Barwood, Inc. v. Georgi

Per Curiam. This appeal stems from a collision, in the late afternoon of 24 September 1965, between a taxicab and a Volkswagen station wagon (the VW) at the intersection of Connecticut Avenue and Newlands Street in Montgomery County about one-half mile north of the District line. The appellee Georgi was northbound in the VW on Connecticut Avenue in the lane next to the grass median strip. Traffic was heavy and it was raining.

As he approached Newlands Street he saw the taxicab owned b)' the appellant Barwood, Inc. (Barwood), waiting in the crossover. It had crossed the three southbound lanes. Triantis, its driver, intended to continue on across the three northbound lanes. When Georgi was “one-half car length” from the crossover Triantis “jutted in front” of him.

The collision, said Georgi, was unavoidable. The.trial before Mathias, J., and a jury resulted in verdicts against both appellants, $46.50 in favor of Georgi and $5,500 in favor of his wife. Upon the denial of a motion for a new trial both Barwood and Triantis appealed from the ensuing judgments. The first error assigned by the appellants arises out of the trial judge’s instruction to the jury that there was “no evidence to indicate” contributory negligence on the part of Georgi.

Georgi was the favored driver and in the circumstances here present he was not bound to anticipate a negligent act or omission on the part of Triantis. See Thompson v.