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IN THE HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA.
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT.
Ta. BIG
In an action for negligence the jury returned « verdict
for the respondent, The accident which caused the injury took
place at a very dangerous intersection and the question before
the Supreme Court and before us is whether it was proper for the
learned trial Judge to leave the issue of contributory negligence
to the jury.
I lay out of aonsideration the regulations and also the
"last chance" doctrine. The facets were before the jury and it
was open to them to find that the plaintiff (conductor) should
not have given a signal to the tram driver to move off as he
knew that this particular intersection was a dangerous spot
and also knew that the lerry was approaching close to the tran.
It was competent for the jury to find it was his duty, either
not to start the tram or to give some warning,as he knew the
lerry driver was approaching a dangerous spot,and might not
realise how or where the tram would proceed.
The facts in the case amount to aontributory negligence
and the jury were entitled » to find.
I think for these reasons the Full Court was fully
Justified in refusing to discharge the verdict and the appeal
should be dismissed with costs. ,
STARKE J.: In my opinion there was ample evidence of want of
care on the part of the plaintiff contributory to the
accident.
MOSES xv THE COMMONWEALTH OF _ AUSTRALIA
ORAL JUDGMENT. DIXON J.
I agrees
The circumstances of the case cannot be regarded as either
usual or typical. The place where the accident happened seems to
be xEgardet particularly dangerous. Perhaps it is another
peculiarity in the case/the jury found in favour of the Commonwealth
in an action for personal injuries in a street accident.
The appeal is wnfined to the question whether there is
evidence of mntributory negligence. The learned Judge left
contributory negligence to the jury upon a view of the facts which
I think is sufficient to support a finding of contributory
negligence,if the jury made onee The facts His Honour particularly
mentioned include the knowledge of the conductor of the tram of the
dangerous nature of the place and the proximity of the motor truck.
The evidence of the proximity of the motor truck,which the jury were
entitled to believe if they so chose,hrought it very close to the
tram indeed. In fact,it placed it alongside. If that was its
position,it was open to the jury to find that the conductor was in
a position when he should,as a reasonable man,have been aware that
the driver of the truck was likely to be under some misapprehension
as to the direction the tram would move. These circumstances
would throw upon the conductor the duty of giving warning for the
purpose of saving the tram and himself from harm.
I think that the evidence of contributory negligence was enough
and the Judge was right to leave it to the jury. Therefore the
appeal should be dismissed.
MOSES _v, THE COMMONWEALTH OF aUSTRALTA.
JUDGMENT. McTIERNAN J.
Iagree. The conductor, having the management of the
starting of the tram, had the duty to take reasonable care to
avoid a collision between the tram and the motor vehicle and I
think there is ample evidence upon which the jury could find that
he neglected that duty.
MOSES vy. THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA.
WILLIA
I also agree. It seems to me that in the special
circumstances of the case, by which I mean that the tram was
about to turn a corner where the lines converged on to the
footpath to such an extent that there was no room for the lorry
between the tram and the kerb, there was sufficient evidence of
contributory negligence on the part of the conductor in not giving
a warning to the lorry driver for the learned Judge to leave this
issue to the jury.