U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, 1952

Capital Transit Co. v. Garcia

U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit · Decided January 24, 1952 · Clark, Edgerton, Fahy

194 F.2d 162; 90 U.S. App. D.C. 168; 1952 U.S. App. LEXIS 2740 (Federal Reporter, Second Series)

Counsel

Frank F. Roberson, Washington, D. C., with whom George D. Horning, Jr., Washington, D. C., was on the brief, for appellant., Dorsey K. Offutt, Washington, D. C., with whom Thomas A. Farrell, Washington, D. C., was on the brief, for appellee.

Cases that cite this one

11 later published cases cite this decision.

Louis Kuzminsky v. Leroy Woodard (D.C. Cir. 1962)
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority v. Jones (D.C. 1982)
Reginald Law v. Virginia Stage Lines, Inc., a Corporation (D.C. Cir. 1971)
Frederick J. McManus Jr., a Minor, by His Father and Next Friend, Frederick J. McManus Sr. v. Winifred Rogers (D.C. Cir. 1959)
Albert C. Frost, Hugh C. Frost v. Cooper P. Benedict, Betsy Ann Siegeltuch (D.C. Cir. 1964)
Piper v. Andrews (District Court, District of Columbia 1963)
Jenkins v. Young (D.C. 1957)
Baber v. Akers Motor Lines, Inc. (D.C. Cir. 1954)
Johnson v. Yellow Cab Co. of DC (D.C. 1953)
Finney v. Capital Transit Co. (D.C. Cir. 1952)
Mathews v. Lindsay (District Court, District of Columbia 1959)

This list shows which later cases cite this one. It does not say how they treated it, and no review of that has been done. Not a substitute for Shepard’s or KeyCite — verify before relying.

Opinion

EDGERTON, Circuit Judge.

Appellee Garcia recovered judgment against appellant Transit Company for personal injuries caused by his walking against the side of a streetcar. In crossing the street on a crosswalk, he kept watching a traffic light on his right and so failed to see the streetcar approaching from his left. Obviously his negligence was a cause of his injury. The chief question is whether the District Court erred in submitting the case to the jury on the basis of the so-called last dear chance doctrine. We think the court was right.

Clearly there was never a time when the operator of the streetcar could and the appellee could not have avoided the accident by using care. In other words appellant’s operator did not have a later chance than appellee to avoid the accident. But in the *163 District of Columbia the so-called last clear chance doctrine is broader than its name. A plaintiff who appears to be oblivious to danger, although he would-be quite able to avoid it if he knew of its existence, is within this qualified exception to the rule that contributory negligence bars recovery for injuries negligently inflicted. Stewart v. Capital Transit Co., 70 App.D.C. 346, 347, 108 F.2d 1, 2; Capital Transit Co. v. Smallwood, 82 U.S.App.D.C. 228, 230,162 F.2d 14, 16; Capital Transit Co. v. Grimes, 82 U.S. App.D.C. 393, 394, 164 F.2d 718, 719. Passengers in the streetcar inferred from appellee’s appearance and conduct as he walked through the street toward the track that he was oblivious to the car’s approach. The jury might reasonably conclude that if the operator had used due care he would have observed the same things, drawn the same inference, and sounded his gong in time to avoid the accident. There was ample testimony that no gong was sounded.

We have considered appellant’s other contentions but find no prejudicial error.

Affirmed.

CLARK, Circuit Judge, dissents.

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