Catawba County NcArchives Court.....F. B. Ingold, Thelma Huffman, Administratrix V. 1921
************************************************
Copyright.  All rights reserved.
http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
http://www.usgwarchives.net/nc/ncfiles.htm
************************************************

File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Connie Ardrey n/a December 14, 2009, 8:44 am

Source: North Carolina Reports Spring Term
Written: 1921

Thelma Huffman, Administratrix v. F.B. Ingold

(Filed 3 June, 1921)

1. Employer and Employee-Master and Servant-Automobiles-Negligence-
Contributory Negligence-Evidence-Trials

Where there is sufficient evidence of the negligence of the driver of an 
automobile, which proximately caused the death of an employee while taking him 
to work, by turning the machine from the road over an embankment, the mere 
fact that the deceased was sitting on the edge of the machine with his feet on 
the running board, after having been requested by the driver not to do so, is 
insufficient alone to take the case to the jury upon the issue of contributory 
negligence.

2. Appeal and Error-New Trial-Issues
In this case the Supreme Court refused, it its direction, to confine the new 
trial to the only issue in which error was found.

Stacy, J., concurring in result; Walker and Allen, JJ., dissenting

Appeal by plaintiff from Shaw, J., at February Term, 1921, of Catawba.

The plaintiff's intestate was killed 30 September, 1919, by the over-turning 
of a one-ton motor truck near Icard, which was owned and operated by the 
defendant in connection with his hardware business. It was driven by an 
employee, Titus Hefner.

In September, 1919, the defendant contracted to install certain heating pipes 
at Valdese, fourteen miles from Hickory, and Herbert Miller and deceased were 
directed to take the materials and tools up there to do the work. On 30 
September they started on the truck with the material and tools, Titus Hefner 
driving. The truck was five feet wide and had one seat, hardly so wide, back 
of which was the bed of the truck with the pipes and tools. Hefner, the 
driver, occupied the seat on the left, Miller sat beside him, and Huffman sat 
on the floor of the car at Miller's feet on the right-hand side, his feet 
being on the running board.

About eight miles out of the Hickory-Morganton highway and just west of Icard 
they crossed a concrete bridge onto a low straight fill when Hefner, the 
driver, suddenly turned his steering wheel to the right, then to the left, 
then to the right again and drove the truck out of the road on the right-hand 
side. The right wheels went over the right bank of the fill, ran this way for 
20 or 30 feed, when the truck turned over and Huffman was caught under it and 
crushed to death. 

This action is by the widow as his administratrix to recover damages for the 
negligent injuries to and death of her husband.

Contributory negligence was pleaded, and the court submitted the usual three 
issues of negligence, contributory negligence, and damages. The jury found the 
first two in the affirmative and did not answer the third.
Judgment. Appeal by plaintiff.

W.B. Councill and E.B. Cline for plaintiff
W.A. Self and A.A. Whitener for defendant

[NC Supreme Court]
Clark, C.J.
New Trial

[See court case for Judge Clark's complete findings]

File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/nc/catawba/court/fbingold1257wl.txt

This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/ncfiles/

File size: 3.4 Kb