Taylor v. Pacific Gas & Electric Co.

SPENCE, J. Plaintiffs Robert M. Taylor and Wilma Taylor are husband and wife. Plaintiff Robert E. Taylor is their minor son. This action was brought to recover damages alleged to have been sustained by plaintiffs when the automobile of plaintiffs ran into a pole of the defendant company under the circumstances hereinafter set forth. The cause was tried by a jury, plaintiffs had judgment and defendant appeals.

The accident occurred on Hopkins Street in the city of Oakland, which street runs in a general northerly and southerly direction in the vicinity in question. The defendant, a public utility corporation, maintains its high voltage power lines upon poles which are located just inside the curb line along the westerly side of said street. The poles are the ordinary heavy wooden poles customarily used for that purpose and are about 50 feet in height. On the day of the accident, one of the high voltage wires broke and the two ends of said broken wire fell to the street. Mrs. Taylor had been driving along Hopkins Street in a northerly direction. She testified that she was traveling.at about 35 miles per hour in a 45 miles per hour zone at the time that the wire broke and fell into the street in front of her. In this sudden emergency, she swung her car to the left or in a westerly direction, put on her brakes but nevertheless ran into the pole in question. Defendant briefly summarizes her testimony as follows: “There is no dispute that the record shows that respondent Wilma Taylor testified that as she was driving an automobile along the street she saw suddenly a wire falling and emitting flashes ahead practically in her path and that in seeking to avoid it she swung her car to the left across the left half of the highway, up onto the sidewalk and into that one of appellant’s poles from which the wire had broken. It was admitted to be appellant’s pole and wire.” The testimony of Mrs. Taylor was corroborated by several disinterested witnesses.

Upon the trial, defendant proceeded upon the theory that the collision of the automobile with the pole had not been caused by the breaking of the wire but, on the contrary, the breaking of the wire had been caused by the collision of [14]the automobile with the pole. Defendant introduced some evidence, principally certain expert testimony, tending to support this theory and this issue of fact was clearly presented to the jury by an instruction reading, “If you believe from the evidence that the wire was caused to fall as the result of the automobile driven by Mrs. Taylor striking the pole, you must then return your verdict in favor of the defendant.” The jury, by its verdict in favor of plaintiffs, impliedly found against defendant on this issue of fact thereby repudiating defendant’s theory. It is conceded that there was abundant evidence to sustain such implied finding.