(Download) "Jane A. K. Meyer Et Al. v. Brown-Harter Cadillac" by Supreme Court of New York ~ eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Jane A. K. Meyer Et Al. v. Brown-Harter Cadillac
- Author : Supreme Court of New York
- Release Date : January 21, 1969
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 66 KB
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[32 A.D.2d 1045 Page 1045] This action stems from a two-car collision at the point where a shopping center exit meets a public highway. One of the
cars was owned and driven by plaintiff Etta Kranzler; seated beside her was her 15-year-old daughter, plaintiff Jane Kranzler
(now Jane Meyer). The other car was driven by defendant Brown. The accident occurred when the Kranzler car, coming out of
the shopping center, was struck by the Brown car, which was proceeding south on the public highway. Plaintiff Jane Meyer testified
that her mother wished to turn left on the highway to go north; that traffic was heavy and there were parked cars to her left;
that the light at the corner north of them turned red, southbound traffic stopped, and her mother drove into the southbound
lane; that before her mother could make the turn, they heard a horn and were struck by defendants' car; and that they had
been at a standstill in the southbound lane for several minutes before the collision. On cross-examination she conceded that
on a pretrial examination she had testified that she did not see defendants' car before the impact and did not remember where
she was looking. There was no other proof as to Jane Meyer's conduct at the time of the accident. The trial court charged
that any negligence of the driver (Etta Kranzler) could not be attributed to the passenger (Jane Meyer), but that the passenger
had the duty to conduct herself as a reasonably prudent person of the same age would have conducted herself, and that "if
she was guilty of negligence as a passenger, then her case is also defeated." The court denied plaintiffs' request to charge
that there was "no evidence in this case upon which a finding could be made that Jane Kranzler Meyer was contributorily negligent."
The jury, by 10 to 2, then found for defendants against all plaintiffs. In our opinion it was error to refuse the above-mentioned
request to charge and to submit to the jury the question of Jane Meyer's contributory negligence, since there are no facts
in the record that could justify a finding of contributory negligence on her part. She was only 15 years old and could not
reasonably be expected to tell her mother how to drive the car. She did not own the car, had no control over its operation,
was not in the car to act as a lookout or guide for her mother, and had a right to assume that her mother would drive carefully.
Since we cannot tell from the jury's general verdict whether it was based on a finding that [32 A.D.2d 1045 Page 1046]
 "Jane A. K. Meyer Et Al. v. Brown-Harter Cadillac" by Supreme Court of New York ~ eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free){kind=link}