Connard

This action was brought to recover damages for personal injuries received by the plaintiff while preparing to alight from a street car. Judgment was entered for the defendants on a directed verdict. Plaintiff has appealed. He contends that the trial court erred in taking the case from the jury.

The basis for the directed verdict was the court’s conclusion that plaintiff had violated ordinance No. 77,000 of the city of Los Angeles; that such violation was negligence per se; that it contributed directly to the injury; and that it therefore constituted contributory negligence as a matter of law. (Reeves v. Lapinta, 25 Cal. App. (2d) 680 [ 78 Pac. (2d) 465 ], and cases there cited.)

If the evidence had conclusively established a violation of the ordinance by the plaintiff, the above reasoning would have justified the entry of the judgment appealed from. The evidence bearing on the point, however, was in conflict; it raised a substantial issue of fact, which should have been submitted to the jury.

The pertinent sections of the ordinance read: Section 80.46. “No person shall board or alight from any street car or Vehicle while such street car or vehicle is in motion.” Section 80.47.…