Taylor v. City of Clanton

• Decision Date: 02 March 1944
• Docket Number: 5 Div. 377.
• Citation: 245 Ala. 671,18 So.2d 369
• Parties: TAYLOR v. CITY OF CLANTON.
• Court: Alabama Supreme Court

18 So.2d 369

245 Ala. 671

TAYLOR v. CITY OF CLANTON.

5 Div. 377.

Supreme Court of Alabama

March 2, 1944

Rehearing Denied June 22, 1944.

J. B. Atkinson and Reynolds & Reynolds, all of Clanton, for appellant.

Gerald & Gerald, of Clanton, for appellee.

LIVINGSTON Justice.

Suit by Julia Belle Taylor against the City of Clanton, Alabama, a municipal corporation. The complaint contains four counts. Demurrers were sustained to all four counts, and the plaintiff in the court below took a nonsuit, and appealed.

The suit is prosecuted under and by virtue of the provisions of section 119, Title 7, Code of 1940, which reads as follows:

"When the death of a minor child is caused by the wrongful act, or omission, or negligence of any person or persons, or corporation, his or their servants or agents, the father, or the mother, in cases mentioned in the preceding section; or if the father and mother both dead, or if they decline to bring the action or fail to do so within six months from the death of the minor, the personal representative of such minor may sue, and in any case shall recover such damages as the jury may assess; but a suit by any one of them for the wrongful death of the minor shall be a bar to another action either under this section or under section 123 of this title."

Counts 1, 2 and 3 rested for recovery upon the wrongful employment by defendant of the plaintiff's minor son to engage in dangerous work, without plaintiff's consent, and his injury and death as a consequence thereof. In respect to the questions presented counts 1, 2 and 3 are the same. Count 1 is as follows:

"The plaintiff, Julia Belle Taylor, who brings and prosecutes this suit as the mother of Arthur Lee Williams, deceased, claims of the defendant, the City of Clanton, Alabama, a municipal corporation, the sum of $30,000, as damages for that heretofore, on to-wit: December 27, 1941, the defendant was engaged in the repairing, rebuilding or construction of the streets and avenues of the City of Clanton and employed or used in said work a large automobile truck with a dump body thereon and on said date one of the officers, agents servants or employees of the defendant, while acting within the line and scope of his authority as such officer, agent, servant or employee of the defendant, placed said automobile truck with a dump body in charge of one Will Mickey, required said Mickey to drive said truck and knew, at the time of placing said truck in charge of said Will Mickey and requiring him to drive the same, that said Will Mickey was a careless and reckless driver of automobile trucks and on said date, wrongfully and without the consent of the plaintiff, employed plaintiff's son, namely, Arthur Lee Williams who was then a minor of sixteen years of age, to work and ride upon said automobile truck while the same was in charge of and being driven by the said Will Mickey, which said place or work was highly dangerous to a person of his youth and experience, and plaintiff avers that, as a proximate consequence of said wrong, plaintiff's son received injuries on said date, while performing his duties on said truck, from which he died on December 31, 1941, and plaintiff avers that her son received said injuries when said Will Mickey on said date, carelessly and recklessly drove said automobile truck into a large oak tree on Second Avenue West of City of Clanton, Alabama.

"Plaintiff further avers that she is the mother of Arthur Lee Williams and that the father of the said Arthur Lee Williams, more than five years next preceding December 27, 1941, deserted his family and continuously thereafter has deserted or remained away from his said family and plaintiff further avers that within six months from the time, day and date, when her said son was so injured she, as the mother of said Arthur Lee Williams, filed with the City Clerk of the City of Clanton, Alabama, a sworn statement stating substantially, the manner in which the said Arthur Lee Williams received the injuries, from which he died, and the day, time and place where he was injured, the damages claimed and stating with substantial accuracy the nature and character of the injuries received, together with the plaintiff's residence and business address, all to plaintiff's damages in the aforesaid sum, hence this suit."

Count 4 rested for recovery upon the negligence of defendant's agent, servant or employee, while acting within the line and scope of his authority, and is as follows:

"The plaintiff, Julia Belle Taylor, who brings and prosecutes this claim or suit as the mother of Arthur Lee Williams, a minor of the age of sixteen years, deceased, claims of the defendant the sum of $30,000 as damages for this: On December 27, 1941 the defendant's officer, agent, servant or employee, while acting within the line and scope of his authority as such officer, agent, servant or employee of the defendant, hired plaintiff's son, the said Arthur Lee Williams, a minor of the age of sixteen years, to work and ride upon said automobile truck, which on said date was then and there engaged in and used for rebuilding and constructing by the defendant of the streets of the City of Clanton, Alabama, and placed said automobile truck on which plaintiff's son was required to ride and work, in the control of one Will Mickey and plaintiff avers that the said officer, agent, servant or employee of the defendant at the time of placing said automobile truck in the control of the said Will Mickey knew that the said Will Mickey was a careless and reckless driver of the automobile truck when requiring plaintiff's son, Arthur Lee Williams, to work or perform his duties thereon; and plaintiff avers that on said date at about five o'clock p. m., while plaintiff's said son was riding on said truck and in the discharge of the duties assigned to him by defendant's said officer, agent, servant or employee and while said Will Mickey was driving the same, the said Will Mickey wrongfully and negligently drove said truck at a high, careless and reckless speed on Second Avenue North of said city and at the intersection of the road or alley that leads to the truck farm of L. E. Diefenderfer, from said avenue, said Will Mickey, while traveling at a high, careless and reckless rate of speed caused said truck, or allowed the same, to suddenly and without warning to turn from said avenue and run into, upon or against a large oak which was located about five feet south of said avenue, with terrific force and as a proximate consequence thereof, plaintiff's said son, Arthur Lee Williams was thrown against the body of said truck and said tree and the ground with such force that he was bruised, injured and cut externally and internally and from which said injuries he died on December 31, 1941, and plaintiff avers that her said son received said injuries from which he died as a direct and proximate consequence of the wrongful act or omission or negligence of the defendant's officer, agent, servant or employee, namely, C. E. Stapp, as mayor of the City of Clanton, Alabama, who was then and there acting within the line and scope of his authority as such officer, agent, servant or employee of the defendant in this: Said C. E. Stapp negligently or wrongfully placed the automobile truck in which plaintiff's said son was required to work, in the control of one Will Mickey, knowing at the time that the said Will Mickey was a careless and reckless driver of automobile trucks.

"Plaintiff further avers that she is the mother of Arthur Lee Williams and that the father of the said Arthur Lee Williams, more than five years next preceding December 27, 1941, deserted his family and continuously thereafter has deserted or remained away from his said family and plaintiff further avers that within six months from the time, day and date, when her said son was so injured she, as the mother of said Arthur Lee Williams, filed with the city clerk of the City of Clanton, Alabama, a sworn statement, stating substantially the manner in which the said Arthur Lee Williams received the injuries, from which he died, and the day, time and place where he was injured, the damages claimed and stating with substantial accuracy the nature and character of the injuries received, together with the plaintiff's residence and business address. All to plaintiff's damages in the aforesaid sum, hence this suit."

Appellee insists that the trial court's ruling in sustaining the demurrer was without error, first, because of appellant's failure to allege a compliance with section 504, Title 37, Code of 1940. In other words, that the failure of the personal representative of the deceased minor to file the claim with the city barred the cause of action. Section 504, supra, reads as follows:

"No recovery shall be had against any city or town, on a claim for personal injury received, unless a sworn statement be filed with the clerk, by the party injured, or his personal representative, in case of his death, stating substantially the manner in which the injury was received, and the day and time, and the place where the accident occurred, and the damages claimed."

The writer has serious doubt that a personal representative may maintain an action under the provisions of section 119, Title 7, Code of 1940. The reason is, section 123, Title 7, Code of 1940, gives to the personal representative the right to maintain an action for the wrongful death of a minor as well as the right to maintain an action for the wrongful death of an adult; and section 123, supra, was enacted long prior to the adoption of section 119, supra. As said by Justice McClellan, in Lovell v. De Bardelaben Coal & Iron Co., 90 Ala. 13, 7 So. 756, 757, in reference to section 2588, Code of 1886 (now section 119, supra)...