Fay C. Coit v. G. J. Bentz

This appeal is from an order of the trial court granting plaintiff a new trial on account of error in an instruction, after
the jury had found for the defendant. Since plaintiff's prayer was for $17,500, we have jurisdiction. The case arises out
of an automobile collision in Kansas City. The only points made involve instructions, and we may state the facts briefly. Plaintiff testified: that he was driving west on Admiral Boulevard, approaching Troost Avenue, in the middle of three west-bound
lanes; there was a stop light at the intersection and this could be operated manually by a push button; he saw children at
the corner, and the light turned amber when he was three or four car lengths back; he had slowed to 12-15 miles per hour,
and stopped about 2-3 feet from the crosswalk. As he stopped with his foot on the brake, he took the car out of gear and had
gotten a cigarette out of his pocket when there was a violent crash at the back of his car. He further testified: that his
car was knocked 5-6 feet over the white line; that he got out, recognized the defendant, and they pulled around the corner
and talked; plaintiff's left bumper guard was knocked off and the "gravel guard" bent; defendant's car had some broken grille
work; plaintiff felt no personal injuries at that time; he had previously seen, in the mirror, a car behind him; he estimated
that he had been stopped 2-5 seconds before the impact. He emphasized on cross-examination that he stopped in the center lane,
and had been in it since he entered Admiral from the south at Paseo. He testified that the north lane was used for parking
at times, but not during the rush hours, as this was; he had, however, just passed a car which had stopped in the curb lane
for some purpose; he admitted that in his deposition he had testified that he was in the "north lane," but he sought to explain
that he meant the more northerly of the two lanes not used for parking; he also said that his car was 8-9 feet from the curb
at the time of the impact. He began to note painful injuries the next morning, but these are immaterial here.