Elliott v. Watkins Trucking Co., 16666.

• Decision Date: 06 March 1969
• Docket Number: No. 16666.,16666.
• Citation: 406 F.2d 90
• Parties: Max ELLIOTT, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. WATKINS TRUCKING CO., Inc. and Ralph E. Standiford, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

406 F.2d 90 (1969)

Max ELLIOTT, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. WATKINS TRUCKING CO., Inc. and Ralph E. Standiford, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 16666.

United States Court of Appeals Seventh Circuit.

January 21, 1969.

Rehearing Denied March 6, 1969.

Harlan L. Hackbert, Paul Noland, Chicago, Ill., G. Edward McHie, Hammond, Ind., for plaintiff-appellant.

John E. Doran, Doran, Manion, Boynton & Kamm, South Bend, Ind., Gilmore S. Haynie, Livingston, Dildine, Haynie & Yoder, Fort Wayne, Ind., for defendants-appellees.

Before CASTLE, Chief Judge, and KNOCH, Senior Circuit Judge, and FAIRCHILD, Circuit Judge.

Rehearing En Banc Denied March 6, 1969.

FAIRCHILD, Circuit Judge.

Action for damages for personal injuries sustained in a collision of two trucks.¹

On July 7, 1964, plaintiff Max Elliott was driving a tractor-trailer westward on U. S. Highway 30 near Knox, Indiana. He was very seriously injured when his truck hit the rear end of a semi trailer driven by defendant Standiford, also westbound. Standiford was driving very slowly because of a flat tire. He was attempting to reach a truck stop where he could get service. Standiford was occupying the right hand lane for westbound traffic. Elliott had been using the same lane, but an inner lane for westbound traffic was open. Elliott was unable to relate the facts of the accident, but apparently he did not see the Standiford truck until he was too close to avoid it. The collision occurred at about 5:50 a. m., E.S.T. Sunrise occurred a few minutes after 5:18, but the sky was overcast. One witness said, "it was just breaking daylight."

It is unnecessary to state the facts in detail. There was ample evidence on which to find Standiford negligent. He had at first pulled his truck off the traveled lanes, but then had chosen to drive on at a speed variously estimated between 2 and 10 miles per hour. There was conflicting testimony as to the illumination of lights giving warning to the rear. That testimony coupled with testimony as to the weather and amount of natural light and the fact that another truck, preceding Elliott's, had obstructed Elliott's view of Standiford until the preceding truck veered into the open lane, narrowly missing Standiford, would have supported a verdict that Elliott exercised reasonable care. The jury could have found Standiford's conduct wilful and wanton misconduct rendering any contributory negligence immaterial. These were the critical issues, and the record presented classical jury questions with respect to each.

The district court elected to submit written interrogatories upon the three key issues, together with forms for a general verdict, pursuant to Rule 49(b), F.R.Civ.P. The jury returned a general verdict for Elliott and assessed damages at $35,000 (a clearly inadequate amount, under the evidence), but answered the interrogatories so as to find that (1) Standiford was guilty of negligence which was a proximate cause of the injuries, (2) Elliott was guilty of contributory negligence, and (3) defendant was not guilty of wilful and wanton misconduct.

Obviously the answers to the interrogatories could not, under Indiana law, be reconciled with the general verdict. Immediately after receipt of the verdict, the court said, "the court feels that we have no alternative except to enter judgment for the defendants notwithstanding the verdict." Judgment was so entered, and later the court denied plaintiff's motion for new trial, based, among other grounds, on the inconsistency between the answers and the general verdict. Plaintiff Elliott has appealed.

When, as here, the answers to the interrogatories are consistent with each other, but one or more is inconsistent with the general verdict, Rule 49 offers the court three alternatives: (1) judgment may be entered in accordance with the answers, notwithstanding the general verdict, or (2) the court may return the jury for further consideration of its answers and verdict, or (3) the court may order a new trial.

We do not agree with plaintiff that alternative (1), where the court accepts special findings and rejects the general verdict, invades the seventh amendment right to trial by jury. We think the rule is based on the premise that when a jury has specially found facts which compel a certain result as a matter of law and has, by general verdict, reached a result which the specially found facts do not permit, it may reasonably be assumed that the jury erred in the legal reasoning by which it proceeded from the specially found facts to the general verdict and not in the fact finding process.²

It happens in this case that the general verdict gives evidence of fault in itself and not in the special findings. The very inadequate award of damages suggests that the jury, having found Elliott partly at fault, preferred a home made variety of comparative negligence to the rule announced in the instructions that contributory negligence would bar recovery. The writer of this opinion, with a Wisconsin comparative negligence background, happens to believe that a comparative negligence doctrine serves the ends of justice. This case, however, must be decided according to Indiana law.

Plaintiff argues for a new trial because of error in instructions and in admission of evidence. We pass on these claims as follows:

Instructions. The judge gave an instruction, requested by plaintiff, defining wanton and wilful misconduct. He followed it with an instruction on the same subject, requested by defendants. Plaintiff's counsel objected, but said only "I...