Funderburk
Funderburk v. General Telephone Co.
Opinion
Opinion
Kaus, J.
Defendants appeal from an order granting plaintiffs a new trial in their action for the alleged wrongful death of Corda E. Funderburk.
The accident out of which the action arose occurred on January 9, 1965, when a van owned by the defendant General Telephone Company of California and driven by its employee, the defendant Green, hit the decedent in a marked crosswalk.
The case went to the jury on the issues of negligence, contributory negligence, proximate cause and damages. The jury rendered a unanimous verdict in favor of defendants. After the jury was polled the following colloquy took place between the court and the foreman of the jury: “The Court: Unanimous. Mr. Dunsmoor, normally this question is not asked of you, but I take it from the question that you asked of me earlier when you were asking the Court to read the instructions, was it the decision of the jury that there was no negligence in Mr. Green in the operation of the motor vehicle at the time ? Mr. Dunsmoor : Yes. The Court : That was the basis of the jury’s verdict? Mr. Dunsmoor: Yes, sir. The Court: All right. ...”
Plaintiffs then filed their notice of intention to move for a new trial. The motion was granted.…