Service Lines, Inc. v. Mitchell

• Decision Date: 28 April 1967
• Citation: 419 S.W.2d 525
• Parties: SERVICE LINES, INC., et al., Appellants, v. Thomas A. MITCHELL, Ancillary Administrator, etc., et al., Appellees.
• Court: United States State Supreme Court — District of Kentucky

Page 525

419 S.W.2d 525

SERVICE LINES, INC., et al., Appellants, v. Thomas A. MITCHELL, Ancillary Administrator, etc., et al., Appellees.

Court of Appeals of Kentucky.

April 28, 1967.

Rehearing Denied Nov. 10, 1967.

Frederick E. Nichols, Earle M. Nichols, Nichols & Nichols, Madisonville, for appellants.

Maubert R. Mills, Mills, Spain & Mitchell, Madisonville, Rogers, Howard, Redden & Mills, Birmingham, Ala., for appellees.

STEINFELD, Judge.

This is an appeal from a judgment rendered in favor of the Ancillary Administrator of the estate of two infants who were killed when the disabled automobile in which they were passengers was struck from the rear by a tractor-trailer truck owned by the appellant, Service Lines, Inc., and driven by appellant, Leon Locke.

The collision occurred about 10 o'clock on the night of June 12, 1964, on U.S. Highway 41--A in Hopkins County about 13 miles west of Madisonville, Kentucky. This highway was one of the most heavily traveled in western Kentucky and was the main route from St. Louis, Missouri to Nashville, Tennessee. The collison occurred near the center of a stretch of road which was straight and level for almost .7 of a mile. The paved portion is about 18 feet wide and is divided into two driving lanes. There is conflicting testimony (which we will discuss later) relating to the condition, width and angle of the shoulders of the highway. It had rained a short time before the accident and a mist caused poor visibility.

The automobile belonged to, and was driven by, James L. Johnson. His wife and their three children were with him. They were traveling eastwardly and had entered a section of the highway, the grade of which is gradually downward, when the motor of the automobile began to operate improperly. Mr. Johnson adjusted various controls in an effort to cause the car to resume proper operation. These efforts continued for approximately .4 of a mile, when finally the car came to a complete stop in the east-bound traffic lane with its left wheels approximately 15 inches south of the center line of the road. Mrs. Johnson and the youngest of their three children were riding in the front seat with Mr. Johnson. Debra Jean and James Anthony, respectively ages seven and three, were in the rear seat.

Johnson and his wife immediately got out of the car. He raised the hood and with Mrs. Johnson holding a cigarette lighter to illuminate the motor, Mr. Johnson attempted to start the car. His efforts continued without success of about 15 minutes. They tried to obtain aid from passing motorists but none stopped. During all of this time, according to the testimony of Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, the parking lights on the automobile were lighted and clearly visible.

Leon Locke had been a driver for Service Lines, Inc. for almost 17 years. On his truck route between Nashville and St. Louis, going in both directions he had traversed the road at that point about six days per week for the previous 15 years. On this fatal night, between 10 and 15 minutes after the Johnson car stopped, he was driving the tractor-trailer on that part of the highway in an easterly direction in his usual and customary manner traveling about 40 miles per hour. He testified that there were a number of motor vehicles coming toward him and that each of them had bright burning headlights and that the headlights on his tractor were burning. He claims he did not see the disabled automobile parked on the highway until he was only approximately 50 to 75 feet from it. He blames his failure to see the Johnson car on the headlights which were coming toward him and which blinded him momentarily, but all had passed by the time Locke saw the Johnson car. He testified that he could not stop suddenly because the tractor-trailer would have 'jack knifed' and turned over on the car. To avoid colliding with the Johnson car, he braked slightly and turned to the northern side of the highway and attempted to go around it. The tractor and the front part of the trailer cleared the automobile but the trailer at a point about 10 feet from its front end collided with the Johnson car dragging it 166 feet down the road. Debra Jean and James Anthony were killed instantly. Neither the infant on the front seat nor the parents who were out of the car were injured.

Immediately before the collision Mrs. Johnson, who was on the right side of the vehicle, started moving from the front toward the rear. Mr. Johnson saw the truck and realized that a collision was imminent, therefore, he made a dive for Mrs. Johnson and they both went out on the shoulder on the south side of the road and into the ditch.

There is some conflict in the testimony as to whether or not the Johnsons were residents of Indiana or Alabama, but it is agreed that they were non-residents of Kentucky. Thomas A. Mitchell made application to the County Court of Hopkins County, Kentucky, and by orders entered in that tribunal he was appointed as Ancillary Administrator of the estate of the two infants. Suit was brought in the name of the Ancillary Administrator for the two estates. After a lengthy trial the jury rendered a verdict in the amount of $50,000.00 for the estate of Debra Jean and a verdict for a like amount for the estate of James Anthony Johnson. Judgment was entered for those amounts against Locke and Service Lines, Inc. Both appeal. The appellants assign a number of alleged errors to support their claim that the judgment should not stand and that the two estates should have no recovery.

The first point asserted is that the appointment of the Ancillary Administrator is void because there is no primary administrator, and that he has no standing in court. Appellants also claim that by reason of the provisions of KRS 395.170 the estate of a non-resident may proceed only in an action brought by, and in the name of the executor or administrator appointed in the jurisdiction of the residence of the person whose estate is seeking the recovery.

The term 'Ancillary Administrator' serves only to distinguish that representative from the primary administrator. 34 C.J.S. Executors and Administrators § 989, p. 1234. This court has approved the appointment of an Ancillary Administrator without the prior appointment and qualification of a primary administrator. Trotta's Adm'r v. Johnson, 121 Ky. 827, 831, 90 s,. W. 540; Stell v. Williams' Adm'r, 233 Ky. 441, 26 S.W.2d 8. We see no reason to deviate from this rule which has been generally adopted. 21 Am.Jur. 853, section 857.

We find no merit in the contention that an action for wrongful death of a non-resident may proceed only in the name of the executor or a primary administrator under the provisions of KRS 395.170. The right of an Ancillary Administrator to sue is clear. Whisler v. Allen, Ky., 380 S.W.2d 70; Jewell Tea Company v. Walker's Adm'r., 290 Ky. 328, 161 S.W.2d 66; Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Co. et al. v. Ryan's Adm'r., 183 Ky. 428, 209 S.W. 538; Brown's Adm'r v. Louisville and Nashville Railroad Co., 97 Ky. 228, 30 S.W. 639.

Secondly, Locke and his employer vigorously argue that Locke was guilty of no act of negligence and that the motion they made for a directed verdict at the close of evidence on behalf of the two estates was overruled erroneously. One of the facts in dispute is the speed of the truck. Locke testified that when he was blinded by the lights he took his foot off of the accelerator and the truck slowed down to at least 35 miles per hour. The only testimony of greater speed was from Johnson who said it was traveling 60 or 70 miles per hour; however, this evidence has little probative value for he was observing an oncoming vehicle in the nighttime with little opportunity to fairly judge its speed. Bowling Green-Hopkinsville Bus Co. v. Edwards, 248 Ky. 684, 59 S.W.2d 584; Chesapeake & O. Ry. Co. v. Prater's Adm'x, 269 Ky. 174, 106 S.W.2d 625; Roberts v. General Indsutries, Inc., Ky., 320 S.W.2d 619. Locke stated that the Johnson car was from 50 to 70 feet ahead of him when he first saw it and he tried to maneuver the truck to the left to go around the car. The automobile was dragged 166 feet. Before coming to a stop the truck proceeded an additional 53 feet with the trailer sliding sideways and partly overturned for the last 30 feet. There was sufficient evidence to submit to the jury the question of whether Locke, when passing through the glare of blinding headlights was violating duties imposed on him. In Duncan v. Wiseman Baking Company, Inc. et al., Ky., 357 S.W.2d 694 we said:

'The modern rule, generally accepted, is that a motorist so blinded is not required to stop instantly but his duty is determinable by the standard of ordinary care under the particular circumstances, although the rule is subject to a number of exceptions. A motorist is not entitled to proceed as if he could see ahead, but is required to take additional precautions for the safety of himself and others which are commensurate with the existing danger, such as slackening his speed and bringing his car under such control that he is able to stop it in time to avoid any discernible object in the road ahead or within such distance as he can at all times see what is ahead of him. 5 Am.Jur., Automobiles, §§ 332, 707, 1072; 60 C.J.S. Motor Vehicles, § 294; Blashfield, Cyclopedia of Automobile Law, § 744; Notes 22 A.L.R.2d 300 et seq.

'Our later decisions are, generally, to the same effect. City of Providence v. Young, 227 Ky. 690, 13 S.W.2d 1022; Commonwealth v. Daniel, 266 Ky. 285, 98 S.W.2d 897; Knight v. Silver Fleet Motor Express, 289 Ky. 661, 159 S.W.2d 1002; Wilson v. Dalton's Adm'r, 311 Ky. 285, 223 S.W.2d 978; Harris v. Luster, Ky., 259 S.W.2d 489; Slusher v. Brown, Ky., 323 S.W.2d 870. Several of these cases and others are reviewed in Ashton v. Roop, Ky., 244 S.W.2d 727, and notice is taken of some inconsistencies. * * *

'It seems to us the instruction should have been that when (he) was blinded or his vision of the highway...