Black v. Hodge, 1715
| Decision Date | 09 October 1991 |
| Docket Number | No. 1715,1715 |
| Citation | 410 S.E.2d 595,306 S.C. 196 |
| Court | South Carolina Court of Appeals |
| Parties | Rita BLACK, Appellant, v. Steven R. HODGE, Respondent. B.L. BLACK, Appellant, v. Steven R. HODGE, Respondent. . Heard |
Joseph F. Runey, and J. Lawrence Duffy, Charleston, for appellants.
Andrew S. Halio, Charleston, for respondent.
Appellant Rita Black and her husband, appellant B.L. Black, sued respondent Steven R. Hodge in separate actions, alleging that Mrs. Black had been severely injured when the Cadillac she was driving was struck from the rear by the pickup truck being driven by Mr. Hodge. Mrs. Black seeks to recover damages as the result of her alleged injuries. Dr. Black seeks to recover for loss of consortium. The cases were consolidated for trial. The jury returned a verdict for Mr. Hodge. We affirm.
The collision between the two vehicles was, by all accounts, slight.
An eyewitness to the collision said Mr. Hodge was probably driving less than five miles per hour. The witness characterized what happened between Mr. Hodge's pickup truck and Mrs. Black's Cadillac as "they just like tapped." The witness said she saw no damage to the Cadillac.
Another witness, Mr. Hodge's father, who came on the scene after the collision, testified that there was mud and dirt all over the front of the pickup, and that the collision "didn't knock the dirt off." He further testified a police officer on the scene said,
Mrs. Black testified that she was, in fact, severely injured as a result of the collision. She presented the testimony of a number of doctors, and she introduced in evidence bills for her treatment totaling about $14,000. Included among her bills was the bill of her husband, Dr. Black, a chiropractor. No witness directly contradicted her testimony or that of the doctors she called to testify on her behalf.
Mrs. Black makes several arguments on appeal, but the essential issue is whether the jury was required to accept her uncontradicted testimony that she was injured. Stated in the larger sense, the question is simply this: must a trier of fact always believe uncontradicted testimony? The answer to the question is, plainly, no.
The fact that testimony is not contradicted directly does not render it undisputed. Terwilliger v. Marion, 222 S.C. 185, 72 S.E.2d 165 (1952). There remains...
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Vinson v. Hartley
...damages. Accordingly, Page is not controlling. VI. DISCUSSION The controlling precedent in the case sub judice is Black v. Hodge, 306 S.C. 196, 410 S.E.2d 595 (Ct.App.1991). In Black, the plaintiff alleged substantial injuries from an admittedly minor collision. No witness directly contradi......
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...admissibility, the trial court is “not bound to accept as true the defendant's testimony” (citation omitted)); Black v. Hodge, 306 S.C. 196, 198, 410 S.E.2d 595, 596 (Ct.App.1991) (“The fact that testimony is not contradicted directly does not render it undisputed.” (citation omitted)). The......
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Okatie River v. Southeastern Site Prep
...at trial. We disagree. "The fact that testimony is not contradicted directly does not render it undisputed." Black v. Hodge, 306 S.C. 196, 198, 410 S.E.2d 595, 596 (Ct.App.1991) accord Terwilliger v. Marion, 222 S.C. 185, 72 S.E.2d 165 (1952); Ross v. Paddy, 340 S.C. 428, 434, 532 S.E.2d 61......