Court Opinion

ID: 9544718
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 17:00:42.253758+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:13:31.779379
License: Public Domain

WOOD, J., Concurring.
I concur in the judgment. At the time of the collision of the two automobiles plaintiff was riding with Albert Ybarra, owner and driver of the car and the foreman of the garage where plaintiff worked as a mechanic. The other car involved in the collision was driven by John Sedine and owned by John R. Kennedy. Plaintiff commenced action against Kennedy and Sedine and a separate action was commenced by Ybarra against Kennedy and Sedine. In the last-mentioned action Kennedy and Sedine filed a cross-complaint. The actions were consolidated for trial and the jury returned a verdict favorable to the defendants in Ybarra’s action and in favor of Ybarra on the cross-complaint. The jury also returned a verdict in favor of defendants in the action filed by plaintiff.
Defendants filed their answer to plaintiff’s complaint in which they alleged that plaintiff and Ybarra were engaged *586in a joint enterprise. They did not allege contributory negligence on the part of plaintiff other than through their allegations concerning a joint enterprise. As required by section 607a of the Code of Civil Procedure, before the first witness was sworn plaintiff delivered to the court his proposed instructions, among which was an instruction for a directed verdict in favor of plaintiff and another instruction in which reference was made to the defense of joint enterprise filed by defendants with a statement of the facts necessary to be proved to establish a joint enterprise. When all of the testimony was in plaintiff asked the court to direct the jury to return a verdict in his favor.
The issue of joint enterprise was undoubtedly presented to the court by defendants but the evidence falls far short of establishing a joint enterprise on the part of plaintiff and Ybarra. The two instructions offered by plaintiff upon the commencement of the trial were inconsistent and were offered as alternative instructions. Plaintiff took the position that there was no joint enterprise and he should not be charged with presenting this issue to the jury because of the fact that he asked the court to explain the necessary elements of a joint enterprise in case his motion for a directed verdict should be denied.
The judgment must nevertheless be affirmed for the reason that the record does not show that reversible error was committed by the trial court. It is the duty of appellant to prepare a record which will justify a reversal of the judgment if such a record can properly be presented. The transcript contains a brief bill of exceptions in which the evidence is presented touching upon the allegations of joint enterprise but the bill of exceptions does not purport to contain all of the evidence on the subject of the conduct of the two drivers at the time of the collision. The verdicts do not disclose the findings of the jury upon the allegations of negligence on the part of the drivers. For aught that appears from the record the jury may have found that neither driver was negligent. The only point now made by plaintiff is that the trial court erred in refusing to direct the jury to return a verdict for plaintiff and in refusing to grant plaintiff’s motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict. On the state of the record before us we cannot reverse the judgment on accoúnt of either of these rulings. *590four separate sets of briefs. The main facts, however, and the questions involved are essentially the same. After considering the briefs filed in the separate causes and the transcripts furnished the court, we have reached the conclusion that substantially all the meritorious questions involved may be presented and considered in one opinion. For this purpose we have followed the discussion of the various questions presented for consideration as set forth in the transcript and briefs found in Civil No. 5927.