[DOWNLOAD] "French v. Utah Oil Refining Co." by Supreme Court Of Utah # Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: French v. Utah Oil Refining Co.
- Author : Supreme Court Of Utah
- Release Date : January 07, 1950
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 56 KB
Description
LATIMER, Justice. A directed verdict of no cause of action was entered against plaintiff in the court below for the reason that the trial Judge concluded the evidence established contributory negligence as a matter of law. From the verdict as directed, plaintiff appeals. We shall designate the parties as they appeared in the court below. Plaintiff was driving his automobile north on Second West Street in Salt Lake City, Utah. This street is an arterial highway in the west portion of the city and it carries most of the heavy and fast-moving traffic travelling north and south. The defendant's truck and trailer unit, which is approximately 55 feet long and has a carrying capacity of 8,500 gallons of gasoline, was proceeding south along the same street. There are two marked lanes on the west half of the highway and the trailer unit was being driven in the most westerly lane. As plaintiff approached the intersection of Fourth South and Second West Streets where he intended to turn west, he observed the traffic control light which was hanging in the center of the intersection and the green light was shining in his direction. He, therefore, proceeded into the intersection and as he crossed its south border he noticed some traffic approaching south on the west side of the highway. One of the vehicles was defendant's truck trailer unit. Plaintiff first testified that at the time he was crossing the south limit of the intersection the truck unit was 100 to 120 feet north of him. He later modified this statement by locating himself further in the intersection, but his adjusted position cannot be accurately determined as the testimony identifies locations by reference to a blackboard sketch which is not before us. Regardless of his exact position, plaintiff saw the truck some 120 feet away from him prior to the time he entered the west lane of traffic and never again noticed it until just prior to the crash or until it was about 6 feet from the point of impact. After proceeding into the intersection, plaintiff made a left-hand turn across the path of the south-bound traffic and as the front end of his car reached the west limit of the intersection it was struck by defendant's truck and trailer. The driver of the unit in attempting to avoid the collision turned the truck to the west, but this was of no avail as the continued forward movement of plaintiff's car made it impossible for the truck to clear its front. The truck stopped almost at the point of impact but the force of the collision turned and shoved plaintiff's car about 4 feet where it collided with a car which had been travelling east on Fourth South Street, but was temporarily stopped at the intersection awaiting clearance by the traffic light. Plaintiff estimated his speed at 8 miles per hour and the speed of the truck at 20 to 25 miles per hour. In answer to a question as to what was the reason for the collision, plaintiff replied, 'Well, there was a car ahead of me and I couldn't get out quite fast enough.' While it is doubtful that plaintiff established any negligence on the part of defendant's driver, we pass that question as the court directed the verdict because of the lack of due care on the part of the plaintiff. Defendant, to establish contributory negligence, alleged and relied on the failure of the plaintiff to yield the right-of-way to defendant's truck and trailer and plaintiff's failure to keep a proper look-out. If the evidence establishes either as a matter of law, the judgment must be affirmed.