{
  "id": 1724011,
  "name": "Fred Alvin Beeler v. James Walters",
  "name_abbreviation": "Beeler v. Walters",
  "decision_date": "1966-11-07",
  "docket_number": "5-3974",
  "first_page": "358",
  "last_page": "359",
  "citations": [
    {
      "type": "official",
      "cite": "241 Ark. 358"
    },
    {
      "type": "parallel",
      "cite": "407 S.W.2d 739"
    }
  ],
  "court": {
    "name_abbreviation": "Ark.",
    "id": 8808,
    "name": "Arkansas Supreme Court"
  },
  "jurisdiction": {
    "id": 34,
    "name_long": "Arkansas",
    "name": "Ark."
  },
  "cites_to": [
    {
      "cite": "236 Ark. 379",
      "category": "reporters:state",
      "reporter": "Ark.",
      "case_ids": [
        1681404
      ],
      "weight": 2,
      "year": 1963,
      "opinion_index": 0,
      "case_paths": [
        "/ark/236/0379-01"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "analysis": {
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  "last_updated": "2023-07-14T14:36:03.113111+00:00",
  "provenance": {
    "date_added": "2019-08-29",
    "source": "Harvard",
    "batch": "2018"
  },
  "casebody": {
    "judges": [
      "Amsler, J., not participating."
    ],
    "parties": [
      "Fred Alvin Beeler v. James Walters"
    ],
    "opinions": [
      {
        "text": "G-eorge Bose Smith, Justice.\nThis is an action for personal injuries suffered by the appellee in a traffic accident in downtown Little Bock. The jury\u2019s verdict was for the defendant, but the trial judge set the verdict aside and ordered a new trial. This appeal is from that order, as the statute permits. Ark. Stat. Ann. \u00a7 27-2101 (Supp. 1965).\nIn a case of this kind we sustain the trial court\u2019s order unless the verdict is so clearly supported by the preponderance of the evidence as to indicate an abuse of discretion on the part of the trial judge. Koonce v. Owens, 236 Ark. 379, 366 S. W. 2d 196 (1963). In this instance we find no abuse of discretion.\nIn the court below there was no question about the defendant\u2019s fault. Walters was seated as a passenger in a stationary car when it was struck from behind by Beeler\u2019s vehicle. The substantial issue for the jury was whether Walters\u2019s asserted injuries were real or feigned.\nWalters testified that he was shaken up by the collision, that his knee struck the dashboard, and that he developed stiffness in his neck and in his back. Two days after the accident he consulted Dr. Murphy, who prescribed heat therapy and a supporting collar for Walters\u2019s neck, which he wore for about a week. Six months after the accident Walters\u2019s knee had become so painful that an operation was necessary.\nWalter\u2019s testimony was by no means uncorroborated. The patrolman who investigated the collision at the scene stated that Walters appeared to be shaken up. Dr. Murphy testified that he found no objective signs of an injury to Walters\u2019s neck or back, but he accepted his patient\u2019s complaints and prescribed treatment accordingly. Dr. Murphy explained that the knee operation was for the removal of a cyst that antedated the accident and might have been aggravated by it.\nAt the trial the principal issue was unquestionably that of credibility. The trial judge, who hears the testimony as it is given, is in a much better position than we are to determine where the weight of the evidence lies. Here we cannot say that his determination is contrary to the preponderance of the testimony.\nAffirmed.\nAmsler, J., not participating.",
        "type": "majority",
        "author": "G-eorge Bose Smith, Justice."
      }
    ],
    "attorneys": [
      "Wright, Lindsey & Jennings and William B. Over-ton, for appellant.",
      "Acchione & King, for appellee."
    ],
    "corrections": "",
    "head_matter": "Fred Alvin Beeler v. James Walters\n5-3974\n407 S. W. 2d 739\nOpinion delivered November 7, 1966\nWright, Lindsey & Jennings and William B. Over-ton, for appellant.\nAcchione & King, for appellee."
  },
  "file_name": "0358-01",
  "first_page_order": 380,
  "last_page_order": 381
}