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• Title: Louise C. Smith v. Shaw Dixon
• Author : Supreme Court of New York
• Release Date : January 20, 1968
• Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
• Pages : * pages
• Size : 57 KB

Description

This action to recover damages for personal injuries arose out of an automobile collision. Plaintiff, the owner and a passenger
in a car driven by defendant Gottesman, sued both Gottesman and Dixon, the driver of the other car. The accident occurred
while plaintiff's car was proceeding east on Baisley Boulevard, a two-way thoroughfare with a center line. The testimony for
plaintiff indicated that her car was on the right of the line at all times and the collision occurred because the Dixon car
crossed the line. After the accident plaintiff's car was on the right side of the line. Defendant Dixon, called as a witness
for plaintiff, was unable to recall the precise details of the accident, but his testimony indicated that he did cross the
white line into the lane in which plaintiff's car was proceeding. At the close of plaintiff's case the trial court dismissed
the complaint as against defendant Gottesman since no actionable negligence had been proved. Defendant Dixon rested without
offering any evidence. In its charge, the court informed the jury that, even though he had removed the case against Gottesman
from their consideration, they still had to consider whether Gottesman's actions contributed to the accident. The court charged
that plaintiff could recover against Dixon only if the jury found that the accident had occurred solely because of the negligence
of Dixon. On this appeal it is Dixon's contention that because the court dismissed the case against Gottesman the jury was
bound to find that defendant was solely at fault. Dixon further contends that by dismissing the case against Gottesman, whose
negligence, if any, would be imputed to plaintiff, the court forced the jury to find that plaintiff was not guilty of contributory
negligence. On the facts, the court was within its rights when it dismissed the case against Gottesman. We believe that there
was no prejudice in the charge because there was really a question of law here and the trial court could have found as a matter
of law that plaintiff was not guilty of contributory negligence. Such a finding, however, would still leave the jury with
the question of Dixon's negligence. Plaintiff could recover against either defendant but not against both because her driver's
negligence, if any, would be imputed to her in her suit against Dixon. Therefore, when the court left to the jury the issue
of Gottesman's negligence it aided Dixon, since the court could have found, as a matter of law, that plaintiff was not guilty
of contributory negligence. Disposition Judgment of the Supreme Court, Nassau County, dated March 2, 1967, affirmed, with costs to plaintiff against
defendant Dixon and with costs to defendant Gottesman against plaintiff.

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