Ray v. Manculich

George Devlin was the owner and operator of an automobile. In the early morning around two oclock, Devlin, with Charles H. Ray as a guest passenger, was returning to Pittsburgh from the Elks Club in Donora. He was driving on state highway number 88, a paved and well travelled highway twenty feet wide. He was driving through dense fog with poor visibility. After stopping at a restaurant in Monongahela for a meal plaintiffs proceeded to a point near Mineral Beach. The hour was between 4.30 and 5 oclock a. m. At the suggestion of Ray, Devlin stopped his car because of the increased density of the fog and the poor visibility. Devlin and Ray remained seated in the car from twenty minutes to a half hour. While the car was thus stopped, or parked, a truck operated by an employe of defendant, Alex Manculich, travelling the highway in the same direction, crashed into the rear of Devlins automobile, damaging it and injuring both plaintiffs. In the suit of Ray (the guest passenger), Devlin (owner and operator of the car) was joined as an additional defendant. The jury rendered verdicts for both plaintiffs against defendant Manculich, and in the Ray suit, in favor of the additional defendant Devlin. Defendant neither seeks nor desires a new trial. He relies solely upon his motions for judgment n.o.v. The appeal presents the question: were plaintiffs guilty of contributory negligence as matter of law?