McNeil v. Young

BALTHIS, J.

This is an appeal from a judgment in favor of defendants in a personal injury action arising out of an intersection automobile collision. The plaintiffs were passengers in a Ford automobile driven by one Gardner. Defendant Young was the driver of a truck and trailer owned by defendant Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company. The trial court heard the case, sitting without a jury, and by stipulation of the parties received evidence limited to the question of liability. The judgment was in favor of the defendants on this issue, findings of fact and conclusions of law were waived, and plaintiffs appeal from such judgment.

In the absence of findings of fact and conclusions of law, every intendment is in favor of the judgment appealed from and it is presumed that every fact or inference essential to the support of the judgment and warranted by the evidence was found by the court.

(Reid

v.

Valley Restaurants, Inc.,

48 Cal.2d 606, 609 [311 P.2d 473].) However, where the transcript is before the reviewing court (as it is here), the court is not required to indulge in an assumption as to the sufficiency of the evidence to support the implied findings as the sufficiency will be determined from an examination of the evidence itself. Where the transcript of the evidence is examined, the reviewing court will not weigh the evidence to determine what is true and what is not true, but it will search the record for the purpose only of determining whether there is substantial evidence supporting the judgment and will resolve all doubts in favor of the judgment (M

ears

v.

Mears,

180 Cal.App.2d 484, 497-498 [4 Cal.Rptr. 618]).

The accident in question occurred at the signal-controlled intersection of Broadway and north Daly Street in Los Angeles on the evening of August 8, 1958, at 8:30 p. m. The Ford automobile driven by Gardner, and in which plaintiffs were riding, was proceeding in an easterly direction on Broadway and the truck driven by defendant Young was proceeding in a northerly direction on Daly Street.

Construing the evidence most favorably for the defendants it appears from the testimony of defendant Young, who was driving the truck, that as he was approaching the intersection