Folan v. Price
| Decision Date | 02 January 1936 |
| Citation | 199 N.E. 320,293 Mass. 76 |
| Parties | FOLAN v. PRICE. DONOHUE v. SAME. |
| Court | United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Actions of tort by Barbara Folan and by Delia Donohue against Charles H. Price. From orders of the Appellate Division for the Southern District dismissing reports by Lynch, J., who found for the plaintiffs in the sums, respectively, of $785 and $1,500, defendant appeals.
Order of Appellate Division reversed, and judgment for the defendant.
Appeal from Appellate Division of District Court, Southern District, Norfolk County; Lynch, Judge.
G. B. Rowell and T. G. Heyliger, both of Boston, for appellant.
D. P. O'Leary, of Boston, for appellees.
At the time of the accident out of which these actions arose both plaintiffs were riding from Dedham to Norwood in the defendant's automobile as his guests. Hence the general findings in their favor can stand only if the evidence would support a finding that the accident was caused by gross negligence on his part.
Both plaintiffs were on the front seat with the defendant, who was driving. It was eleven o'clock or after on a very cold, dark night. There was evidence that there were ice patches all along the road and that there was snow piled upon the side. Each of the plaintiffs testified in substance that as the automobile was proceeding on the righthand side of the road at moderate speed without any warning it skidded and struck a tree at the right of the road; that she observed the manner in which it was being operated and the road and that the defendantwas paying attention to his driving and did nothing to cause the automobile to skid or to leave the road.
The plaintiffs then called the defendant as a witness. He testified that the automobile was going at a speed of thirty to thirty-five miles an hour at the extreme right-hand side of the road; that just before the accident he heard ‘a grating noise apparently at his right rear wheel so he turned around to look over his right shoulder to see what the noise was from, and he continued looking in that manner for about ten seconds,’ when the automobile skidded and struck the tree. There was evidence that the defendant had made statements which could be found to be contradictory to his testimony as to speed and as to his having looked back; that he was friendly to the plaintiffs at the time of the trial and that he knew that if the plaintiffs recovered, the insurance company and not he would have to pay. But the judge was not obliged to give weight to this. A police officer testified that there was a patch of ice a short distance from the tree in the direction from which the automobile had come.
The foregoing was substantially all the evidence bearing on liability. As far as appears the road was wide, straight and level and there was no other traffic upon it. There was no testimony that the speed continued to be thirty to thirty-five miles an hour up to the moment of the accident nor that the defendant could not, even while turning, form a judgment as to...
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...in the State of Massachusetts since the Altman case are the following decisions: In the two cases of Folan v. Price and Donohue v. Price, 293 Mass. 76, 199 N.E. 320, 321, where there were presented actions by two automobile guests against their host, Price, it appeared that the car in which......
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Picarello v. Rodakis
... ... Mass. 149 , Stetson v. Howard, 284 Mass. 208, ... Curley v. Mahan, 288 Mass. 369 , Adamian v ... Messerlian, 292 Mass. 275 , Folan v. Price, 293 ... Mass. 76 , Kohutynski v. Kohutynski, 296 Mass. 74 , ... and Cahalane v. Dennery, 298 Mass. 34 ... As there was ... no error in the ... ...
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