Nevarez

Defendant Thriftimart, Inc. appeals from a judgment for money damages rendered against it in an action brought for the personal injuries sustained by plaintiff Stephen Nevarez, a minor. The issue involves the liability, if any, of a grocery store for injuries sustained by the three-year-old plaintiff when he ran into a public street and was struck by an automobile driven by a third party. Appellant’s chief, and primary, contention is that the evidence was insufficient to establish any basis for liability and that its various motions for nonsuit, directed verdict, and judgment n.o.v. should have been granted. A brief summary of the evidence relating to this contention ensues, indulging as we must, in all inferences favoring the judgment.

On May 7,1960, the plaintiff was three years old and lived with his father and his father’s sister, Frances, his grandmother Porfiria, and his two young brothers and a sister at 1423 Woodworth Street in the city of San Fernando, California. The house was on the north side of the street, located about mid-block between Huntington Street to the west and Workman Street to the east. Across from it, on the south side, was the Mission Plaza…