Kennedy v. U-Haul Co. Inc.

A five-year old girl ran into the street between two trailer trucks and was struck and killed by a van-type truck of two and one-half ton capacity. Her administrator brought actions of tort for wrongful death against the driver, against the owner (U-Haul) who had leased it to the driver, and against the manufacturer (Ford). The three actions were tried together, and the jury returned a verdict for the defendant driver, a verdict against Ford for $5,000, and a verdict against U-Haul for $15,000. The latter two cases are before us on the judge's report of the question whether there was…