J. L. Querner Truck Lines, Inc. v. Safeway Truck Lines, Inc.

• Citation: 35 N.J. 564,174 A.2d 201
• Decision Date: 09 October 1961
• Docket Number: No. A--2,A--2
• Parties: J. L. QUERNER TRUCK LINES, INC., a corporation, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. SAFEWAY TRUCK LINES, INC., a corporation, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: United States State Supreme Court (New Jersey)

Page 564

35 N.J. 564

174 A.2d 201

J. L. QUERNER TRUCK LINES, INC., a corporation, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. SAFEWAY TRUCK LINES, INC., a corporation, Defendant-Appellant.

No. A--2.

Supreme Court of New Jersey.

Argued Sept. 13, 1961.

Decided Oct. 9, 1961.

Joseph C. Paul, Newark, for defendant-appellant (Henry M. Grosman, Newark, attorney; Joseph C. Paul, Newark, of counsel and on the brief).

Horace G. Davis, Jersey City, for plaintiff-respondent.

The opinion of the court was delivered by

PROCTOR, J.

Plaintiff, J. L. Querner Truck Lines, Inc. (herein Querner) brought this action against Safeway Truck Lines, Inc. (herein Safeway) to recover property damages sustained by Querner's trailer when it was hauled by a tractor under a bridge with insufficient clearance. Querner contended that Safeway's agent, Salvato, negligently directed or permitted Lash, the driver of the tractor-trailer to so proceed. After the parties presented their evidence, the trial court granted Safeway's motion to dismiss, ruling that Querner failed to establish any agency relationship to bind Safeway and that Lash was conclusively guilty of contributory negligence. The Appellate Division reversed and remanded, finding that the agency and contributory negligence issues should have been resolved by the jury. 65 N.J.Super. 554, 168 A.2d 216 (1961). There being a dissent in the Appellate Division, Safeway's appeal is here as of right. R.R. 1:2--1(b).

Since the trial court ruled that the evidence did not present a jury question, we must view the facts of the entire case and legitimate inferences to be drawn therefrom in the light most favorable to Querner. Melone v. Jersey Central Power & Light Co., 18 N.J. 163, 170, 113 A.2d 13 (1955).

The jury could have found the following facts: Querner, a lessor of trucks, leased the tractor-trailer with the services of its driver, Lash, to Safeway for the purpose of transporting a load of meat from New York to Chicago. Lash drove the tractor-trailer to Safeway's Weehawken terminal in Hudson County. Safeway's dispatcher, D'Amato, told Lash to drive the rig to a pier in New York City to pick up the load of meat and to return to the Weehawken terminal before proceeding to his ultimate destination. Lash, a Texan, had never been in Hudson County before and thus was unfamiliar with the route to the pier. Consequently, D'Amato did not give him the New York address but instead gave it to Salvato, an eighteen year old employee of Safeway, who sat in the cab beside Lash during the trip. Salvato's duties were two-fold: to help load the meat and to direct Lash along the route. In this latter capacity, D'Amato described Salvato as a 'sight-man' whose duty was 'to see that the truck got over to New York * * * and back to the * * * Terminal.'

With Salvato showing the way, Lash drove the tractor-trailer from the Weehawken terminal to New York, loaded the meat onto the trailer and returned to the New Jersey side of the Holland Tunnel without incident. Thereupon, Salvato told Lash to turn right, into Henderson Street, Jersey City. As the vehicle proceeded along Henderson Street, Salvato saw a sign which said, referring to a trestle one block ahead, 'All Trucks Make A Left-Hand Turn. Low Bridge.' The sign 'was about five feet high * * * with the pole * * * (and) about two feet wide.' Lash did not see the sign and Salvato neither called it to his attention nor warned him to turn. When Lash saw the trestle he asked Salvato if the trailer could clear or if he should turn off the street. Salvato assured Lash that it was safe to proceed 'straight ahead,' saying: 'that he had been under the trestle before with trucks.' The bridge proper was unmarked. The trailer (12 3 high) failed to clear the trestle by about a foot, resulting in the damage sued for.

Lash estimated his speed at the time of the impact at fifteen to twenty miles per hour. Although he had been driving tractor-trailers for seven years, Lash admitted he did not judge the comparative heights of the trailer and trestle 'too well,' but said this was due to his reliance on the assurances of Salvato.

Since Querner concedes that it is chargeable with the contributory negligence of Lash, if any, the issues to be...