Zwanziger v. Chicago & N.W. Ry. Co.

• Decision Date: 05 April 1966
• Docket Number: No. 51962,51962
• Citation: 141 N.W.2d 568,259 Iowa 14
• Parties: Donald ZWANZIGER, As Administrator of the Estate of Janet Zwanziger, Deceased, Appellant, v. CHICAGO AND NORTHWESTERN RAILWAY COMPANY, Jane Marie Hamilton, and Robert Ward Hamilton, Appellees. Sharon CROATT, By Nick J. Croatt, Her Parent and Next Friend, Appellant, v. CHICAGO AND NORTHWESTERN RAILWAY COMPANY, Jane Marie Hamilton and Robert Ward Hamilton, Appellees.
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

Page 568

141 N.W.2d 568

259 Iowa 14

Donald ZWANZIGER, As Administrator of the Estate of Janet Zwanziger, Deceased, Appellant, v. CHICAGO AND NORTHWESTERN RAILWAY COMPANY, Jane Marie Hamilton, and Robert Ward Hamilton, Appellees.

Sharon CROATT, By Nick J. Croatt, Her Parent and Next Friend, Appellant, v. CHICAGO AND NORTHWESTERN RAILWAY COMPANY, Jane Marie Hamilton and Robert Ward Hamilton, Appellees.

No. 51962.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

April 5, 1966.

Rehearing Denied June 14, 1966.

Brown, Dresser, Kinsey & Jolas, Mason City, and John R. Cronin, Nashua, for appellants.

Walter C. Schroeder, Mason City, for Hamiltons, appellees.

BECKER, Justice.

These consolidated actions grow out of a train automobile collision. Plaintiffs dismissed as to defendant railroad. Plaintiff Donald Zwanziger, as administrator of the estate of Janet Zwanziger, and Sharon Croatt, by her next friend, each allege they were passengers and not guests, in the automobile being driven by defendant Jane Hamilton and owned by defendant Robert Hamilton. At the close of plaintiffs' evidence defendants moved for directed verdict on the grounds plaintiffs failed to carry their burden of proof that Janet Zwanziger and Sharon Croatt were passengers other than guests at the time of the accident. The motion was sustained. Verdict was directed in favor of the defendants. From this action plaintiffs appeal.

The sole issue is whether a jury case was presented as to the status of plaintiffs as passengers not for hire. Hereafter reference to plaintiff Donald Zwanziger as administrator will be made in the name of decedent Janet Zwanziger.

In the fall of 1960, defendant Jane Hamilton and plaintiffs Janet Zwanziger and Sharon Croatt were all students at Hamilton Business College at Mason City, Iowa. Defendant Robert Hamilton, Jane's father, was vice president and faculty member of the college. Jane lived with her parents about 16 miles from Mason City. The other two girls lived at different rooming houses in Mason City while attending business college.

Due to the introduction of defendant Jane Hamilton's deposition by plaintiffs, there are substantial conflicts in the evidence despite the fact that defendants were never called upon to introduce their testimony. However, taking the evidence in the light most favorable to plaintiffs, as we must under Rule 344(f)(2), the following facts appear.

During the 1960 school year the three girls became acquainted as fellow students. Plaintiff Sharon Croatt and defendant Jane Hamilton bowled on the same team of their school league. Plaintiff Janet Zwanziger didn't bowl but often accompanied Sharon to the bowling alley. Other than bowling, Sharon and Jane did not go around together. However, Sharon had once been invited to lunch at Jane's home with three other girls. Janet Zwanziger was only casually acquainted with defendant Jane Hamilton. Plaintiffs Sharon and Janet were close friends.

Since each case turns on its own facts, the evidence must be examined in some detail. Earlier in the week of Friday, February 17, 1961, Miss Hamilton had invited a friend, Janice Rosenberg, who was Sharon Croatt's roommate, to spend to weekend at the Hamilton home. Miss Rosenberg declined as she was going to her own home that weekend. Miss Hamilton came to the home at which Miss Croatt was rooming during that Friday evening and asked her to go to a movie. As miss Croatt had three other girls in for the evening, Miss Hamilton joined them. Later they discovered the weather had turned bad. It was sleeting and icy outside. The girls accompanied Jane as she drove out to the bowling alley to find her parents intending to ride home with them. They contacted Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton but it was decided that Jane would stay with Sharon that night. This arrangement was carried out.

Saturday morning Sharon Croatt arose and went to Mass. It was still snowing and blowing. When she returned to her room, Jane Hamilton told her that she, Miss Croatt, was going home with her for the weekend. Sharon said that this was the first invitation or suggestion that she should spend the weekend at the Hamilton home. She did not want to go because she had to study for tests and because of the bad weather. Miss Hamilton announced that Janet Zwanziger, with whom Sharon had planned to study, was going with them and that she had already called Janet about it.

We will not here detail the evidence of the conversations which finally resulted in the two girls accompanying Jane. Suffice to say that if believed the evidence supports the conclusion that the two girls were reluctant to accompany Jane, primarily due to the weather. They had several telephone conversations during which they continued in the decision to remain in Mason City, but finally decided to go after repeated requests by Jane, who stated that she was afraid; that the plaintiffs should go along to help her because she couldn't go alone in case something happened.

Plaintiffs' testimony indicates that the weather was very severe. The car was struck in the snow when the girls first tried to move it. Jane parked in the middle of the street when they stopped by to pick up Janet. The trip itself was through what was described by plaintiff as a real blizzard. The windows kept frosting up. Sharon wiped them off constantly. They had to roll down the windows and put their heads out to see where they were. They stopped at least five or perhaps six times to wipe snow off the car as the windshield wipers couldn't do the job. They weren't sure they could get up the hills along the way. They were hoping they could keep going and not have to get out and walk. However, they made the 16 miles to the Hamilton farm after about two hours driving, and stayed there that night. Sunday they were to be brought back, but this didn't work out. Monday morning Jane was driving them back to school when the collision with the train occurred.

Defendant Jane Hamilton's memory of the weather on the morning, produced by plaintiffs by discovery deposition is completely different. It was Jane's memory that it was just a clear cold morning. The sun was shining. There was no snow until they had gone about four miles. She had no trouble driving. These and several other conflicts were for the jury.

William Lyons, the local federal aviation agency employee, whose weather observations are certified by the weather bureau, testified that their records at the Mason City Airport showed light freezing rain Friday night February 17, 1961; and showed light snow and freezing rain February 18 from midnight to 7:58 A.M. At that time snow reduced visibility to one half mile. From 8:00 A.M. until noon visibility ranged from one eighth to one mile with snow, blowing snow and fog. The wind during that time was from north to northeast at 20 to 28 knots. Nine inches of snow fell on February 18 to 9:10 P.M. There were four inches on the ground at 6:00 A.M. These observations were limited to Mason City Airport located seven miles west of Mason City. Mr. Lyons further testified: 'It's not likely that it could have been perfectly clear between nine and eleven, because the weather report doesn't indicate clear. As to whether it could have stopped snowing, snow was reported in the weather portion of the report on all the hours from six to twelve. According to the report it was snowing constantly at the airport.'

Motion to direct was limited to the status of the passengers. Therefore, the details of the accident which occurred on the return trip to Mason City the following Monday morning will not be here considered. The status of the plaintiffs as guests or as passengers must be determined by their status at the time they started the trip Saturday morning.

I. Section 321.494, Code, 1962 provides:

'Guest statute. The owner or operator of a motor vehicle shall not be liable for any damages to any passenger or person riding in said motor vehicle as a guest or by invitation and not for hire unless damage is caused as a result of the driver of said motor vehicle being under the influence of intoxicating liquor or because of the reckless operation by him of such motor vehicle.'

The following rules have been followed in determining who is a guest.

'The general principles usually applied in defining a guest under the various guest statutes are thus stated in 4 Blashfield, Cyclopedia of Automobile Law and Practice, Perm.Ed., section 2292, to-wit:

"In determining who are 'guests' within the meaning of automobile guest statutes, the enactments should not be extended beyond the correction of the evils which induced their enactment.

"They were designed to relieve the harshness of the common-law rule which requires the exercise of ordinary care even to a recipient of the driver's kindness and hospitality. In construing such statutes their terms are not always to be taken in their literal sense, and the court will consider not only the ordinarily accepted meaning of the words used, but also such interpretation as may have been applied to them under common law or similar statutes. * * *

"One important element in determining whether a person is a guest within the meaning and limitations of such statutes is the identity of the person or persons advantaged by the carriage. If, in its direct operation, it confers a benefit only on the person to whom the ride is given, and no benefits, other than such as are incidental to hospitality, companionship, or the like, upon the person extending the invitation, the passenger is a guest within the statutes; but, if his carriage tends to the promotion of mutual interests of both himself and the driver and operates for their common benefit or if it is primarily for the attainment of some objective or purpose of the operator, he is not a guest within the meaning of such enactments." Bodaken v. Logan, 254 Iowa 230, 117 N.W.2d 470, 472.

Thus one who rides in an automobile for the definite and tangible benefit of the owner or...