Cevallos v. Rideout

In an odd twist of an old rebuttable presumption, we are asked to determine if the trial court correctly applied the presumption of negligence against a rear-driver plaintiff in a rear-end collision to direct a verdict for the lead-driver defendant. The plaintiff argues that the trial court erred in its application of the presumption in directing the verdict. We disagree and affirm.

The accident occurred when a non-party attempted to avoid a disabled vehicle on the downhill slope of an overpass. Two non-party vehicles were able to avoid colliding with the disabled vehicle and each other. The…