Court Opinion

ID: 9546336
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 17:27:48.569351+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:16:18.610275
License: Public Domain

CARTER, J., Concurring.
This case is obviously before this court because a majority of this court was dissatisfied with the treatment of its opinion in Gray v. Brinkerhoff, 41 Cal.2d 180 [258 P.2d 834], by the District Court of Appeal when the case at bar was decided by that court (see (Cal.App.) 272 P.2d 56). This is not the first time that District Courts of Appeal have been misled by the decision of this court in Gray v. Brinkerhoff, supra (see Shoemake v. Wilsey, *112*(Cal.App.) 266 P.2d 807). The difficulty seems to be that the District Courts of Appeal in the above mentioned cases have sought to state a rule of law enunciated by this court in Gray v. Brinkerhoff, supra, without realizing that in the last mentioned case this court did not purport to announce a rule of law but decided only issues of fact. This I endeavored to point out in my dissent in Gray v. Brinkerhoff (see 41 Cal.2d 186). I predicted at that time that the majority decision in that case would result in great confusion, and it is obvious that my prediction has to some extent at least come true.
While it is true that there are some slight factual differences between the case at bar and Gray v. Brinkerhoff, supra, I am constrained to believe that counsel for appellant in the case at bar were clearly justified in prosecuting this appeal upon the authority of that case. In fact, they would have been derelict in their duty to their client had they not done so.
I feel it my duty to again call attention to my dissenting opinion in Gray v. Brinkerhoff, supra, and my concurring opinion in the recent case of Shoemake v. Wilsey, 43 Cal.2d 686, at page 688 [277 P.2d'17], and suggest that before prosecuting appeals in cases such as these, consideration should be given to the settled rules with respect to the power of an appellate court to review determinations of fact by a trial court or jury as outlined in my dissenting opinion in Gray v. Brinkerhoff, supra. Since it is obvious from a reading of the record in the case at bar as well as in the case of Gray v. Brinkerhoff, supra, that both the issue of negligence and that of contributory negligence were issues of fact, and no reversible error was committed by the trial court, the judgment should be affirmed.

A hearing was granted by the Supreme Court on April 14, 1954. The final opinion of that court is reported in 43 Cal.2d 686 [277 P.2d 17].