Court Opinion

ID: 9573419
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 20:54:46.350777+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:40:53.537229
License: Public Domain

McALLISTER, C.J.,
dissenting.
In this case the defendant drove through a stop sign and collided with a car which came from his left. The accident occurred at night in a residential area of Portland. The defendant lived at Sandy and there is no evidence that he was familiar with this inter*606section or knew that he was approaching a stop sign. The only evidence hearing on whether or not he saw the stop sign tends to prove that he did not. The evidence most favorable to plaintiff tends to prove that defendant did not see the car approaching from his left until it was too late to avoid a collision.
The majority opinion holds that the jury could infer from the fact that the defendant should have seen the stop sign that he in fact did see the sign and with conscious disregard for the safety of his passenger, deliberately drove through the stop sign in a reckless attempt to beat the other car through the intersection.
In my opinion, it is just as reasonable to infer that defendant failed to stop at the stop sign because he failed to see it. It is a disputable presumption that “a person is innocent of crime or wrong.” In the absence of evidence to the contrary, the jury is required by ORS 41.360① to find “according to the presumption.” The defendant is entitled to the benefit of that presumption. See Simpson v. Hillman, 163 Or 357, 363, 97 P2d 517; Schweiger et ux v. Solbeck, et ux., 191 Or 454, 470, 230 P2d 195 and Hillman v. Northern Wasco PUD, 213 Or 264, 323 P2d 664.
The rule which I think is decisive of this case is stated very clearly in 2 Harper and James, The Law of Torts, § 19.4, p 1068:
“The test is often expressed in this way: where from the facts most favorable to the plaintiff the nonexistence of the fact to be inferred is just as *607probable as its existence (or more probable than its existence), the conclusion that it exists is a matter of speculation, surmise, and conjecture, and a jury will not be permitted to draw it. ‘ [W] here the probabilities are at best evenly balanced between negligence and its absence, it becomes the duty of the court to direct the jury that there is no sufficient proof.’ ”
The same rule is stated by Prosser on Torts (2nd ed), § 42, p 200:
“* * * What is required is evidence from which reasonable men may conclude that, upon the whole, it is more likely that there was negligence than that there was not. Whiere the conclusion is a matter of mere speculation or conjecture, or where the probabilities are at best evenly balanced between negligence and its absence, it becomes the duty of the court to direct the jury that the burden of proof has not been sustained.”
The foregoing rule has been applied by this court in numerous cases. In Owens v. Holmes, 199 Or 332, 337, 261 P2d 383, this court said:
“* * * It is not necessary to establish negligence by direct and positive evidence; it may be established by circumstantial evidence. But where proof of negligence depends entirely upon circumstantial evidence, as here, it is necessary that the essential facts in the chain of circumstances be established by a preponderance of satisfactory evidence before a jury is entitled to draw any inference therefrom; the facts so established must be such that from them a reasonable inference of negligence may be drawn, and further, that the negligence so inferred was the proximate cause of the injury. When the evidence shows two or more equally probable causes of injury, for not all of which defendant is responsible, no action for negligence can be maintained.” (Emphasis supplied)
*608From Simpson v. Hillman, supra, the following is taken:
“Res ipsa loquitur has no application. Hence, no presumption of negligence is created by the mere happening of the accident. Indeed, the law presumes the exercise of due care and it is incumbent upon the party charging negligence to establish it by the greater weight of the evidence. It is also fundamental that negligence cannot be predicated upon mere conjecture, guesswork, or speculation. It is not necessary to establish negligence by direct and positive evidence, but there must be facts from which a reasonable inference of negligence may be drawn. Is it more reasonable to assume that this child walked in front of the automobile and that the driver in the exercise of due care ought to have seen her in time to avoid injury than that the child unexpectedly darted out in front of the car or ran into the side thereof?”
Other cases in which the rule has been applied include the following: Whelpley v. Frye, Adm’x, 199 Or 530, 263 P2d 295; Quetschke, Adm’x v. Peterson and Zeller, 198 Or 598, 258 P2d 128; Wintersteen v. Semler, 197 Or 601, 250 P2d 420, 255 P2d 138; Becker v. Tillamook Bay Lbr. Co. et al., 194 Or 134, 240 P2d 237; and Horn v. National Hospital Association, 169 Or 654, 131 P2d 455. The rule has also been uniformly applied in other jurisdictions. Nash v. Raun, 149 F2d 885, (3rd Cir 1945), cert den 326 US 758, 66 S Ct 99, 90 L ed 455; Medina v. All America Bus Lines, Inc., 152 F2d 61 (5th Cir 1945); Thompson v. Allen, 240 F2d 266, 268 (10th Cir 1956); Comet Freight Lines v. Holmes, (Tex Civ App), 203 SW2d 233; SW Greyhound Lines, Inc. v. Smith (Okla) 277 P2d 157; Johnson v. Mobile O. & R. Co., (Ky) 198 SW 538; Lawson v. Anderson & Kerr Drilling, 184 Okla 107, 84 P2d 1104.
It is further my opinion that driving through a *609stop sign even though coupled with a failure to see an approaching vehicle does not constitute gross negligence without other substantial evidence of reckless disregard of the rights of another. Becker v. Strater, 117 Ind App 504, 72 NE2d 580; Welch v. Minkel, 215 Iowa 848, 246 NW 775; Hansen v. Dall, 220 Iowa 817, 263 NW 530; Oxenger v. Ward, 256 Mich 499, 240 NW 55; Rogers v. Blake, 150 Tex 373, 240 SW2d 1001; Cusack v. Longaker, 95 F2d 304 (2nd Cir 1938); and Hernandez v. Castillo (Tex Civ App), 303 SW2d 508. See, also, Banks v. Banks, 283 Mich 506, 278 NW 665.
In my opinion the trial court should have directed verdict for the defendant. I dissent.

 ORS 41.360. Disputable presumptions. All presumptions other than conclusive presumptions are satisfactory, unless overcome. They are disputable presumptions, and may be controverted by other evidence, direct or indirect, but unless so overcome, the jury is bound to find according to the presumption. The following are of that kind:
(1) A person is innocent of crime or wrong.