Gardner v. Vance
Gardner v. Vance
Opinion of the Court
On the day of the accident complained of, appellee charges that he was driving a team of horses attached to a wagon along one of the public highways of Boone county; that while so doing appellant approached him from the rear driving an automobile at a speed of twenty-five miles an hour; that appellee, fearing that his horses might become frightened' at the approaching car, when appellant was one hundred yards to the rear, signalled him to stop his car or to slacken his speed; that he alighted from the wagon, and, while walking alongside of his wagon and horses to better control them, appellant negligently failed to stop or slacken his speed and negligently and carelessly ran his automobile against him and severely injured him. Appellee obtained a verdict and judgment for $600 in the court below, from which judgment appellant has appealed, and has assigned as error the overruling of his motion for a new trial. Under this assignment we are required to consider whether the court erred in giving to the jury instructions Nos. 2 and 5 and, whether the verdict of the jury is sustained by sufficient evidence.
The complaint also charges that when appellee was injured he was walking alongside of his team and wagon; but the trial court, referring to appellee’s position upon the highway when injured, added in his charge to what is averred in the complaint in that connection the phrase, "or running up to his team.” This is also objected to on the ground that
It is the duty of the court, when charging the jury, to correctly state the issues upon which the cause is tried and any instruction given which has no application to any issue is erroneous and in many instances may he harmful and reversible error. And while the trial court, in using the language complained of to explain the position of appellee just prior to and at the time of the collision, went beyond the specific averments of the complaint, yet we are entirely satisfied that the appellant was not harmed thereby, especially since the uncontradicted evidence supported the additional facts referred to in the instruction and that evidence went to the jury without objection. Such being the ease appellant is in no position to urge the objections which he now urges to the instructions given, and it is unnecessary to give them further consideration.
Judgment affirmed.
Note. — Reported in 113 N. E. 1006. Reciprocal duties of operators of automobiles and pedestrians, care required, 51 L. R. A. (N. S.) 990; 21 Ann. Cas. 048 ; 37 Cyc 273, 279. Negligence of operators of automobiles under particular state of facts, 1 L. R. A. (N. S.) 228.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.