Court Opinion

ID: 9768607
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 06:10:25.921531+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:30:42.304212
License: Public Domain

ON MOTION FOR REHEARING
On motion for rehearing, counsel for Ball says that our opinion is in error in stating that there were no objections to the special issue inquiring as to whether the plaintiff “assumed the risk of the danger.” No objections were contained in the transcript sent to the Court of Civil Appeals and brought to this Court. Counsel now tenders a supplemental transcript under Rule 428, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, showing his objections to the issue. His exceptions had been dictated to the court reporter and overruled by the trial court before argument to the jury; but they were not reduced to writing by the court reporter and filed until after our opinion had been handed down.
Rule 272, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, authorizes the dictation of objections to the charge and their subsequent reduction to writing. The rule says that it will be sufficient if the written objections are “filed with the clerk in time to be included in the transcript.” [Emphasis added.] Assuming, without deciding, that we may consider these objections thus brought to our attention for the first time, the point is still not well taken. The objections did not relate to the submission of the conclusion that the plaintiff assumed the risk. Nor did they suggest that the inquiry should be whether the plaintiff voluntarily exposed himself to the risk. The objections made were that the submission of the issue on assumed risk would constitute a double submission of contributory negligence; would constitute a double submission of “open and obvious”; would serve to confuse the jury; and that there was no evidence, or in the alternative, insufficient evidence to support its submission.
The jury found that Ball actually knew and realized the danger of attempting to place the blocks next to the truck wheels; and we adhere to our opinion that the finding of the jury that Ball “assumed the risk of the danger ... in attempting to place the wooden blocks next to the truck wheels” is the legal equivalent to a finding that he voluntarily exposed himself to the risk.
The motion for rehearing is overruled.