Gutterman v. Biggs

Marbury, J., delivered the opinion of the Court. On July 22, 1964, the appellee, Aldona A. Biggs, was a passenger in a 1963 Ford sedan owned by her and driven by her teenaged son. Their vehicle was in a line of traffic headed in a westerly direction in the 1800 block of Old Georgetown Road, one of the main streets of Bethesda, in a suburban area of Montgomery County, when they were struck from behind by a 1964 Triumph roadster, driven by the appellant, Robert P. Gutter-man, II, resulting in $400 damages to the appellant’s car and $125.87 to the appellee’s car. The impact caused serious injury to Mrs. Biggs, causing her to be hospitalized and requiring considerable medical attention.

In the court below, a jury found in favor of the appellees, Mr. and Mrs. Bertram J. Biggs, Jr., awarded Mrs. Biggs damages in the amount of $10,000 as compensation for her injuries and awarded Mr. Biggs $6,000. The appellant, at the close of all of the evidence duly moved for a directed verdict which was denied, and also filed a motion for a new trial which was taken under advisement by the judge, who subsequently filed a written opinion on March 6, 1967, denying that motion and judgment was entered upon the verdicts for the appellees on March 7, 1967. The sole issue on this appeal is whether it was error for the judge to instruct the jury that as a matter of law there was no contributory negligence in this case. ⁴²³ The facts testified to at the trial are as follows. Mrs. Biggs stated that her vehicle was in a line of traffic with approximately five cars in front of it and that her automobile and those in front of it were stopped for a red light and had been stopped for about a minute when they were struck from behind.

Edward J. Biggs, the driver of the Biggs vehicle, testified substantially to the same facts as did his mother. Roy Dennis, a truck driver who witnessed the accident, testified that he had slowed to about twenty miles per hour when the appellant came from behind him, apparently to pass, and that there was no room for him to get back in line and that he (appellant) struck the rear of the Biggs vehicle which was then at a standstill. Another witness, Otho Viands, a delivery truck driver, was going-east on Old Georgetown Road when he witnessed the accident. He testified that the appellant came from behind a truck and could not get back into line and collided with the rear of the appellee’s automobile.

He also stated that the Biggs vehicle had been stopped for about fifteen seconds and that there were eight or ten cars in front of it that had stopped for the traffic light. Police Officer, Francis Moyers, of the Montgomery County Police Department, investigated the accident. He stated that he arrived at the scene at approximately 1:20 p.m.; that the weather was cloudy, the road surface was dry and it was daylight; that the vehicles were in the same position they were in at the time of the accident and that upon talking to the