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Robbins v. Crawford
Citations: 99 S.E.2d 852; 246 N.C. 622; 1957 N.C. LEXIS 504Docket: 22
Court: Supreme Court of North Carolina; September 25, 1957; North Carolina; State Supreme Court
Defendant's evidence, which clarifies but does not contradict the plaintiff's evidence, can be considered when evaluating a motion to nonsuit. In this case, both parties agree on the sequence of events leading to the collision: the defendant's tractor-trailer was rounding a curve when the plaintiff's decedent's Oldsmobile emerged from the east shoulder and cut in front. The plaintiff's argument relies on physical evidence and circumstantial factors to establish that the defendant's actionable negligence caused the death. Legal precedent requires that in cases relying on circumstantial evidence, the plaintiff must provide sufficient facts to support a reasonable inference of negligence. The inferences must be logical, backed by evidence favoring the plaintiff, and cannot be based on mere conjecture. The court emphasized that negligence cannot be assumed simply from the occurrence of an injury or the fact of death. Upon reviewing the evidence in favor of the plaintiff, the court found no reasonable inference of negligence attributed to the tractor-driver, Crawford, as a proximate cause of the accident. Thus, the issue of contributory negligence was deemed unnecessary for discussion. The judgment of the lower court was affirmed.