City of Meridian v. King

• Decision Date: 21 December 1942
• Docket Number: 35186.
• Citation: 11 So.2d 205,194 Miss. 162
• Court: Mississippi Supreme Court
• Parties: CITY OF MERIDIAN v. KING.

11 So.2d 205

194 Miss. 162

CITY OF MERIDIAN v. KING.

No. 35186.

Supreme Court of Mississippi

December 21, 1942

Suggestion of Error Overruled Feb. 15, 1943.

See 11 So.2d 830.

Robert R. Wallace and Jacobson, Snow & Covington, all of Meridian, for appellant.

Reily & Parker and Williamson & Riddell, all of Meridian for appellee.

ANDERSON Presiding Justice.

Appellee King brought this action in the Circuit Court of Lauderdale County against appellant City of Meridian to recover damages for an injury he received while driving his automobile in the nighttime at the intersection of Seventeenth Avenue and Front Street, two much traveled thoroughfares of the City. He recovered a judgment in the sum of $2,500, from which the City prosecutes this appeal.

The principal ground relied on for reversal is that the Court erred in refusing the City's request for a directed verdict. The giving of two of the instructions granted the plaintiff is also assigned and argued as error.

Between 11 and 12 o'clock at night the plaintiff was driving his automobile east on Front Street and at its intersection with Seventeenth Avenue he ran into a street barricade and was injured. Recovery was sought on two grounds, (1) that the intersection was so constructed and maintained by the City as to be dangerous to the traveling public, and (2) whether properly constructed or not it was a dangerous intersection and the City was due to post one or more adequate warnings of the danger by a red light or otherwise. There was no evidence tending to show that the construction of the crossing itself was dangerous to the traveling public. The issue of fact made by the evidence was whether or not it should have been and was properly guarded by a red light or otherwise to prevent collision with the barricade on the east side of Seventeenth Avenue, hereinafter described. Seventeenth Avenue runs north and south, and Front Street east and west. West of the intersection Front Street is 54 feet and 3 inches wide, while east of the intersection it is 30 feet and 4 inches wide. This difference was caused by a right angle cut-down of 23 feet and 11 inches in Front Street on the east side of the intersection and on the south side of Front Street. Along this 23 feet and 11 inches there was erected a concrete barricade wall 3 feet and 4 inches high, and against this wall on the west was a dirt embankment about 1 1/2 feet high leaving the concrete...