Venuto v. Robinson, 7521.
| Decision Date | 31 March 1941 |
| Docket Number | No. 7521.,7521. |
| Citation | 118 F.2d 679 |
| Parties | VENUTO et al. v. ROBINSON et al. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit |
COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED
Charles A. Rooney of Jersey City, N. J. (Gustave A. Peduto, of Jersey City, N. J., on the brief), for appellant.
Jacob M. Goldberg, of Newark, N. J. (Nicholas T. Fernicola and Jacob M. Goldberg, both of Newark, N. J., on the brief), for plaintiffs-appellees.
Before MARIS, CLARK, and GOODRICH, Circuit Judges.
C. A. Ross, Agent, Inc., defendant below, appeals from judgments entered against it, upon verdicts, in actions brought to recover damages arising out of a collision in New Jersey on July 3, 1937, between two automobiles and a truck operated by one Robinson. Appellant contends that there was insufficient evidence to establish that Robinson was its servant at the time of the accident and that the court below erred in denying its motion for directed verdicts. It is further contended that prejudicial error was committed in various rulings upon evidence. Although Robinson was also a party defendant below he permitted judgment to go against him by default and he is not a party to this appeal.
C. A. Ross, Agent, Inc., was engaged in the trucking business as a common carrier between points in North Carolina and New England. Apparently it had more business than it could handle with its own trucks and it entered into an arrangement with Robinson who owned a tractor and trailer unit and another truck. The critical question at the trial was whether under this arrangement Robinson was an independent contractor or was the servant of the appellant. The appellee strenuously contends that there was sufficient evidence upon this point to raise a jury question.
Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the plaintiff the following facts may be found: Robinson had done no hauling except for work received from Ross for a period approximating six months to a year prior to the collision. He had no office, telephone, stationery, bills of lading or freight bills. He had no arrangements or direct contacts with any shippers, but he received sufficient work or business from Ross to keep him busy. There is evidence that the parties called the arrangement between them a lease of the Robinson equipment to Ross. At the time of the collision Robinson was hauling a load of merchandise which had been delivered to Ross by the shipper. The bills of lading were signed by the Ross dispatcher, Herman, in New York. The rates charged were those established in Ross' published tariff. The freight bills covering the shipment bore the statement:
"Received Above Articles for Delivery as Shown C. A. Ross, Agent, Inc. By Driver."
Herman inserted Robinson's name in the blank space. On the same paper under the statement, "Received payment for the company," Robinson signed his name. Herman also prepared the manifest covering the load and inserted Robinson's name after the word "driver". After the accident Robinson telephoned the Ross home office in North Carolina for instructions regarding the disposition of his load. Although the trailer bore the name of the Ross company thereon, it was conceded by the plaintiffs that Robinson was the owner of the tractor and trailer. Since a finding of agency arising out of the name on the vehicle depends upon the inference that the vehicle is owned by the person whose name appears thereon, Wigmore on Evidence, 3d Ed., § 2510a, the concession of ownership in Robinson removes any evidential value from the fact that Ross' name was on the vehicle.
The agreement of employment between C. A. Ross, Agent, Inc., and Robinson was made in North Carolina. Nevertheless, Robinson being in New Jersey in pursuance of the business which was the subject matter of the contract, the law of New Jersey is the one to be referred to in determining the rules of liability arising from the relationship of the parties. The first of these questions is whether the relationship between Ross and Robinson was that of master and servant or employer and independent contractor. This is to be determined by the law of New Jersey. Restatement, Conflict of Laws, § 387. Ordinarily, the problem of determining, upon evidentiary facts whether the relationship between two parties is that of master and servant or employer and independent contractor is one to be answered by the triers of the facts. Restatement, Agency § 220. But here, as in many other places in the law, answers to the fact questions have been crystallized through judicial determination. If facts comparable to those in this case have been crystallized into judicial rule in New Jersey, that rule governs in the federal court. Compare Stoner v. New York Life Ins. Co., 1940, 61 S.Ct. 336, 85 L.Ed. ___.
The problem then becomes one of fact matching of various decisions to see whether a set of facts under consideration is covered by the adjudicated cases. Obviously, the problem is, in most instances, a matter of judgment for an exact duplication of one piece of litigation by another is never found. But an examination of New Jersey decisions convinces us that, in situations where the facts establishing the independent contractor relationship were weaker than in the instant case, the courts have held the relationship between the parties to be that of employer and independent contractor. See Courtinard v. Gray Burial & Cremation Co., 1923, 98 N.J.L. 493, 121 A. 145; Busch v. Seaboard By-Product Coke Co., 1924, 100 N.J.L. 304, 126 A. 311; and especially Giroud v. Stryker Transp. Co., 1928, 104 N.J.L. 424, 140 A. 305. American Carrier Corp. v. Avigliano, 1939, 123 N.J.L. 490, 9 A.2d 788, in the Supreme Court of New Jersey, seems to incline a little the other way. It was a Supreme Court case, however, while the other decisions cited are by the Court of Errors and Appeals. The decision, also, seemed to overlook the point that the accident which was the subject of the litigation took place in Pennsylvania, not New Jersey, though the claim for compensation was made in the latter state. No useful purpose would be served in a detailed recital of the facts of these cases which are already set out in the reports. They convince us that upon the facts as presented here New Jersey decisions establish the relationship in this case of Robinson to Ross as that of an independent contractor. It follows, therefore, that the trial court was in error in failing to give the binding instructions on this point requested by the defendant.
Since we determine the master-servant issue in favor of the defendant it becomes unnecessary to discuss the alleged errors raised in admission and exclusion of evidence bearing upon this issue. The...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Carolina Cas. Ins. Co. v. Insurance Co. of North America
...only a minor extension of well-established common law principles. See Restatement (Second) of Torts § 428 (1965). Thus, in Venuto v. Robinson, 118 F.2d 679 (3d Cir.), Cert. denied, 314 U.S. 627, 62 S.Ct. 58, 86 L.Ed. 504 (1941), this court found that the state law theory of vicarious liabil......
-
Knoop v. Anderson
...that it was proper for a federal court to rely upon the Restatement of the Law as evidence of the law of the state. Venuto v. Robinson, 3 Cir., 1941, 118 F.2d 679, certiorari denied, 314 U.S. 627, 62 S. Ct. 58, 86 L.Ed. 504. In the case of Dewey v. Barnhouse, 1907, 75 Kan. 214, 88 P. 877, a......
-
United States v. Sommerville, 14325.
...principle, this Court has held the Restatement to be evidence of state law in the absence of direct local authority. Venuto v. Robinson, 118 F.2d 679, 682 (3rd Cir. 1941). Here there is even more reason for doing I do not perceive, as defendant argues, that Seaboard Consumer Discount Co. v.......
-
Wilson v. Iesi N.Y. Corp.
...and regulated under the DOT (or former ICC) are responsible for the negligence of its subcontractors. For example, in Venuto v. Robinson, 118 F.2d 679 (3d Cir.1941), the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit predicted that New Jersey would adopt § 428 of the Restatement and c......