Beach v. Lipham

Because I agree with the majority that the presumption of due care charge given by the trial court in this case did not unfairly impact the plaintiff’s case, I concur in affirming the trial court’s judgment. However, because the charge on the presumption of due care has the potential to be confusing and misleading and is redundant to the standard charge on the plaintiff’s burden of proof, I disagree with the majority’s approval, albeit in modified form, of the continued use of the charge.

Initially, I note the presumption of due care “is . . . properly understood as a way of allocating the…