Kenneth C. Jones v. Roy H. Warmee

This is an appeal from a judgment of the District Court of Guam awarding damages to appellee, Warmee, hereafter the plaintiff, for injuries caused by appellant Jones, hereafter defendant, in the latter’s alleged negligent driving of his automobile.

The plaintiff brought his case under the Civil Code of Guam which provides in § 1714:

The defendant pleaded that the plaintiff by his “want of ordinary care brought the injury upon himself.” On this issue the burden of proof is on the defendant, the Guam Code of Civil Procedure providing in § 1981:

The court decided on this issue that the defendant’s burden had not been sustained, in its finding that “the plaintiff was not negligent in crossing the highway.”

Defendant contends there is no testimony to support this finding and that all the testimony shows plaintiff was negligent in crossing a four lane highway at a place where there was no crosswalk and hence where he was required to yield the right of way to vehicles on the highway, as provided in § 28,126 of the Government Code of Guam, reading:

The injury was occasioned at about 7 p. m. when the evening lack of visibility caused the defendant to turn on the head lights of his…