Opinion
No. 43452.
April 5, 1965.
1. Motor vehicles — negligence — act of plaintiff-motorist, sole, proximate cause of collision.
Bus company and its driver were not liable for injuries sustained by plaintiff who opened door of automobile at a time when the bus was passing so as to cause the door to strike the side of the bus, without fault of company or its driver.
Headnote as approved by Rodgers, J.
APPEAL from the Circuit Court of Jones County; LUNSFORD CASEY, J.
Wm. H. Odom, Laurel, for appellant.
I. The Court erred in refusing a peremptory instruction for the plaintiff. Meeks v. McBeath, 231 Miss. 504, 95 So.2d 791; Wells v. Bennett, 229 Miss. 135, 90 So.2d 199.
II. The Court erred in refusing plaintiff's requested instructions appearing on pages 18 and 19 of the record. Buntyn v. Robinson, 233 Miss. 360, 102 So.2d 126; Sec. 1455, Code 1942.
III. The Court erred in granting the instruction that appears on page 20 of the record. Potera v. Brookhaven, 95 Miss. 774, 49 So. 617.
IV. The verdict as returned by the jury is against the overwhelming weight of the testimony and evidence, and it is against the law of the case. Hooks v. Mills, 101 Miss. 91, 57 So. 545.
V. The Court erred in entering judgment upon the verdict of the jury, and erred in overruling appellant's motion for new trial. Sec. 1454, Code 1942.
Welch, Gibbes Graves, Laurel; Butler, Snow, O'Mara, Stevens Cannada, Roger C. Landrum, Jackson, for appellees.
I. Answer to Point I of appellant's brief. Meeks v. McBeath, 231 Miss. 504, 95 So.2d 791; Wells v. Bennett, 229 Miss. 135, 90 So.2d 199.
II. Answer to Point II of appellant's brief. Stacks v. Veteran's Cab Co. (Tenn.), 366 S.W.2d 539; Anno. 92 A.L.R. 2d 1037, 1058.
III. Answer to Point III of appellant's brief. Billmeyer v. State, for use of Whiteman (Md.), 64 A.2d 755; Keheley v. Uhl, 129 Conn. 30, 26 A.2d 357; Pickering v. Continental Southern Lines, 250 Miss. 694, 168 So.2d 43; Ponder v. Carroll, 193 Ark. 1120, 105 S.W.2d 72; Potera v. Brookhaven, 95 Miss. 774, 49 So. 617; Reams v. Cone, 190 Va. 835, 59 S.E.2d 87; Stappers v. New Orleans Public Service, Inc. (La.), 137 So.2d 510; Tarrant v. Pepsi Cola Bottling Co., 221 N.C. 390, 20 S.E.2d 565; Blashfield, Cyclopedia of Automobile Law and Practice (perm. ed.), Sec. 1593.
IV. Points IV and V of appellant's brief are not well taken.
This is an action brought by appellant, Evans Thomas, in the Second Circuit Court District of Jones County, Mississippi, for personal injuries alleged to have been sustained by him as the result of a collision between a bus driven by appellee, W.R. Stephens, and an automobile in which appellant was sitting.
Appellees denied negligence and offered evidence to show that appellant opened the door of his automobile at a time when the bus was passing so as to cause the door to strike the side of the bus, without fault on the part of appellees. The jury returned a verdict in favor of appellees.
Appellant complains on appeal that the verdict of the jury was against the great weight of the evidence, and that the circuit court should have granted appellant a peremptory instruction.
(Hn 1) We are of the opinion that there is ample evidence in the record from which the jury could reasonably conclude that the acts of appellant were the sole, proximate cause of the collision. Eye-witnesses testified that appellant opened the door of the automobile against the side of the moving bus, at a time when the bus was traveling at such a slow speed the bus driver was able to stop within a few feet.
Appellant complains that the circuit judge granted certain instructions to appellees and refused certain instructions to appellant, and which are said to be prejudicial. We have studied these instructions and the cases cited in the briefs and are of the opinion that there is no reversible error shown in the record on appeal.
The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
Affirmed.
Lee, C.J., and Gillespie, Jones and Brady, JJ., concur.