Patrick J. Nolan, Administrator of the Estate of John P. McLaughlin Deceased v. Roy W. Sullivan, Jr

OPINION ON PETITION FOR REHEARING

PER CURIAM.

This matter is again before the court on a petition for rehearing in which the appellee contends that our present decision is in conflict with earlier ones of this court and particularly Wiseman v. United States, 3 Cir., 327 F.2d 701. This contention appears to be predicated on an erroneous interpretation of our present decision.

A decisive factor in this case was the presumption that the decedent, as he approached and entered the intersection, exercised reasonable care for his own safety. We held that the “presumption was not weakened by any evidence in the record.” We add, by way of emphasis, that the evidentiary facts on which the court below relied cannot reasonably be found to rebut that presumption. Tested by the standard laid down by the Court in McAllister v. United States, 348 U.S. 19, 20, 75 S.Ct. 6, 99 L.Ed. 20 (1954), the lower court’s conclusion that the decedent had been guilty of contributory negligence was clearly erroneous.

The petition for rehearing will be denied.