Anderson v. Lang

MONCUR, J., pro tem.

This is an action on the part of plaintiff and respondent Vincil Anderson to recover damages from defendant and appellant for personal injuries incurred by respondent as the result of a collision between an automobile in which respondent was riding and one driven by defendant and appellant.

The following is a sufficient statement of the facts for the purpose of a decision upon this appeal.

On June 21, 1938, plaintiff was riding in an automobile driven by one Oscar Benton, a fellow employee of the Pacific Gas & Electric Company, who was driving south on a rural highway in Sutter County, known as Township Road. The automobile driven by appellant Lang was proceeding easterly on the highway known as Franklin Road. The two roads intersect at right angles, and the collision occurred east of the intersection at about 10 o’clock in the morning. Respondent and Benton were the only occupants of the Pacific Gas & Electric Company’s automobile, and appellant was the sole occupant of the automobile which he was driving at the time of the accident.

- The trial was before the court and jury, and after verdict by the jury and judgment thereon in favor of defendant, appellant herein, the trial court granted plaintiff’s motion for a new trial upon the grounds stated in the motion, including that of the insufficiency of the evidence to justify the verdict, and that the verdict is against law; and it is from the order granting the motion that this appeal has been taken.

The question for determination is whether there was an abuse of discretion on the part of the trial court in granting the motion. It is conceded that the question of contribu

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tory negligence on the part of Oscar Benton, the driver of the Pacific Gas & Electric Company automobile, is not involved in this appeal. It is the contention of appellant that it appears from the evidence as a matter of law that there was no negligence on the part of appellant Lang, which was the proximate cause of the accident and the resulting injuries to respondent. With this contention we do not agree. An examination of the record discloses that there was a substantial conflict in the evidence in many material respects. The intersection was an unobstructed one under the provisions of the Vehicle Code of this state.