Williams v. Deere & Co.

PREWITT, Judge.

In this action, based on strict liability in tort, plaintiff received a $75,000.00 jury verdict and judgment. He claimed that due to a defect, a tractor manufactured by defendant rolled and injured him after he had placed its gearshift lever in “park” before alighting from it.

Defendant claims the trial court erred in not directing a verdict for it because: (a) there was no evidence of a defect in the tractor when manufactured and no evidence that the tractor was in the same condition at the time of injury; (b) plaintiff’s circumstantial evidence of a defect was insufficient as…