214 Wis. 263 | Wis. | 1934
The errors claimed by appellants are (1) that the findings of the jury relating to the negligence of Mrs. Roenitz and of the deceased should have been changed upon their motion and the complaint dismissed; and that if the complaint should not have been dismissed, a new trial should have been granted because the findings of the jury are inconsistent; and that (2) the damages for pecuniary loss are excessive as reduced by the court and should have been further reduced or a new trial granted.
(1) The answers of the jury to the questions relating to negligence of Mrs. Roenitz are clearly supported by the
After the collision the headlight switch of the deceased’s car was on. The switch was located on the steering wheel and the wheel was so broken that the switch was locked and could not be turned either way, so that the switch was on when the cars met. The dash light, on a different circuit, was on. The deceased’s car was nearly off the roadway, lying with its right wheels on the shoulder and its left in the ditch, facing south. The deceased was lying directly behind, to the north of his car. The other car was facing northwest, its rear wheels near the center line of the pavement and its front either off or near the west edge of the pavement. The two cars were- six and a half to eight feet apart. Mrs. Roenitz and two occupants of her car testified that she was on the right side of the road at the time of and while approaching the place of the collision. The appearance of the cars after the collision indicated that the left fronts of the two cars collided. The occupants of the Roe-nitz car had been drinking beer at a roadhouse prior to the
The contention respecting the finding as to lights on the car of the deceased is that it is contrary to the undisputed testimony of four credible witnesses, and the jury were bound to answer in accordance with this testimony. The finding was that the deceased was not negligent as to lights. This does not necessarily imply that his lights were on. The fact that immediately after the collision the deceased lay directly behind his car may have been considered by the jury to indicate that he was stopped beside the road in effort to fix his lights at the time of the collision, and that the evidence did not establish that he was negligent in so doing. It was for the defendants to establish negligence, and the jury may have thought the defendants had not met this burden, even if the lights were off. There were grounds also for the jury to consider that the witnesses were not credible. They manifestly rejected their testimony as to the Roenitz car being on its right side of the road, and the position of the cars after the collision justified this rejection. Their testimony in this respect being false, the jury may have considered them not credible. And the circumstances as to the drinking may have not unreasonably affected the jury’s opinion as to their credibility. The condition of the switch on the deceased’s car tended to support an inference that the lights were on. We cannot say that the jury were not justified in considering that negligence of the deceased as to lights was not established. The same, with stronger reason, may be said in respect to the jury’s other findings as to negligence of the deceased. We perceive no inconsistency in the jury’s findings, and being supported by the evidence and being sufficient to support the judgment, the defendants’ motions for judgment in their favor and for a new trial were properly denied.
By the Court. — The judgment of the circuit court is affirmed.