Drake v. Ross

E. B. Drake, a 75-year-old Purdy, Washington nurseryman, claimed that the injuries received in an automobile collision caused by defendant Emmett Ross prevented him from operating his nursery business. Drake testified that as a result of his inability to operate his *885nursery, he was losing $4,000 per year. A jury, by a general verdict, awarded Drake and his wife $20,000 for their damages. Ross appeals and argues that to allow Drake’s testimony about his anticipated profits was error.

When the question as to what Mr. Drake could have earned in the nursery business was first posed to him by his…