Woodyard v. Barnett

• Decision Date: 05 January 1953
• Docket Number: No. 30,30
• Citation: 56 N.W.2d 214,335 Mich. 352
• Parties: WOODYARD v. BARNETT.
• Court: Michigan Supreme Court

Page 214

56 N.W.2d 214

335 Mich. 352

WOODYARD v. BARNETT.

No. 30.

Supreme Court of Michigan.

Jan. 5, 1953.

Robert D. Anspach, Detroit, for plaintiff and appellant.

Davidson, Kaess, Gotshall & Kelly, Detroit (John W. Keith, Detroit, of counsel), for defendant and appellee.

Before the Entire Bench.

CARR, Justice.

Plaintiff brought this action to recover damages that he claims he sustained as the proximate result of the negligence of defendant's decedent. In the evening of October 17, 1950, plaintiff was operating his tractor and trailer on US 223 in Monroe county. Defendant's decedent, who was following plaintiff in an automobile, ran into the rear of the trailer causing damage to it and to the tractor. The death of the driver of the car resulted from the accident.

At the time of the occurrence in question plaintiff was operating a farm on which, among other activities, he raised sugar beets. The proofs introduced in his behalf on the trial disclose that in 1950 he planted 47.34 acres to that crop. In the fall of that year he started harvesting the beets on October 14th. His testimony in the case indicates that prior to the accident he had harvested approximately six acres, using in the work the equipment that was later involved in such accident. It is undisputed that four days was a reasonable time for the making of necessary repairs to the tractor and trailer, and that the cost thereof was $375. It is also undisputed that the rental value of the equipment was $60 per day. There was a delay of one day in starting the repairs, apparently caused by plaintiff's desire to have pictures of his damaged equipment taken for possible future use.

Plaintiff rented some equipment to assist him in the hauling of beets to market, and according to his testimony he harvested approximately 25 acres between the 17th of October and the 28th of the same month, on which latter date it is claimed that it was necessary to suspend operations because of heavy rains. A witness in plaintiff's behalf testified that the beet harvesting season in 1950 began on the 5th or 6th of October, and that at the end of the season he measured plaintiff's lands, finding that 16.44 acres of beets had been left in the ground. Such beets were frozen and were a total loss. It also appears from the testimony of plaintiff and his witness that ordinarily the season for the harvesting of sugar beets continues until the 15th or 20th of November.

On the trial in circuit court plaintiff sought to recover damages for the loss of the unharvested beets in addition to other items above mentioned, claiming aggregate damages in the sum of approximately $3,500. At the conclusion of his proofs a colloquy between court and counsel ensued in the absence of the jury. The trial judge stated in substance that under the testimony offered by plaintiff and his witness there could be no recovery except for the reasonable cost of repairing the truck and trailer, the fair rental value thereof during the time that they were disabled, and the amounts paid by plaintiff to others for hauling some of his beets. The court ruled that other damages claimed by plaintiff because of the loss of the unharvested beets were too speculative in nature to permit submission to the jury. Verdict was directed in the amount of $774.52 and judgment was entered accordingly. Plaintiff has appealed, claiming that the trial judge was in error in refusing to permit the jury to determine the amount of the damages and the incidental issue whether plaintiff acted properly and reasonably in seeking to mitigate his damages.

The situation is somewhat unusual in that there is no dispute as to the facts, defendant not introducing any testimony at the conclusion of the plaintiff's case following the colloquy between court and counsel. In the declaration filed the recovery of damages was sought solely because of the injury to plaintiff's tractor and trailer. No claim was made in the pleading that plaintiff was entitled to recover because of injuries sustained by him that interfered with his performing his usual work on the farm. In his testimony he stated that following the repair of his equipment and prior to the starting of the rains on October 28th he and his wife, who was assisting him, were doing 'partial production' only, assigning as the reason therefor that each had sustained injuries in the accident. Not having claimed damages for any loss resulting from such injuries, plaintiff is not entitled to recover therefor in this action. The testimony affords no reasonable basis for determining what portion of the unharvested sugar beets was left in the ground because of plaintiff's inability to operate his equipment, following its repair, at capacity.

It was plaintiff's testimony that with his equipment in operation he could harvest five acres of beets per day. It is apparent that his operations prior to the evening of October 17th, when his equipment was damaged, were not carried on at such rate. It is equally obvious that following the repair of his equipment plaintiff did not harvest an average of five acres per day. It is a fair inference from the testimony that, although he did not start harvesting for approximately a week after the opening of the season, he considered that he would have ample time to secure his crop, basing his belief in that regard on the fact that the season did not ordinarily end, because of weather conditions, prior to November 15th or 20th. It is a fair inference also from his statements that the situation in this regard affected his efforts to hire equipment for...