Hoyt v. Southern Pacific Co.

California Court of Appeal Apr 9, 1935 No. Civ. 9312Published

Before: Edmonds

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Holding. The trial court committed reversible error by instructing the jury on the presumption of due care for the plaintiff's driver while refusing to give a substantially identical instruction regarding the defendant's conduct. This created an unfair imbalance that misled the jury and potentially resulted in a miscarriage of justice.

Issues

Whether the trial court erred in instructing the jury on the presumption of due care for the plaintiff while refusing a similar instruction for the defendant.
Whether the error in jury instructions regarding the presumption of due care constituted a miscarriage of justice requiring reversal.

Disposition. reversed

Quotations verified verbatim against the opinion

“Where the same standard of care applies equally to each of two parties, an instruction stating the rule as applying to one without any reference to its application to the other places them in different positions before the jury.”

“The error of the trial court in refusing to give the instruction requested by the defendant is cause for reversal if, after an examination of the entire cause, including the evidence, it appears that as a result of such error there has been a”

“miscarriage of justice.”

EDMONDS, J.,

pro tem.

Plaintiff recovered judgment upon the verdict of a jury for damage to a trailer struck by one of the trains of the defendant railway at a crossing in the city of Oxnard. The points presented by the defendant on appeal are that the evidence shows that the driver of the truck was guilty of contributory negligence as a matter of law; that there is no evidence of negligence on the part of the defendant; and that the court erred in instructing the jury.

By the court’s instructions the jury was given the definition and effect of a presumption and told that “it is presumed that plaintiff’s servant and employee, George

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Owen, used due care and did everything that a reasonable, prudent person would have done under the same circumstances to avoid the collision and that he was not negligent”. It was also told, as requested by plaintiff, that “in weighing the evidence in this case you may consider this presumption of care on the part of said George Owen as evidence in the case and weigh it against other evidence in the case to determine whether or not said plaintiff’s servant and employee, George Owen, was guilty of contributory negligence, and, if the evidence, if any, introduced here of negligence on the part of said plaintiff’s servant and employee does not produce conviction in your minds, then you are not bound to decide in conformity with such evidence as against the presumption of due care, but may decide that question in conformity with the presumption that said plaintiff’s servant and employee, George Owen, was not negligent”. The court refused to give an instruction requested by the defendant to the effect that the law presumes that the defendant was not negligent and which, in language almost identical with that of the last-quoted instruction, directed the jury to weigh and consider this presumption in behalf of the defendant against other evidence to determine whether or not the defendant was negligent. Appellant contends that the plaintiff was thus given the benefit of the presumption in his favor while the jury could reasonably conclude that the same rule did not apply to the defendant.

In the case of

Olsen

Hoyt v. Southern Pacific Co.

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EDMONDS, J.,

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