Denton v. Navratil
| Decision Date | 20 October 1969 |
| Docket Number | No. 22312,22312 |
| Citation | 170 Colo. 158,459 P.2d 761 |
| Parties | William C. DENTON, Plaintiff in Error, v. David L. NAVRATIL, Defendant in Error. |
| Court | Colorado Supreme Court |
Victor E. DeMouth, Golden, for plaintiff in error.
Forrest C. O'Dell, Samuel Berman, Denver, for defendant in error.
The parties appear here in the same order as in the trial court. This is a rear-end collision case in which the accident occurred at an early daylight hour where the street was icy and very slick. Plaintiff had stopped his car at a stop sign and, as traffic on the through street was heavy, had been stationary between two and four minutes. Defendant approached from the rear, seeing the plaintiff's car when a half block away. He 'shifted down' and when about six car lengths from plaintiff's automobile he 'hit the brakes,' causing the wheels to 'lock.' Defendant's car slid, striking the right rear corner of plaintiff's vehicle.
The plaintiff's special damage amounted to $622.44, consisting of his expenditures for repair of his car, medical services, drugs and orthopedic appliances. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff in the amount of $622.80, being only 36cents more than the plaintiff's outlays. We reverse and remand for a new trial on the question of damages only.
The plaintiff argues that the trial court should have directed a verdict on the question of liability and, therefore, the case should be retried only on the question of damages. Whether there should have been a directed verdict as to liability is an academic question. We hold that the jury's verdict in this respect is determinative.
The plaintiff was the owner the operator of a one-man barber shop. Testimony of the plaintiff and that of his wife was to the following effect: he experienced considerable pain following the accident, which continued intermittently to the time of trial two years following the accident; he was unable to be on his feet as a barber for a full day at any time since the accident, with a consequent reduction in earnings; he was obliged to wear a collar for several months and was forced to use a traction device every evening for a year and periodically thereafter; because of the trembling of his hand he was no longer able to shave customers; he was rendered unable to perform certain tasks, such as painting a ceiling or shoveling snow; he has been required to take medicine continually to ease his pain; and at no time prior to the...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Higgs v. District Court In and For Douglas County
...be permissible to order a new trial on the issue of damages only. Marks v. District Court, 643 P.2d 741 (Colo.1982); Denton v. Navratil, 170 Colo. 158, 459 P.2d 761 (1969); King v. Avila, 127 Colo. 538, 259 P.2d 268 (1953); Murrow v. Whitely, 125 Colo. 392, 244 P.2d 657 (1952).25 The respon......
-
Neil v. Espinoza, 85SC425
...court should grant a new trial only as to damages. See, e.g., Kistler v. Halsey, 173 Colo. 540, 481 P.2d 722 (1971); Denton v. Navratil, 170 Colo. 158, 459 P.2d 761 (1969); Whiteside v. Harvey, 124 Colo. 561, 239 P.2d 989 (1951); Brncic v. Metz, 28 Colo.App. 204, 471 P.2d 618 (1970); cf. 6A......
-
Marks v. District Court In and For Seventeenth Judicial Dist. of State, 81SA431
...is excessive but liability is clear, it may be permissible to order a new trial limited to the issue of damages only. Denton v. Navatril, 170 Colo. 158, 459 P.2d 761 (1969); King v. Avila, 127 Colo. 538, 259 P.2d 268 (1953); Murrow v. Whiteley, 125 Colo. 392, 244 P.2d 657 (1952); Belcaro Re......
-
D.R. Horton v. Bischof & Coffman
...damages awards were set aside on appeal. See Kistler v. Halsey, 173 Colo. 540, 543, 481 P.2d 722, 723 (1971); Denton v. Navratil, 170 Colo. 158, 161, 459 P.2d 761, 762 (1969); Staples v. Langley, 148 Colo. 498, 502-03, 366 P.2d 861, 863 (1961); Shirley v. Merritt, 147 Colo. 301, 307-08, 364......