Stafford v. Roadway Transit Co.
| Citation | 70 F. Supp. 555 |
| Decision Date | 13 February 1947 |
| Docket Number | Civil Actions No. 62,63. |
| Parties | STAFFORD et ux. v. ROADWAY TRANSIT CO. (BARRINGER, Third-Party Defendant). BARRINGER v. ROADWAY TRANSIT CO. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Pennsylvania |
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Thomas B. O'Connor, of Erie, Pa., for plaintiffs Barthol and Margaret Stafford.
Maurice J. Coughlin, of Erie, Pa., for plaintiff and third-party defendant William Charles Barringer.
Frank B. Quinn, of English, Quinn, Leemhuis and Plate, all of Erie, Pa., for defendant Roadway Transit Co.
This is a trespass case arising out of an automobile accident.
Actions have been filed by Barthol Stafford and Margaret Stafford, his wife, William Charles Barringer in his own right, and William Charles Barringer, trustee ad litem for the heirs of Mary Anne Barringer, his wife, against the Roadway Transit Company, a Michigan corporation.
In connection with the action of Barthol Stafford and Margaret Stafford, his wife, against the Roadway Transit Company, said defendant by appropriate motion secured leave of Court to bring upon the record as an additional or third-party defendant William Charles Barringer, who was the operator of the automobile involved in the accident with the tractor-trailer motor vehicle of the Roadway Transit Company.
Counsel for William Charles Barringer, as representative of the estate of his wife, Mary Anne Barringer, by written motion made on the 23rd day of October, 1946, which was after the case had been heard by the Court, requested leave to amend the caption of the complaint and summons by adding thereto William Charles Barringer, trustee ad litem for the heirs of Mary Anne Barringer, his wife, for the use of William Charles Barringer, administrator of the estate of Mary Anne Barringer, plaintiff, and William Charles Barringer in his own right. This motion was granted and allowance given by the Court on the 27th day of November, 1946.
All of the causes of action arise as a result of a rear-end collision between a motor vehicle owned by the plaintiff Barthol Stafford, and operated by the plaintiff William Charles Barringer, and a tractor-trailer motor vehicle owned by the Roadway Transit Company. Barthol Stafford, Margaret Stafford and Mary Anne Barringer were occupants of the passenger motor vehicle at the time of the collision.
The plaintiffs failed and neglected to request a jury trial within the period of time provided by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, rule 38 (b). Motion was subsequently made for the award of a jury trial in each of said cases to other members of this Court and with objection of the defendant being made, the award for a jury trial was denied. By agreement and stipulation of the parties, all actions were tried together.
The Court, therefore, has heard the evidence, considered the briefs, suggested findings of fact and conclusions of law, and, in addition thereto, made a personal visit and had observation of the location of the accident prior to the taking of testimony, and in conformity with Rule 52 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, 28 U.S.C.A. following section 723c, makes the following comment, finds the facts specifically and separately, and states conclusions of law thereon as follows:
Considerable testimony was introduced as to the circumstances which surrounded the accident, and no useful purpose would be gained by referring specifically to the testimony of each witness called by the respective party litigants. The pertinent facts are as follows:
On the night of June 20, 1942, arrangements had been made by the Barringer and Stafford families that a trip would be taken from Erie, Pennsylvania, to Buffalo, New York, for the purpose of attending a midnight show in the City of Buffalo, this being a Saturday night. The two families had been friends, and about 8:30 in the evening on June 20, 1942, Barthol Stafford and his wife drove to the Barringer home, and then the trip was made to Buffalo. The automobile used for the occasion was a 1940 Chevrolet sedan and was owned by Barthol Stafford. During the trip to Buffalo the car was driven by Barthol Stafford, and after arrival at that city the parties proceeded to attend the show. After the show Mr. Stafford secured his car from a parking lot and the parties made ready to proceed home. After the car was secured arrangements were made between the parties whereby Barringer was to drive the car home as a result of Stafford being tired, and during the greater part of the trip home and at the time of the accident, Mr. and Mrs. Stafford were sleeping in the back seat, and Mrs. Barringer was asleep beside her husband in the front seat. The accident occurred around 4:00 A. M. on the morning of June 21, 1942. The highway at the scene of the accident being approximately 20 feet wide, and the berm on each side of the highway at or near the scene of the accident varying in width from 5 to 12 feet. The condition of the berm was of such construction that it was available and suitable for vehicular use. There was a slight curve on the roadway to the left as the vehicle approached from Buffalo, with a slight downward grade in the direction of Erie, but, under normal atmospheric conditions, nothing existed to impair the vision of an individual driving from Buffalo at or near said curve in the direction of Erie to the place of the accident for a distance of approximately 1600 feet. At the time of the accident it was dark, the weather was clear and no atmospheric conditions existed which would tend to impair the normal vision other than the condition of darkness.
A short time prior to the collision which gave rise to the causes of action now being considered, an accident had occurred between two other parties. One of the vehicles was parked off the highway in the direction of Buffalo, at a point varying in distance from 50 to 200 feet from the scene where the accident occurred that is involved in this proceeding. The other motor vehicle was parked off the highway some distance from the scene of the accident which gives rise to the causes of action now being considered at a point nearest the City of Erie. After the first accident, fusees were placed or lighted, and as the operator of the Roadway Transit Company truck approached the scene of the accident, he slackened the speed of his truck to approximately five miles an hour, and for a period of approximately one minute the tractor-trailer motor vehicle was operated either on the berm or the extreme right side of the highway until the accident occurred. During this period of time the truck driver, who was involved in the first accident, engaged in a conversation with the driver of the Roadway Transit Company vehicle, walking along the side of the truck during this period of time, and it was during the end of said conversation that the car operated by Mr. Barringer, and occupied as heretofore explained, collided with the left rear-end of the Roadway Transit vehicle, causing the injuries which give rise to the causes of action herein considered.
The rear-end collision was caused due to the inability of the driver Barringer to avoid the striking of the Roadway Transit tractor-trailer, and in his effort to turn to the left to avoid the truck, the right side of said car came into a collision with the left rear of the truck.
As a result of the accident Barthol Stafford and Margaret Stafford, his wife, were injured, and damage was done to the motor vehicle of Barthol Stafford. William Charles Barringer, the driver of the motor vehicle, received personal injuries, and his wife, Mary Anne Barringer, was instantly killed. The question for determination in each of the cases is whether or not the defendant, Roadway Transit Company, and/or William Charles Barringer were guilty of negligence in creating the condition out of which the accident resulted, and if contributory negligence existed on the part of any or all of the plaintiffs.
In connection with all of the cases herein pending, certain general principles of the law of negligence will have application in the determination as to whether or not a right of recovery exists. The principles involved in the Stafford case will be different in some respects to those which exist in the Barringer case. This is true for the reason that in the Stafford case the Roadway Transit Company, the original defendant, and William Charles Barringer are the defendants. In the Barringer cases, both in his individual right and as trustee for the use of the administrator of his wife's estate, Barringer maintains his action solely against the Roadway Transit Company. In addition thereto, there are many legal principles involved in each of these cases which do not have application in all of the cases. In order to intelligently and thoroughly approach the question of the right of recovery of any or all of the plaintiffs, it becomes necessary for the Court to consider each action separately and make application of the law which applies to that individual case when considered in light of the facts found by the Court.
Although specific findings of fact and conclusions of law will be made by the Court, in order to intelligently apply the law, the Court will generally refer to facts which have application to the legal question involved.
The first problem before the Court is, therefore, the orientation of the facts in this case into the law applicable in federal court. Federal jurisdiction is invoked solely on account of diversity of citizenship of the party litigants; there is no independent federal question involved before the Court in any of the claims. As a result thereof, the substantive law to be applied is the law of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the Court must, therefore, determine, by all of the available decisions which might exist, what rules of law have been accepted and established in the Commonwealth of...
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