Janet Mickle, by Her Guardian Ad Litem, W. E. Mickle, Plaintiff-Respondent-Appellant v. Larry Wayne Blackmon…

Summary

The court affirmed the judgment against Cherokee, holding that the contractor's removal of stop signs without adequate warnings could be found negligent and a proximate cause of the collision, and that Blackmon's conduct did not supersede that negligence as a matter of law. It reversed the judgment notwithstanding the verdict for Ford because an automobile manufacturer may owe a duty to reasonably minimize foreseeable collision injuries, and the evidence permitted a jury to find that the deteriorating gearshift knob created an unreasonable risk. The court ordered a new trial against Ford because the jury instructions misstated or inadequately submitted the applicable design-duty issue and included an inapplicable warning instruction. Justice Legge would have upheld Ford's judgment and ordered a new trial against Cherokee for excessive damages, while Justice Lewis would have reinstated the verdict against Ford without a new trial.