J & E EXPRESS, INC. v. Hancock Peanut Co.

The Hancock Peanut Company sought to recover damages caused by the alleged negligence of Charles Spears, Jr., who in operating a tractor-trailer for his employer, J & E Express, Inc., struck and ruptured an extension pipe attached to plaintiffs warehouse sprinkler system. The subsequent damage to the peanuts stored in the building was stipulated at trial. The case was submitted to the jury on the issues of defendants’ negligence and the proximate cause of the accident. The jury’s verdict in favor of the defendants was set aside and judgment entered for the plaintiff for $39,295.30 with…