San Antonio Traction v. Cox

Texas Court of Civil Appeals · Evidence

EvidenceNegligenceJury InstructionsDamagesconspiracy evidencesimilar claimsconcerted actionstreetcar passenger

Facts

Cox alleged that while getting off a streetcar at a railway crossing, the car was suddenly started without warning before he had sufficient time to alight, causing him to be thrown or fall and suffer injuries. The company denied that the accident occurred and alleged that Cox and members of his family had cooperated in presenting false claims, and that any injury was due to another prior accident. The company sought to introduce evidence that numerous relatives had made similar claims involving falls while getting off the company's cars, along with releases signed in those matters, including one signed by a cousin and witnessed by Cox. The trial court excluded that evidence, charged the jury on liability without requiring a finding that the car had not stopped a reasonably sufficient time or that the operators knew or should have known Cox was alighting, and submitted future earning-capacity impairment.

Issue

Whether the trial court erred by excluding evidence of similar claims by Cox's relatives as proof of a family conspiracy to make fraudulent claims, by charging the jury without requiring a finding that the car had not stopped a reasonably sufficient time or that the operators knew or should have known Cox was alighting, and by submitting impairment of future earning capacity without supporting evidence.

Rule

Evidence of similar claims by relatives does not establish a conspiracy unless there is evidence of concerted action connecting the plaintiff with those other claims; similar transactions standing alone are insufficient. In a passenger-alighting case, the carrier is not liable merely because the car started before the passenger had gotten off; liability requires either that the carrier failed to stop a reasonably sufficient time for passengers to alight or that it started the car knowing, or having reason to know, that the passenger had not alighted and was about to alight. A court should not submit future impairment of earning capacity to the jury absent evidence from which such impairment can be found.

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One of 10 multiple-choice questions for this case. Pick an answer to see why.

In a negligence suit in Dallas, Nolan Perez claims he was injured stepping off a city bus operated by Lone Mesa Transit. The company wants to introduce proof that Nolan’s mother, sister, and two cousins each filed prior claims alleging nearly identical falls while exiting the company’s buses, but it has no evidence that Nolan helped prepare, discuss, or coordinate any of those claims.

Should the court admit the relatives’ prior claims to prove that Nolan joined a conspiracy to submit fraudulent claims?

Explanation. The majority rule is that similar transactions of like character do not establish conspiracy unless there is evidence of concerted action linking the plaintiff to the others. Even a suspicious cluster of family claims may suggest that some claims were dishonest, but standing alone it does not show a common plan involving this plaintiff. (Derived from San Antonio Traction v. Cox (n.d.).)