Schwartz v. Eitel, No. 8109.
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (7th Circuit) |
| Writing for the Court | SPARKS, KERNER, and MINTON, Circuit |
| Citation | 132 F.2d 760 |
| Parties | SCHWARTZ v. EITEL. |
| Docket Number | No. 8109. |
| Decision Date | 19 January 1943 |
132 F.2d 760 (1943)
SCHWARTZ
v.
EITEL.
No. 8109.
Circuit Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit.
January 19, 1943.
Wm. E. Fisher, and R. T. Reinholdt, both of Stevens Point, Wis., for appellant.
A. J. O'Melia, of Rhinelander, Wis., for appellee.
Before SPARKS, KERNER, and MINTON, Circuit Judges.
KERNER, Circuit Judge.
Plaintiff brought this action in the Circuit Court of Oneida County, Wisconsin to recover $12,500 damages for injuries sustained as the result of alleged negligence of the defendant's chauffeur in operating an automobile which collided with plaintiff's automobile. Upon motion of the defendant, the case was removed because of diversity of citizenship to the District Court and there tried to a jury.
The collision occurred on May 16, 1941, a bright sunny afternoon, at the intersection of Highway 51 and Heinzen road, a private roadway which runs into but not beyond Highway 51, near the village of Hazelhurst, Wisconsin. Highway 51 is a north-and-south bound paved road, 25 feet wide. Just prior to the collision, defendant's automobile was being driven north on Highway 51. From a point 500 feet north of Heinzen road to the Heinzen road, Highway 51 rises approximately ten and a half feet, and from Heinzen road to a point 600 feet south of Heinzen road, the highway rises approximately 14 feet, the top of this grade being 650 feet south of the point of collision. The defendant's automobile was black, as was the surface of the highway. Shortly before the collision, plaintiff was driving his automobile south on the right side of Highway 51 at 20 miles per hour and as he approached Heinzen road he reduced his speed, looked to the south and into his rear view mirror. There being no automobile in sight coming from either direction, plaintiff, before he started to turn left into Heinzen road kept well to the right, made a further observation to see if there were any vehicles approaching from either direction and from the northeast on another intersecting road (old Highway 51), and seeing none, entered over the center of Heinzen road at about 8 to 10 miles an hour. When his automobile was on the east half of Highway 51 he saw defendant's automobile 75 to 100 feet to the south, "coming very fast." Defendant's automobile struck the right door of plaintiff's automobile, spun it around clockwise and ran it back 30 feet into a ditch on the east side of the highway. The defendant's automobile, after the impact, moved forward about 15 feet. Plaintiff was 59 years of age, in perfect health, eyesight good, and had lived at Hazelhurst for forty-five years, and was familiar with the surroundings in the immediate vicinity. There also was testimony tending to show that defendant's automobile was being driven at the rate of 70 to 75 miles an hour.
The jury returned a special verdict that defendant's chauffeur was negligent in the operation of his automobile and that the collision was the natural result of his negligence; that plaintiff was also negligent, but that his negligence was ten per cent of the whole. The court entered judgment for plaintiff's recovery of ninety per cent of his damages as assessed by the jury. To reverse the judgment, defendant appealed.
The defendant's principal contention is that the plaintiff was guilty of want of ordinary care. He points to the rule that placed plaintiff under an obligation to keep a lookout and observe where an efficient observation may be had, Svenson v. Vondrak, 200 Wis. 312, 227 N.W. 240; Rock v. Sarazen, 209 Wis. 126, 244 N.W. 577; and DeBaker v. Austin, 233 Wis. 39, 287 N.W. 720, and we are urged to hold that the plaintiff violated the Wisconsin Statutes, which provide that the operator of a vehicle intending to turn to the left into a private driveway shall make such turn from the traffic lane immediately to the right of and next to the center of the highway and shall pass immediately to the left of the center of the intersection, passing as closely as practicable to the left of the center of the intersection. ? 85.17(2). When two vehicles approach or enter an intersection at approximately the same time, the driver of the vehicle on the left shall yield the right of way to the vehicle on the right, except as otherwise provided in this section....
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Ruiz v. Estelle, Nos. 81-2224
...See Howard v. Gonzales, 658 F.2d 352, 357 (5th Cir. 1981); Bell v. Swift & Co., 283 F.2d 407, 408 (5th Cir. 1960); Schwartz v. Eitel, 132 F.2d 760, 763 (7th Cir. 26 "It is well-established that the conduct of a trial judge must be measured by a standard of fairness and impartiality......
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Lang v. Rogney, No. 14651.
...as a matter of law as to bar his recovery. Salsich v. Bunn, 205 Wis. 524, 238 N.W. 394, 79 A.L.R. 1069; Schwartz v. Eitel, 7 Cir., 132 F.2d 760; Moody v. Milwaukee, etc., 173 Wis. 65, 180 N.W. 266. Under some circumstances it would and under other circumstances it would not be such negligen......
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Ruiz v. Estelle, Nos. 81-2224
...25 See Howard v. Gonzales, 658 F.2d 352, 357 (5th Cir. 1981); Bell v. Swift & Co., 283 F.2d 407, 408 (5th Cir. 1960); Schwartz v. Eitel, 132 F.2d 760, 763 (7th Cir. 26 "It is well-established that the conduct of a trial judge must be measured by a standard of fairness and impartiality. He i......
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Lang v. Rogney, No. 14651.
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NLRB v. Camco, Incorporated, No. 21301.
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