This is an action to recover damages resulting from the alleged negligence of defendant Fred J. Hatch, Jr., while driving an automobile in the parking lot at the Willow Run airport on September 15, 1953, at or about the hour of 5 -.20 p. m. The lot in question measures about 800 feet from east to west and approximately the same distance
The cause came on for trial before the trial court without a jury, and at its conclusion the trial court rendered judgment in favor of plaintiff in the amount of $1,000. The trial court rendered the following opinion:
“The court is of the opinion that there was no contributory negligence on the. part of the plaintiff and that defendant’s negligence is obvious. He entered in this lane of traffic without making any observation to the right whatsoever. He entered into ,the southerly part of this lane which goes in an eastjerly-westerly direction without observing the pláintiff. The plaintiff’s own testimony, and the court believes her, was that she was in the right-hand side of this traffic lane; she stated she saw him 5 feet north (of the east-west road) and that there was nothing she could do before she was struck. The court is not of the opinion that the plaintiff will be required to stop at each one of the intersections in order to have the court say she would not be guilty of negligence as a matter of law, since ah' ordinary prudent person drives along these lanes expecting traffic coming out of the little intersections to stop. Plaintiff sustained the burden of proof and (the court) enters the judgment of $1,000.”
Defendant appeals and urges that plaintiff' was guilty of contributory negligence as a matter of law in driving on the entrance-exit lane without making proper observation to traffic coming from the north.It is admitted by both parties that the contributory negligence of plaintiff, if any, and the negligence of defendant should be governed by the common law as the statutory law and the Michigan vehicle code áre not applicable tq automobile traffic on private property.
In the' absence of statutory requirements, it is the motorist’s duty in the use- and operation of his automobile to exercise ordinary and reasonable care and caution, that is, that degree of care and caution which an' ordinarily careful and prudent person would exercise under the same or similar circumstances. Haz
en
v.
Rockefeller,
In
Waling
v.
City of Detroit,
“It is an impossibility to lay down precise rules by which we may measure all acts' of contributory negligence, and * * * some cases, must of necessity stand or fall on their-"own facts. A' state offacts should not result in a determination of negligence as a matter of law where reasonable minds may differ upon those facts. Adams v. Canfield, 263 Mich 666 .”
The precise question in this case may be stated as follows: How should one proceed out of the parking lot.in question or how would a reasonably, prudent person conduct himself under the circumstances? The record shows that because of the arrangement of the parked cars one could not from a moving vehicle see a car coming from a side lane until he was practically opposite the entrance from whence the car was coming. We do not think a driver on the entrance-exit lane-road is required to stop at the intersection of each feeder lane in order to be free from contributory negligence as a matter of law. We are of the opinion that the conduct of plaintiff at the time and place in question presents a question of fact as to whether she was guilty of contributory negligence. In law cases tried without a jury we do not reverse unless the evidence clearly preponderates in the direction opposite to the finding of fact of the trial court. In our examination of the record we are of the opinion that the finding of fact on this issue was correct.
We also conclude that under the circumstances of this case that defendant was guilty of negligence and that such negligence was the proximate cause of the damages suffered- by plaintiff. It follows that the judgment is affirmed, with costs to plaintiff.