Bell v. O'Connor Transport Limited

• Citation: 94 Idaho 406,489 P.2d 439
• Decision Date: 01 October 1971
• Docket Number: No. 10231,10231
• Parties: Virginia BELL, by and through her Guardian Ad Litem, Willis Beel, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. O'CONNOR TRANSPORT LIMITED, a Canadian corporation, Defendant-Respondent. Willis BELL, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. O'CONNOR TRANSPORT LIMITED, a Canadian corporation, Defendant-Respondent. Virginia BELL, by and through her Guardian Ad Litem, Willis Bell, Plaintiffs-Appellants. v. O'CONNOR TRANSPORT LIMITED, a Candaian corporation, Defendant-Respondent.
• Court: United States State Supreme Court of Idaho

Page 439

489 P.2d 439

94 Idaho 406

Virginia BELL, by and through her Guardian Ad Litem, Willis Beel, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. O'CONNOR TRANSPORT LIMITED, a Canadian corporation, Defendant-Respondent.

Willis BELL, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. O'CONNOR TRANSPORT LIMITED, a Canadian corporation, Defendant-Respondent.

Virginia BELL, by and through her Guardian Ad Litem, Willis Bell, Plaintiffs-Appellants. v. O'CONNOR TRANSPORT LIMITED, a Candaian corporation, Defendant-Respondent.

No. 10231.

Supreme Court of Idaho.

Oct. 1, 1971.

Thomas A. Mitchell, Coeur d'Alene, Stephen Bistline, Sandpoint, for plaintiff-appellant.

E. L. Miller, Coeur D'Alene, for defendant-appellee.

McQUADE, Chief Justice.

About 4:45 p.m. on September 24, 1968, an accident occurred between a car driven by Ruth Bell and a truck operated by Robert K. Smith and owned by the defendant corporation. The accident occurred in Priest River, Idaho, at the juncture of U.S. Highway 2 and First Street. The truck driven by Smith was on U.S. Highway 2 approaching the intersection from the west. The posted speed limit on U.S. Highway 2 at the site of the accident was twenty-five miles per hour. The car driven by Mrs. Bell had been heading north on First Street. There was a stop sign at First Street and its juncture with U.S. Highway 2, which stop sign controlled the access of the Bell vehicle from First Street to U.S. Highway 2. At the time of the collision, the Bell vehicle was apparently attempting to make a left hand turn into the westbound lane of Highway 2. The passengers in the vehicle operated by Mrs. Bell were her daughter Virginia, her husband Roy Bell, and Mitchell Decker. Mrs. Bell and Mitchell Decker died from injuries received in the accident.

Two causes of action are involved. The first is a damage action for personal injuries suffered by the plaintiff Virginia Bell which were incurred in the car-truck collision. The second is a wrongful death action brought by Virginia Bell and Willis Bell for damages for the death of Ruth Bell who was killed in the same collision.

At trial, the defendant maintained that Smith, the driver of the truck, was in no way negligent and in no way caused the accident. The defendant further contended that the accident was solely the result of the negligence of Ruth Bell who allegedly failed to stop at the stop sign and illegally cut the corner upon entering U.S. Highway 2 from First Street. The jury returned a verdict for the defendant and the trial court entered judgment accordingly. The plaintiffs have appealed to this Court alleging basically that there was no evidence established on behalf of the defendant that could sustain a finding that Ruth Bell had been negligent, and that the trial court's admission of the police officer's accident report over the objection of the paintiffs was prejudicial error.

Appellants' assignment of error regarding the sufficiency of evidence is without merit. There is sufficient evidence both from the truck driver Smith and from the investigating officers to allow the jury to reasonably reach the conclusion that Ruth Bell had failed to stop at the stop sign and had cut the corner of the intersection, therefore making a left-hand turn directly into the path of the truck driven by Smith. The motion for directed verdict is governed by Rule 50(a), I.R.C.P. The case Conklin v. Patterson ¹ stated:

"The motion for a directed verdict admits the truth of all the evidence in favor of the defendants and every inference of fact that may legitimately bedrawn therefrom (Moody v. Morris-Roberts Co., 38 Idaho 414, 226 P. 278), and should have been denied unless there was no evidence material to the defense on any question of fact about which reasonable minds might differ, which, if found in favor of the defendants would have supported a verdict for them."

Appellants have next assigned error to the trial court's admitting in evidence defendant's exhibit D, the accident report of the investigating officer. Don VanVleet, in that the report contained hearsay evidence. An examination of two relevant sections of the Idaho Code indicates that the admission of such a report was not error.

'9-316. Official Reports as Evidence Act.-Written reports or findings of fact made by officers of this state, on a matter within the scope of their duty as defined by statute, shall, insofar as relevant, be admitted as evidence of the matters stated therein.

'49-1007. Written reports of accidents--

'(c) Every law enforcement officer, including county and municipal officers, who, in the regular course of duty, investigates a motor vehicle accident of which report must be made as required in this section, (paragraph (a)) either at the time of and at the scene of the accident or thereafter by interviewing participants or witnesses shall, within 24 hours after completing such investigation, forward a written report of such accident to the department.'

Officer VanVleet was required by statute to make the accident report in this case. The legislature has deemed official reports which are required to be made within the scope of duty admissible as evidence of the facts stated therein. The legislature was apparently well aware of possible hearsay problems in the rule stated in I.C. § 9-316 since it also enacted the subsequent sections 9-317 and 9-318:

'9-317. Official reports as evidence-Notice before trial.-Such report or finding shall be admissible only if the party offering it has delivered a copy of it, or so much thereof as may relate to the controversy, to the adverse party a reasonable time before trial, unless in the opinion of the trial court the adverse party has not been unfairly surprised by the failure to deliver such copy.'

'9-318. Official reports as evidence-Cross-examination.-Any adverse party may cross-examine any person making such reports or findings or any person furnishing information used therein; but the fact that such testimony may not be obtainable shall not affect the admissibility of the report or finding, unless, in the opinion of the court, the adverse party is unfairly prejudiced thereby.'

The trial court is given discretion in determining whether I.C. § 9-317 and § 9-318 should apply at all. In accord with the provisions of I.C. § 9-318, the officer who made the...