Swanson v. Hall

Some evidence supported the jury charges on racing and speeding in the plaintiffs' personal injury and wrongful death action arising out of a 3-vehicle collision.

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Appellants Terry Lamar Swanson, Tommy Roberts Trucking, Inc., and Georgia Casualty & Surety Company appeal from a jury verdict and judgment against them in a personal injury and wrongful death action brought by Appellee Clarence Hall on behalf of himself and his late wife, Lois Hall. Mr. Hall was injured and Mrs. Hall died as the result of an automobile collision involving three vehicles: the Halls’ van, a logging truck driven by Swanson and owned by Tommy Roberts Trucking, and a car driven by Mark Henderson. The jury returned a verdict for Hall individually and as administrator of his wife’s estate and against Appellants.1 On appeal, the appellants contend that the judgment against them must be overturned because the trial court erred in charging the jury on racing and speeding when there was no evidence of either in the record, and in charging the jury on concurrent negligence separately from the other jury instructions. For reasons that follow, we disagree and affirm. 1. Appellants argue that the evidence presented at trial did not warrant the jury being charged on racing and speeding. We will not overturn a trial court’s decision to give a particular jury charge “if there was any evidence presented at trial to support giving the charge.”2 “In determining whether some evidence exists to support an instruction, an appellate court is not authorized either to weigh existing evidence or to judge witness credibility as these matters are within the province of the jury.”3

At trial, the evidence showed that Swanson was driving behind Henderson in the eastbound lane of traffic on a two lane road, Georgia Highway 140. They were part of a long line of vehicles traveling at a uniform speed, between 50 and 55 miles per hour. Swanson was driving a logging truck, although the truck was empty at the time of the incident.

Swanson v. Hall

Some evidence supported the jury charges on racing and speeding in the plaintiffs' personal injury and wrongful death action arising out of a 3-vehicle collision.

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