Leonard v. Hanson

⁷⁸ Per Curiam. The plaintiff-appellant seeks reversal of a judgment for the defendant-appellee, contending that the trial court, sitting without a jury, should have found that the accident in which he was injured was caused by negligence of the appellee, and that he was not guilty of any contributory negligence. Shortly after dark, on a clear, dry day, appellant walked to the street side of his automobile, which was parked facing west at the north curb of a Baltimore street. He testified that there was a line of cars proceeding west on his side of the street, so he waited beside his car door before opening it.

Appellee’s car was the last in line. Appellant said it was 8 or 10 feet from where he was standing, and that had it continued its speed and course it would have been going by as he opened his door. He stated that he opened the door “about two feet, just far enough to get in”, and had his head and right foot inside the car, with his left foot still on the ground, when he was struck by appellee’s car. He said he was thrown against and partly into his own car, and then was mashed between the door and frame of his car as the door was pushed in against him.

When asked whether he had stepped back as he opened the door, he replied, “I don’t think so”. He had on dark clothes. His theory was that, just after he took his eyes off appellee’s car and opened his door, appellee’s car must have slowed down and veered to the right, thus striking him and the door, although he testified he did not actually see it swerve or slow down. Appellee testified that she was driving to the right of the center line of the street, fairly close to the parked cars, but following directly behind the car in front of her.

She stated that she did not see appellant until, as she went by him, she had a “very quick flash of a figure getting in a car”, and heard a noise (obviously her car striking his door). She denied that she swerved or turned to the right. A photograph of