Atlantic Coast Line R. Co. v. Smith
| Citation | 53 So.2d 301 |
| Parties | ATLANTIC COAST LINE R. CO. v. SMITH (two cases). |
| Decision Date | 29 June 1951 |
| Court | Florida Supreme Court |
W. P. Allen, Bartow, and LeRoy Allen, Tampa, for appellant.
M. H. Edwards, Bartow, for appellees.
Fernita Smith, a minor, by Robie Smith her father, recovered a judgment against the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company for personal injuries received in a collision between a locomotive of defendant and the automobile which she was driving. A motion for new trial was denied and the defendant appealed.
Concurrently with the suit of Fernita Smith, Robie Smith sued and recovered a judgment against the same defendant for medical attention to Fernita Smith and damage to his automobile which Fernita Smith was driving when she was injured. A motion for new trail was denied and the defendant appealed. No question is raised as to the amount of either judgment. The questions presented in both appeals are identical so both appeals will be adjudicated in this opinion.
Several questions are urged for adjudication but we deem the primary one to be whether or not, in the light of the circumstances revealed, the jury was warranted in finding that negligence on the part of defendant was the proximate cause of the collision.
The collision between Smith's automobile and defendant's locomotive took place late in the afternoon at the intersection of Central Avenue and the railroad track of defendant in the City of Winter Haven. Central Avenue is the main thoroughfare of the city and crosses the railroad trakcs near the depot. The crossing is adjacent to the downtown business area of the city, the plaintiffs were crossing from the South, traveling North when the accident occurred. The depot tends to obstruct ones view when approaching the crossing from the South and many cars were parked on either side of Central Avenue at the time but whether or not there were box cars parked along the track to obscure the view was controverted. The evidence was also in hopeless conflict as to whether or not the bell was rung, the whistle was blown or the speed of the train, the degree of care exercised by plaidntiffs and defendant and, in fact, every other element pointing to the exercise of proper care by the parties or the complete lack of it.
Appellant contends that the sppel of its train at the time of the accident was under control, that it was ringing the bell and sounding the whistle and that since all evidence to the contrary was negative, it should have been held to be exercising reasonable care. To support this contention it relies on Seaboard Air Line Ry. Co. v. Myrick, 91 Fla....
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Florida East Coast Ry. Co. v. Soper
...the circumstances of a particular case and the danger prevalent at a particular crossing. As stated by Justice Terrell in Atlantic Coast Line R. Co. v. Smith, Fla.1951, 53 So.2d 301: 'The last cited cases had to do with rural crossings and do not necessarily govern the crossing involved in ......
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Seaboard Coast Line R. Co. v. Buchman
...would be evidence of negligence. But are there circumstances under which the railroad may have to go further? In Atlantic Coast Line R. v. Smith, 53 So.2d 301 (Fla.1951), the railroad argued that it should have been granted a directed verdict because the evidence reflected that the speed of......
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Seaboard Coast Line R. Co. v. Louallen, 84-2520
...But are there circumstances under which the railroad may have to go further? After analyzing the cases of Atlantic Coast Line R. Co. v. Smith, 53 So.2d 301 (Fla.1951), Florida East Coast Ry. Co. v. Soper, 146 So.2d 605 (Fla. 3d DCA 1962) and Seaboard Air Line R. Co. v. Hawes, 208 So.2d 634 ......
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Seaboard Air Line R. Co. v. Hawes, 67--226
...lights, gates, etc. We think that the factual situation in this case is rather similar to the conditions in Atlantic Coast Line R. Co. v. Smith (2 cases), Fla.1951, 53 So.2d 301, where the writer of this opinion represented the Atlantic Coast Line in both the trial court and in the Supreme ......