Di Mezzes v. Yellow Cab Co.
Di Mezzes v. Yellow Cab Co.
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
Rita Di Mezzes filed a complaint in trespass against Albert Raditz and the Yellow Cab Company of Philadelphia, hereinafter referred to as the Company, seeking to recover damages for personal injuries caused by a motor vehicle collision. At the trial the Company
Miss Di Mezzes testified that, about 4:30 p.m. on February 25, 1956, she was a passenger in a taxicab owned by the Company and operated by Max Freeman. The cab was proceeding in a southerly direction in the 1400 block of South Taylor Street in the City of Philadelphia. Taylor Street is a narrow one-way two-lane street running from north to south. Parking is permitted in the right, or west lane, leaving only the east lane for moving traffic. The record does not disclose the width of the street, but the photographs introduced in evidence clearly sIioav that there was just sufficient space for one vehicle in the traffic lane. At the time of the accident, cars were parked along the west side of the street. When the cab reached the middle of the block the left front door of one of the parked cars opened and was immediately struck by the right front of the cab. As a result of the collision the right front headlight, right front bumper, and right front fender of the cab were damaged. Miss Di Mezzes stated that she was sitting on the right-hand side of the rear seat of the cab, with a large cardboard box resting on her lap, “and all of a sudden something hit us and I fell to the floor of the cab”. Her version of the accident was that, when the front of the cab was two or three feet from the left front door of the parked car, the door was “flung open” and struck the front part of the cab.
Eaditz testified that he had parked along the right-hand or west side of South Taylor Street. After parking, and before attempting to get out, he looked down
Freeman testified that, as he was proceeding south in the 1400 block of South Taylor Street, there was a solid row of parked cars on the right side. He was moving at a speed of from three to five miles per hour, with his foot resting on the brake. He explained that he was familiar with the neighborhood and wanted to be able to stop immediately if a child should dart from the sidewalk into the street. As he reached the middle of the block, the door of a parked car suddenly opened in his path. At that time the front of the cab was only a foot or so from the door. He immediately applied pressure to the brake, but was unable to avoid striking the door. The .cab came to a stop within a few feet of the point of contact.
The Company’s contention here, as it was in the court below, is that there is.no evidence of any negligence on the part of its driver. An examination of this record, in the light of the applicable legal principles, leads us to the same conclusion. Our decision will of course not affect the judgment so far as Raditz is concerned.
It is argued on behalf of Raditz, the appellee, that the cab “was travelling too close to the parked cars”. In O’Malley v. Quaker City Cabs, Inc., 107 Pa. Superior Ct. 380, 163 A. 339, we held that it was not negligence on the part of a cab driver proceeding south along the west side of North Broad Street to pass a parked ear so closely as to injure a man making repairs underneath it with one of his feet extended four or five inches beyond the edge of the running board. Certainly, on a street as narrow as South Taylor Street, there could be no inference of negligence from the fact that a cab was operated at a distance of ten or twelve inches
It is also argued that the cab driver “was inattentive in a hazardous area”. The court below attempted to justify such an inference “on the basis of Freeman’s testimony, later changed, that he did not see the door open”. This criticism is not supported by the record. A reading of Freeman’s testimony in its entirety fails to reveal that he changed or altered his testimony in any respect. He never testified or hinted that he did not see the door open. To the contrary he stated, and repeated, that when the front of the cab was about a foot from the door it suddenly opened, at which time he applied the brake.
Finally, it is argued that the cab “was travelling at an excessive speed under the circumstances”. However, there is no such evidence in the record. We are not in accord with the view that an inference of excessive speed can be drawn because of the fact that Miss Di Mezzes was thrown from her seat, or because of the short distance traveled between the sighting of the open door and the point at which the cab came to rest after the collision. In brief, the operator of a motor vehicle will not be held liable merely because he was unable to avoid a collision under circumstances which were unusual and not likely to be anticipated: Soha v. Spaulding Bakeries, 124 Pa. Superior Ct. 205, 188 A. 381; Bloom v. Bailey, 292 Pa. 348, 141 A. 150.
We are of the opinion that the instant appeal is controlled by Seiler v. Philadelphia Rapid Transit Co., 111 Pa. Superior Ct. 69, 169 A. 422. In that case the plaintiff had parked his automobile, facing north, with its right wheels against the east curb of Forty-second Street. He opened the door on the left side and had
Judgment against appellant reversed, and here entered in its favor. Cf. Casseday v. Baltimore & Ohio R. Co., 343 Pa. 342, 22 A. 2d 663.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.