Heidtman v. Nevada Indus. Commission, 4448

• Decision Date: 07 February 1962
• Docket Number: No. 4448,4448
• Citation: 78 Nev. 25,368 P.2d 763
• Parties: Donald G. HEIDTMAN, Appellant, v. NEVADA INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION, Respondent.
• Court: Nevada Supreme Court

Page 763

368 P.2d 763

78 Nev. 25

Donald G. HEIDTMAN, Appellant, v. NEVADA INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION, Respondent.

No. 4448.

Supreme Court of Nevada.

Feb. 7, 1962.

Adams, Reed, Bowen & Thatcher, Reno, for appellant.

William J. Crowell, Carson City, for respondent.

McNAMEE, Justice.

Appellant alleges in his complaint that on January 21, 1957 he suffered injuries by accident arising out of and in the course of his employment and that he is entitled to recover all benefits provided by the Nevada Industrial Insurance Act. He further alleges that he was a salesman on said day and his employment as such could be carried on either at the place of his employer's business or elsewhere on any day of the week including Sundays. The answer of respondent admits that appellant was employed as a salesman on January 21, 1957 but denies that at the time appellant suffered injuries he was engaged in the course or scope of his employment.

The trial before the court without a jury resulted in a judgment in favor of respondent. Appeal is from said judgment and the order denying appellant's motion for a new trial.

Appellant testified that on the day he received his injuries he was employed as a used car manager for an automobile establishment in Reno, Nevada, at a fixed salary plus commissions. His basic hours of employment were from 8:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M., but he was on call at all times including Sundays and holidays. Pursuant to his duties as salesman he was authorized to take any car from the used car lot for the purpose of demonstration. He was interested in sports, particularly in the sport of archery. Two or three days before an archery meet to be held at Sutcliffe, Nevada, he met one Waddell who at that time professed interest in a Cadillac automobile. At that time appellant told Waddell that he would bring such an automobile to the Sutcliffe meet. Appellant, taking with him his archery equipment, drove the Cadillac to Sutcliffe with the intention of entering the meet as one of the participants therein, and at the same time hoping to sell the automobile to Waddell. Waddell was in charge of the archery meet when appellant arrived. They had a brief conversation during which appellant mentioned that he had the car with him. Waddell did not see the car at any time before or after the meet. After Waddell started out on the course, appellant himself entered the meet and with a subsequent group followed Waddell's group aroung the course. During the meet appellant saw Waddell several times and mentioned the car to him at least one time. When Waddell had finished the 9th hole on the archery course, appellant, in cutting across the course to go to the parking lot, fell into an excavation on the course, and was injured.

Waddell corroborated the foregoing testimony with respect to the conversations between him and appellant and the fact that he had not examined the Cadillac at any time. Waddell further testified that he did not thereafter purchase the Cadillac or any other car from appellant or his employer. This is the only testimony given before the trial court.

The only other evidence consists of the written statement given by appellant to the Nevada Industrial Commission dated February 10, 1957, wherein appellant related that he drove his employer's Cadillac to Sutcliffe, Nevada, because Waddell had professed interest in beying a Cadillac and he knew Tony Waddell would be at Sutcliffe: 'When I arrived there the shoot had started so I entered also. I saw Tony and took him saide and showed him the Cad. He professed interest but thought he would like a later model. We talked about cars and continued to shoot. Dan Jenkins and I later get together and talked automobiles and he said he would buy a new one in a month or two from me. Upon learning that I could not make a sale at that time I returned to the car. On the way I met with my accident and broke my foot.'

The formal findings of the court are limited to the brief statement that 'the plaintiff has failed to sustain the burden of proof as to the allegations contained in his complaint.' Findings in such form are not commendable (see Crumley v. Fabbi, 47 Nev. 14, 213 P. 1048), are not in accordance with the express requirements of Rule 52(a) NRCP, and manifestly do not facilitate the review of a cause on appeal. Because of the paucity of findings, we must look to the written decision of the trial court, as we did in Pearson v. Pearson, 77 Nev. 76, 359 P.2d 386, to ascertain what matters were considered by the trial court in its determination of the issues.

In its decision the court below said: '[I]t must be assumed that plaintiff reached his employment destination, that he then deviated beyond his business destination by engaging in the archery competition and then upon his return to the employment destination he was injured. The exact point of determination then is whether he was within the scope of his employment at the time he was injured. In deciding that he was not, I think it first must be assumed that plaintiff was within the scope of his employment when he went out to Sutcliffe and that he was in the process or about to resume that employment when he started for the car to intercept Waddell.'

The trial court's finding that appellant was covered by the Industrial Insurance Act, while he was en route to Sutcliffe and up until the time he entered the archery meet, is conceded by the parties to be proper. It is the further finding (that appellant deviated from his employment when he entered the meet and had not resumed his status as an employee at the time he was injured) which the appellant attacks.

Whether or not appellant while on a business trip deviated therefrom would ordinarily be a question of fact for the trial court, which question in the present case was decided in the affirmative and against the appellant. True it is there is no formal finding to this effect dehors the written decision of the court, but such a finding will be implied. Krick v. Krick, 76 Nev. 52, 56, 348, P.2d 752. It seems to be appellant's assertion however that only if there is some evidence to support such a finding could a factual question arise, and that whether any evidence of a deviation was before the lower court is a question of law reviewable on appeal.

Evidence in the record which supports a finding that a deviation occurred is the testimony of appellant that he intended to enter the archery meet at the time he left Reno coupled with his special interest in the sport of archery, he being at that time Nevada State Field Governor for the National Field Archery Association. In this connection the trial court said: 'While he [appellant] admitted that he might have gone to Sutcliffe to take part in the archery meet and as a sideline to sell a car, he had serious doubts as to whether the sole purpose in going to Sutcliffe was merely to take part in the contest.'

Further facts relevant to deviation are: Appellant took with him to Sutcliffe his archery equipment; he entered the archery meet at Sutcliffe; his injury occurred while he was on the archery course; the sales prospect, Waddell, at no time on the day of appellant's accident inspected the car which appellant hoped to sell to him and no sales negotiations were had at any time thereafter between appellant and Waddell; and appellant at one point declined to testify positively that a prospective car sale and not his archery interests was what motivated him to go to Sutcliffe. ¹

Appellant did intimate in his testimony that it was desirable for him to enter the archery meet as a matter of good salesmanship, but in view of the inconsistencies contained in appellant's written statement in evidence as aforesaid the court properly could refuse to give any significance to such testimony relating to good salesmanship. ² As stated by this court in In re Duffill's Estate, 57 Nev. 224, 231, 61 P.2d 985, 987, 'it is a well-recognized rule that a court is not bound to accept uncontradicted testimony. It may consider the inherent improbabilities of the statements of witnesses,' and in Moore v. Rochester W. M. Co., 42 Nev. 164, 178, 174 P. 1017, 1021, 19 A.L.R. 830, we said: 'It is true that intent is a matter of fact that ordinarily may be testified to by the person whose intent is in question, but if the reason for the motive is equivocal, it is not conclusive as against presumptions and inferences equally as credible.'

We are thus confronted with the aforesaid evidence of deviation and the reasonable inferences arising therefrom. A proper inference could be that even if appellant had a dual purpose in going to Sutcliffe (which could result in his being covered under the act while he was en route to Sutcliffe), his entry into the archery meet after arriving at his destination was a matter wholly personal concerning his own pleasure and not connected with or incidental to his employment as an automobile salesman.

A finding of fact may be based upon an inference which is supported by the evidence. Cummings v. Kendall, 41 Cal.App.2d 549, 107 P.2d 282; Turner v. Vineyard, 46 Del. 138, 7 Terry 138, 80 A.2d 177, 179.

We hold as a matter of law that there is sufficient evidence to sustain the court's conclusion that appellant's entry into the meet was personal and any risk resulting therefrom likewise would be personal. Therefore it was proper for the trial court to conclude that a deviation from his employment had occurred at the time of appellant's injury.

Where there has been a deviation, as here, then it is necessary to determine when, if at all, the employee returned to his employment.

The evidence discloses that appellant was en route to the parking lot where he had left the Cadillac, and although appellant's testimony is not consistent on this point we can assume that he expected to see Waddell there. The accident occurred before he reached the parking lot and while he was still on the archery course.

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