Bryant v. Market Street Railway Co.

WARD, J. A rehearing was granted in this case in order to give further consideration to the contentions of appellant, vigorously urged, that the court had misstated, overstated or understated portions of the evidence. A rereading of the record, in the light of these contentions, has convinced us that the opinion heretofore filed correctly states all of the material facts, and that every fact stated in the opinion is supported by substantial evidence, or by reasonable inferences from that evidence. It must be remembered that “when a verdict is attacked as being unsupported, the power of the appellate court begins and ends with a determination as to whether there is any substantial evidence, contradicted or uncontradicted, which will support the conclusion reached by the jury. When two or more inferences can be reasonably deduced from the facts, the reviewing court is without power to substitute its deductions for those of the trial court.” (Crawford v. Southern Pacific Co., 3 Cal.2d 427, 429 [45 P.2d 183]; see, also, Albaugh v. Mt. Shasta Power Corp., 9 Cal.2d 751 [73 P.2d 217] ; Bellon v. Silver Gate Theatres, Inc., 4 Cal.2d 1 [47 P.2d 462] ; Raggio v. Mallory, 10 Cal.2d 723 [76 P.2d 660]; Estate of Bristol, 23 Cal.2d 221 [143 P.2d 689] ; Juchert v. California Water Service Co., 16 Cal.2d 500 [106 P.2d 886] ; Peri v. Los Angeles Junction Ry., 22 Cal.2d 111 [137 P.2d 441]; Laherty v. Connell, 64 Cal.App. 2d 355 [148 P.2d 895].)

[510]One of the basic questions of fact involved in this appeal is where the southbound Powell Street car stopped after crossing 0 ’Farrell Street. We think that the evidence supports the implied finding of the jury that when the Powell Street car stopped it was over the intersection and standing on the down grade. The plaintiff testified that he saw no car in the intersection as he approached. That supports the- reasonable inference that no car was there. The grip-man of the Powell Street car positively testified he held onto the cable until the back end of his car was even with the south property line of 0 ’Farrell Street. While .there are inconsistencies in both witnesses’ testimony these inconsistencies were for the jury.

If the car was over the brow of the hill when it stopped then there was no need to keep a loose grip on the cable. To do so obviously created a trap for any car traveling on 0 ’Farrell Street at that intersection. The danger to such ears if the Powell Street car held the cable after passing over the intersection is so obvious that the jury was justified in its implied finding that defendants were negligent and such negligence constituted the proximate cause of the accident.