa loquitur doctrine as available in a rear-end collision situation.
Witherspoon v. Guttierez, Mo., 327 S.W. 2d 874, presents a case very similar to the present one on the facts. The plaintiff in the lead car was negotiating a left turn off the highway at an intersection when she saw the lights of the defendant’s following vehicle attempting to pass. It appeared that he would strike the plaintiff’s car in the side and this would have happened but the plaintiff turned her car to the right and the right front and right headlight of the defendant’s automobile struck the left rear of the plaintiff’s car. Plaintiff’s submission under the rear-end collision doctrine was approved and plaintiff’s judgment was affirmed.
The duty of the following motorist is stated in 60 C.J.S. Motor Vehicles § 323, pp. 747-748, as follows: “The duty of an automobilist to keep a lookout, discussed generally supra §§ 284 — 287, imposes on him the obligations of observing vehicles on the road ahead of him and their movements and of being prepared for movements which might reasonably be anticipated. He must watch out for signals from the driver of the vehicle ahead and be prepared to avoid danger in case of any movement which is properly signaled. He must keep his car under control and operate it with care so that he will not run into vehicles ahead of him, and a collision with a vehicle ahead may constitute negligence or contributory negligence, imposing liability or barring recovery, as discussed infra § 328, provided the operator of the automobile ahead was driving in accordance with his rights.”
Thus we see the decisions have held that submissible cases were made where the lead vehicle was proceeding directly ahead, standing still, preparing to turn left and starting a left turn. The evidence demonstrates without question that the plaintiff signaled her left turn in adequate time and distance, that she was properly starting her turn but had not reached a point where she was out from under the intended scope and protection of the rear-end collision doctrine as stated in the reported cases. On the issue of submissibility under the rear-end doctrine, I would hold that a case was unquestionably made.
We pass to the question of whether plaintiff’s Instruction No. 3 is reversibly erroneous. The majority opinion quotes from Coit v. Bentz, Mo., 348 S.W.2d 941, 946, in justification of an appellate court deferring to a trial court’s action in granting a new trial for an error in an instruction. The opinion fails, however, to refer to the limitation contained in this statement immediately following, 348 S.W.2d at page 946: “This does not mean, of course, that the trial court’s construction can make a bad instruction good, or a good instruction bad, but its view is material as to the prejudicial effect on the jury of a misleading instruction or of one which constitutes a misstatement.” Italics supplied. The trial court’s ruling in the instant case simply was that “it was error to give Instruction No. 3.” There is nothing in the record to indicate that the trial court relied on any discretionary grounds in granting the new trial.
As we understand it, the majority opinion affirms the trial court’s ruling that Instruction No. 3 was erroneous on the ground *112that it required “no finding as to where the vehicle was on the highway at the time it was hit, or even that it was on the highway, and it cannot be said that the instruction required a finding of plaintiff’s position in a place where she had a right to be”.
The instruction is set out in full in the majority opinion, but for convenient reference- we state again its salient portions. The first paragraph of the instruction merely states the applicable degree of care and is not in question. The second paragraph (with emphasis added) instructs the jury “if you find and believe from the evidence” that on May 25, 1962, the plaintiff Clev-enger “was proceeding in an easterly direction on Highway No. 36 at the place mentioned in evidencethat she “was at all times in the exercise of the highest degree of care for her own safety” and that as she “proceeded eastwardly and turned to her left, or north” and as the defendant was operating his vehicle in an eastwardly direction and to the rear of plaintiff Clev-enger’s automobile “he negligently and carelessly allowed his automobile to run into and collide with the rear end of the automobile plaintiff Clevenger was operating”, and if as a result of such negligence the plaintiff was injured, the jury’s verdict should be in favor of the plaintiff. Contrary to the statement in the majority opinion, the instruction specifically requires the jury to find that the plaintiff was driving on the highway. Furthermore, the evidence describing the course of the plaintiff’s automobile on the pavement was uncontradicted. There was only one version in evidence regarding the movement of plaintiff’s automobile on the highway and its position when it was struck. The instruction required the jury to find that the automobile was “at the place mentioned in the evidence”. Under the evidence that direction of the instruction could have only one meaning and was sufficient under the law as we shall develop more fully later.
The sufficiency of the instruction’s hypotheses is buttressed by the further fact that the instruction commences with the phrase “if you find and believe from the evidence” and requires a finding that the plaintiff was “at all times in the exercise of the highest degree of care for her own safety”. If the jury found that the plaintiff was not guilty of negligence, then it would necessarily have to find that she was in a position on the highway where she had a right to be especially since there was only one version as to where her car was and how it was operated. In Hooper v. Conrad, 364 Mo. 176, 260 S.W.2d 496, 500 [2], this court stated: “Where there is no divergence in or denial of the essential facts, then the ultimate issue of the negligence pleaded and its being the proximate cause of the injury or damage alleged may be submitted by reference to the facts and circumstances shown by the evidence without specific hypothesization in the instructions. And, we may add, that if either of the parties deems a hypothesized fact or situation not to have been clearly or sufficiently hypothesized in any instruction, he should offer a clarifying or amplifying instruction.” Italics supplied. Also in Knight v. Richey, 363 Mo. 293, 250 S.W.2d 972, 977 [9], this court held that further hypotheses with respect to speed was not necessary because there was no conflict of factual theories stating: “There having been no real conflict of the factual theories relating to the physical setting and the circumstances of the collision relevant to the issue of speed, there was no real necessity of more particularized hypotheses of the facts than the hypotheses of Instruction No. 1.”
Further in keeping with the holding in Hooper v. Conrad, it is aptly stated in Quigley v. St. Louis Public Service Co., Mo., 201 S.W.2d 169, 171-172: “Plaintiff’s complaint is of nondirection, not misdirection; and plaintiff should have requested a clarifying instruction if desired.”
We submit that in Instruction No. 3 the ultimate facts were sufficiently hypothesized in keeping with the instructions approved in the above cases, including Jones v. Central States Oil Co., 350 Mo. 91. 164 *113S.W.2d 914, 919-920 [5], and Witherspoon v. Guttierez, Mo., 327 S.W.2d 874, 880 [5]. In these circumstances, the verdict of the jury should not be disturbed. As well stated in Arnold v. Fisher, Mo.App., 359 S.W. 2d 602, 609 [9], “* * * recent holdings of our Supreme Court sound the timely warning that, in the absence of plainly confusing or misleading instructions manifestly infringing substantial rights in a demonstrably substantial manner, there is no error ‘materially affecting the merits of the action’ [Rule 83.13(b); Section 512.160(2)] and the granting of a new trial is neither required nor justified. Kelly [Kelly v. Kansas City Public Service Co., Mo.], supra, 335 S.W.2d [159] loc. cit. 164(8); Stewart v. Boring, Mo., 312 S.W. 2d 131, 134; McGhee v. Jones, Mo., 336 S.W.2d 722, 726.”
As stated in the majority opinion, if the case is remanded for a retrial under the rear-end collision doctrine, it will be submitted under Missouri Approved Instruction 17.16, the verdict-directing instruction in a rear-end collision case, which simply reads as follows:
“Your verdict must be for plaintiff if you believe:
“First, defendant permitted his automobile to come into collision with the rear of plaintiffs automobile, and
“Second, defendant was thereby negligent, and
“Third, as a direct result of such negligence, the plaintiff sustained damage”.
The Committee’s Comment states: “1. While there is language in the cases cited below suggesting that the collision itself shows negligence, the safer course is to further hypothesize negligence.” Four leading Missouri cases are cited in support of this proposition. The comment indicates the strength of the inference authorized by the ultimate fact of a rear-end collision.
The instant case was tried before the effective date of the Missouri Approved Instructions, but the new instructions do not change the law, only the manner of submitting the issues. As we have demonstrated, the instruction as given is sufficient under the instruction practice existing at the time of trial. However, MAI No. 17.16' furnishes less factual guidance for the jury and demonstrates that the instruction in question could not be misleading or prejudicial. All that is required under MAI 17.16 is a finding by the jury of the ultimate fact that the defendant permitted his automobile to come into collision with the rear of plaintiff’s automobile and that the defendant was thereby negligent. Instruction No. 3 covers all of this and more. To require a new trial in these circumstances seems to be a vain and useless thing.
Having these views, I would reverse the judgment of the trial court and remand the cause with directions to reinstate the verdict. For the reasons given, I respectfully dissent.