Parvin v. Sill

James Sill and Heartland Enterprises, Inc., defendants, appeal from a judgment entered by the circuit court of St. Clair County on a jury verdict of $225,400 in favor of plaintiff Marilyn Parvin. The operative facts arise out of an automobile accident. There is no cross-appeal. We reverse and remand for a new trial.

Parvin testified at trial as follows: She was driving to work on the morning of January 31, 1980, in her 1973 Ford Pinto. Because the road was icy in patches, she drove at 10 to 15 miles per hour. As she approached an icy spot, she very gently touched her brake pedal. The Pinto…