Forbes v. Midwest Air Charter, Inc.

The issue in this case is whether the jury was properly instructed on the issue of who was the “pilot in command.” For the reasons that follow, we conclude that the jury should not have been instructed on the rebuttable presumptions contained in R.C. 4561,23.

In Ayers v. Woodard (1957), 166 Ohio St. 138, 1 O.O.2d 377, 140 N.E.2d 401, this court stated: “A presumption is a procedural device which is resorted to only in the absence of evidence by the party in whose favor a presumption would otherwise operate; and where a litigant introduces evidence tending to prove a fact, either directly or by…